Nintendo announced a vulnerability-reward program for the Nintendo 3DS family on December 5, 2016, working with HackerOne. The historical offer was up to US$20,000 for critical security vulnerabilities—not a guaranteed payment, and not a reward for modifying a console. The original announcement covered the 3DS family; it does not establish that the same offer or reward schedule remains active today.
What Nintendo’s 3DS bounty offered
Nintendo’s announcement described an incentive for researchers to find and report security vulnerabilities in its 3DS handheld systems. It said Nintendo would pay “up to U.S. $20,000” for discovery of critical vulnerabilities. HackerOne’s December 5, 2016 announcement presented the program as coordinated vulnerability reporting, not a general invitation to attack Nintendo services.
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Historical program terms reproduced by Nintendo Everything listed a range of US$100 to US$20,000 for the first reporter of qualifying vulnerability information. Nintendo retained discretion over whether a report qualified and how much to award; severity, exploitability, and report quality affected the decision. A proof of concept or functional exploit was encouraged, but a researcher could submit an initial report before completing one and provide further material afterward. Nintendo Everything’s 2016 report reproduces those terms.
Which vulnerabilities and abuse cases were in scope?
Contemporary coverage described the program’s aims in terms of preventing misuse of 3DS systems and finding underlying technical weaknesses. Examples included:
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- Features: 3D Depth Slider, Wi-Fi Capability, Nintendo 3DS Sound, Mii Maker, 3D Camera, Front & Rear Camera, Touch Screen
- Includes: AC Power Adapter, Stylus
- Wired Connectivity: Wireless
- Model Compatibility: Nintendo 3DS
- Piracy: game-application dumping or running copied games.
- Cheating: modifying games or save data.
- Inappropriate content: preventing its dissemination to children.
- Console or key compromise: weaknesses such as ARM11 or ARM9 privilege escalation or takeover, low-cost cloning, and security-key detection.
These are program goals and vulnerability categories described in contemporary reporting, not a public list of confirmed flaws or proof that Nintendo paid a particular amount for any one finding.
What the historical scope excluded
The launch-era program was limited to the Nintendo 3DS family. Contemporary reporting said other Nintendo platforms, network services, and server-related information were outside its scope at the time. A finding in an excluded system or service therefore cannot be assumed eligible under the 2016 offer.
The distinction matters: the program addressed vulnerabilities in the 3DS family, not ordinary console ownership, routine modification, or every security issue involving Nintendo. Researchers needed to report qualifying vulnerability information through the coordinated program.
Is Nintendo’s 3DS bounty still active?
The 2016 announcement and its reward range are historical terms, not confirmation of a current 3DS bounty. Nintendo’s UK security vulnerability disclosure page, available in 2026, references HackerOne for global reports and bounties. That reference alone does not verify that the original 3DS scope or US$100–US$20,000 schedule remains in force. Anyone considering a submission should check the live HackerOne policy for covered assets, eligibility, and current rewards before reporting.
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What the announcement does not establish
The launch announcement gives a maximum award, not a promise that every critical report would earn US$20,000. Nor does it establish total payouts, the number of researchers who participated, a success rate, or the amount paid for a specific vulnerability. Those figures should not be inferred from the headline offer.
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