PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

Find an Xbox Security Bug? Microsoft Might Have Some Cash for You

Microsoft notes it can pay bug bounty participants more than $20,000, depending on the vulnerability's severity and the report's quality. Just make sure you don't use the flaw on unsuspecting users.

 & Michael Kan Principal Reporter

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

Our Expert
LOOK INSIDE PC LABS HOW WE TEST
65 EXPERTS
43 YEARS
41,500+ REVIEWS

Notice a software bug on your Xbox? You might be able to make some cash.

On Thursday, Microsoft launched a bug bounty program for the Xbox, meaning the company will reward you for reporting significant security vulnerabilities in the gaming platform. If you uncover a bad, previously unknown flaw, you can earn as much as $20,000.

"Public bounty programs are a valuable approach which combine with ongoing internal testing, private programs and knowledge shared by partners to produce a secure ecosystem to play in," Chloe Brown, a program manager for Microsoft's security response center, wrote in the announcement.

The minimum payout is $500 for bugs that impact the Xbox platform's security. So not just any repeatable glitch will do. You'll also have to be the first one to report the bug to Microsoft, and demonstrate the flaw with a clear and concise write-up or video that tells the company's security staff how to reproduce the problem.

The bugs that receive the highest payout involve "remote code execution," in which you can remotely hijack someone's Xbox to run a program or execute an action. The second most valuable bugs involve "elevation of privilege," or when a program already installed on the Xbox can exploit a flaw to gain greater access to the console's software.

Microsoft also notes it will pay bug bounty participants more than $20,000, depending on the vulnerability's severity and the report's quality. However, the company is refraining from accepting bug bounties around Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, which usually involve network traffic abuse. Bug bounty participants will also need to avoid exploiting the flaws on unsuspecting users, otherwise they'll be disqualified from the reward.

Nintendo and Sony also have a bug bounties through the HackerOne platform. Nintendo can pay between $100 to $20,000. Sony, on the other hand, is only offering T-shirts and a "+1 count" to the Sony user profile as a reward through the program.

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

  • My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
  • I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
  • The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
  • Xbox 360 FTW
  • The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
  • The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

Read full bio