What happened
OpenAI announced higher rewards in its Security Bug Bounty program on November 2, 2026, saying it wants independent researchers to find vulnerabilities its own testing may have missed. The company says it is "more than quadrupling the midpoint of our reward ranges for medium, high, and critical findings on average."
For core products such as ChatGPT, Codex and the API Platform, a critical vulnerability now earns up to $30,000. Exceptional critical findings on those targets remain eligible for up to $100,000, and now up to $172,000 with bonuses. Full ranges for other levels are listed on the program page.
New bonuses
Three incentives are new. High-quality reports can earn a multiplier on the base bounty, for example a reliable proof of concept that isolates the bug and shows its impact. A five-tier loyalty program adds scaling bonuses for researchers who report repeatedly. Short priority campaigns add dedicated bonus pools for newly launched features.
Reports already submitted but not yet awarded get the new ranges. For bounties awarded in the 30 days before the announcement, OpenAI will pay the difference in Base and Loyalty awards if the finding would have earned more under the new ranges. The payout examples on OpenAI's page are labelled illustrative, not actual awards.
What it means for you
If you research security in AI products, bugs in ChatGPT, Codex and the API Platform now carry higher rewards, and report quality directly affects the payout. Read the program rules for scope before testing, and test only within them.
For ChatGPT and Codex users the change is indirect: more paid outside scrutiny of the products you use. OpenAI's security team will be at the PROMPT2PWN event in Oakland on November 20 and 21.
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Sources & further reading
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