windows 11 security

Microsoft is warning Windows 11 users and IT administrators in May 2026 to update Secure Boot certificates before 2011-era Microsoft certificates begin expiring in June 2026, with additional expirations stretching into October, so supported PCs can keep receiving boot-level security protections...

On May 17, 2026, a researcher using the handles Chaotic Eclipse and Nightmare-Eclipse released MiniPlasma, a public Windows proof-of-concept exploit that reportedly grants SYSTEM privileges on fully patched Windows 11 machines by abusing a Cloud Filter driver flaw Microsoft had associated with...

Microsoft acknowledged YellowKey, a publicly disclosed Windows 11 BitLocker bypass now tracked as CVE-2026-45585, in mid-May 2026 after researcher Nightmare-Eclipse published proof-of-concept details showing how Windows Recovery Environment behavior can expose encrypted drives to an attacker...

Microsoft acknowledged the publicly disclosed YellowKey BitLocker bypass on May 20, 2026, assigning it CVE-2026-45585 and publishing mitigations for affected Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 systems rather than a full security update. The company’s response is technically useful, but it also...

Microsoft has begun phasing out SMS codes for authentication and account recovery on personal Microsoft accounts in May 2026, steering users toward passkeys, authenticator apps, and verified email instead of text-message verification. The company’s blunt explanation is that SMS-based...

Microsoft has confirmed in May 2026 that it will phase out SMS codes for personal Microsoft accounts, replacing text-message sign-in and recovery with passkeys, authenticator apps, and verified secondary email addresses across the Windows account ecosystem. The move is not a cosmetic cleanup of...

Microsoft’s May 12, 2026 Windows 11 security update KB5089549 is now under scrutiny after a public proof-of-concept called MiniPlasma claimed to revive CVE-2020-17103, a Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver privilege-escalation flaw first addressed in December 2020. The uncomfortable part is...

Pwn2Own Berlin 2026, held this week at OffensiveCon in Berlin, saw researchers compromise fully patched Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Edge, Windows 11, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Nvidia tooling, and multiple AI platforms, with Zero Day Initiative confirming $908,750 paid for 39 unique zero-days...

Security researchers at Pwn2Own Berlin 2026 exploited Microsoft Edge, Windows 11, and later Microsoft Exchange at OffensiveCon in Berlin on May 14 and May 15, earning six-figure payouts while starting the contest’s 90-day vendor repair clock for accepted zero-day submissions. The headline is not...

Nightmare-Eclipse released YellowKey on May 12, 2026, a public proof-of-concept that reportedly bypasses BitLocker on affected Windows 11, Windows Server 2022, and Windows Server 2025 systems by abusing Windows Recovery Environment behavior to unlock encrypted drives without the user’s recovery...

On May 12, 2026, a researcher using the name Nightmare-Eclipse published “YellowKey,” a proof-of-concept BitLocker bypass affecting Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022/2025 that can reportedly be triggered from Windows Recovery Environment with a prepared USB stick and a held CTRL key. The claim...

Microsoft patched CVE-2025-48804 in July 2025, but researchers at Intrinsec have now demonstrated BitUnlocker, a physical-access downgrade attack that can bypass TPM-only BitLocker protection on Windows 11 systems in under five minutes. The uncomfortable lesson is not that BitLocker is suddenly...

RADX Technologies announced on May 12, 2026, a $2,499 NVIDIA T400-based PXIe graphics module intended to help PXIe test-and-measurement systems running Windows 11 avoid security compromises caused by obsolete integrated GPU drivers. The product, the PXIe-GPU-T400, is not being pitched merely as...

On May 10, 2026, CNX Software published a first-person account of a Khadas Mind 2 BIOS update that turned a five-minute Windows 11 firmware job into a two-hour BitLocker recovery detour. The story is not remarkable because BitLocker reacted to a firmware change; that is exactly what it is...

Microsoft’s April 14, 2026 Windows security updates, including KB5083769 and the later KB5083631 preview, are blocking the psmounterex.sys kernel driver used by some backup tools to mount disk images on Windows 11 systems. The newly public registry workaround is therefore real, but it is also...

Microsoft’s April 2026 Windows guidance says Microsoft Defender Antivirus, built into Windows 11 and enabled by default, is usually sufficient for many home users when updates, default protections, and careful downloading habits are in place. That is a defensible statement, but it is not the...

Microsoft’s latest consumer-security message is that Microsoft Defender Antivirus, the protection built into Windows 11, is enough for many everyday PC users in 2026 if default protections remain enabled, Windows Update runs regularly, and downloads are treated with basic caution. That is not a...

Microsoft said in January 2026 that Microsoft Defender Antivirus, the security engine built into Windows 11, provides enough everyday protection for many users when default protections remain enabled, Windows Update is current, and downloads are handled deliberately. That is not a throwaway...

Microsoft’s latest guidance on Windows 11 security settles a question that has lingered for years: for most people, Microsoft Defender is enough. In a new Microsoft Windows article published in April 2026, the company says Windows 11 includes built-in antivirus protection that is active by...

Microsoft is once again making a very public case that Windows 11 does not need a separate antivirus subscription for most people. That message is not entirely new, but the company’s latest wording is notable because it comes at a moment when consumers are still being nudged by aggressive...