Apple has announced a major overhaul of its bug bounty program that doubles the top reward to $2 million for exploit chains that can match the sophistication of mercenary spyware attacks.
With bonuses for Lockdown Mode bypasses and vulnerabilities found in beta software, Apple says its total payouts could exceed $5 million. The company claims this represents "the largest payout offered by any bounty program."
The program now places greater emphasis on complete exploit chains rather than individual vulnerabilities, reflecting the reality that real-world attacks typically chain multiple bugs together. The rewards for remote-entry vectors have also been substantially increased, although categories not commonly seen in actual attacks will receive lower payouts.
As part of the overhaul, Apple is introducing "Target Flags," which are inspired by capture-the-flag games. When a researcher successfully exploits a vulnerability, they can capture a specific flag that proves exactly what level of access they achieved, such as code execution or arbitrary read/write capabilities.
These flags can be verified by Apple, so researchers who submit reports using them can receive notification of their bounty award immediately after Apple validates the captured flag. The payment is also issued in an upcoming payment cycle, meaning researchers won't have have to wait until Apple releases a software fix, which can take months. Previously, researchers often had to wait for Apple to patch a vulnerability before receiving payment.
The updated program comes into effect from November 2025. Apple is also expanding categories to include one-click WebKit sandbox escapes worth up to $300,000 and wireless proximity exploits over any radio worth up to $1 million. A complete Gatekeeper bypass on macOS now earns $100,000.
More information on the changes can be found on Apple's Security Research website. Apple says it has paid out over $35 million to more than 800 researchers since launching the public program in 2020.
Popular Stories
Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014.
Q.ai has...
Apple today introduced its first two physical products of 2026: a second-generation AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided Solo Loop for the Apple Watch.
Read our coverage of each announcement to learn more:Apple Unveils New AirTag With Longer Range, Louder Speaker, and More
Apple Introduces New Black Unity Apple Watch BandBoth the new AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided...
Monday January 26, 2026 3:56 pm PST by Juli Clover
Alongside iOS 26.2.1, Apple today released an updated version of iOS 12 for devices that are still running that operating system update, eight years after the software was first released.
iOS 12.5.8 is available for the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 6, meaning Apple is continuing to support these devices for 13 and 12 years after launch, respectively. The iPhone 5s came out in September 2013,...
Tuesday January 27, 2026 2:39 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Update: Apple Creator Studio is now available.
Apple Creator Studio launches this Wednesday, January 28. The all-in-one subscription provides access to the Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage apps, with U.S. pricing set at $12.99 per month or $129 per year.
A subscription to Apple Creator Studio also unlocks "intelligent features" and "premium...
Thursday January 29, 2026 2:40 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
On an earnings call with equity analysts today, Apple CEO Tim Cook responded to fast-rising RAM and SSD storage chip prices in the supply chain.
Prices for RAM and NAND storage chips are surging lately due to high demand from companies building out AI servers, resulting in supply constraints.
Cook said that rising memory chip prices had a "minimal impact" on Apple's gross margin in the...