PlayStation has awarded a user $50,000 for reporting a critical security vulnerability, prompting him to joke that he can now afford GTA 6.
Sony’s bug bounty program rewards researchers who privately report security flaws, giving the company a chance to investigate and fix them.
Researcher Jordy, known as 2tonejordy on HackerOne, received the substantial payout and celebrated with a post on X.
“I can at least buy GTA 6 with this I think,” he wrote on his X account ‘couldbeautism’.
The reward was for a critical vulnerability, although the public information cited in its report did not identify the specific exploit.
PlayStation bounty follows PS5 hacking dispute
Jordy previously became involved in a dispute after reporting a PS5 hypervisor vulnerability to Sony.
In a September post, Jordy acknowledged that fellow researcher Andy ‘TheFlow’ Nguyen had asked him to hold off. Jordy said he initially agreed, but reported the flaw after another person found it, worrying that it was only a matter of time until someone else tried to cash in on the bounty.
Nguyen had been working on expanding Linux support for the console. He wanted disclosure delayed until after GTA 6 launched, giving players an opportunity to legally buy the game while retaining the ability to run Linux.
Following the disclosure, Nguyen announced he was stepping away from PS5 development and stopping his Linux work, including plans for PS5 Pro support in 2027.
However, that earlier dispute does not establish which vulnerability earned Jordy the newly publicized $50,000 reward.
Sony opened its bug bounty program to the public in June 2020, after previously working privately with researchers.
According to HackerOne’s history, only one other user has received the maximum $50,000 bounty, which is reserved for critical exploits, in the last 3 years.
The program invited security researchers and gamers to help identify weaknesses in PlayStation products, with payments depending on the issues reported.
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
