(Image credit: Shutterstock)

A hacker has successfully breached a vulnerable server, claiming a prize pot worth $2,021.22 in Bitcoin after exploiting PHP2Shell vulnerabilities, a posting on the Steal My Bitcoin website has shown. The challenge's creator confirmed the win on October 25, ending an experiment designed to test claims that exploiting critical software vulnerabilities is becoming easier.

The challenge, hosted on the website a day earlier and announced through a forum post , initially offered approximately $502 worth of Bitcoin. Donations subsequently increased the pot to 0.02511679 BTC, worth $2,021.22 at the time of the win. The creator's website recorded the successful claim at 15:47 UTC on October 25, after the challenge had been running for approximately 19.28 hours.

Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.

Newton Gitonga is a tech journalist covering gadgets, PC hardware, AI, data centers, and the wider tech industry.…