windows boot chain

The Windows boot chain is the sequence of components that load and verify the integrity of the operating system during startup. Discussions on WindowsForum.com highlight security risks within this chain, particularly around BitLocker and TPM-only configurations. A recent proof-of-concept attack, BitUnlocker, exploits CVE-2025-48804 to bypass BitLocker protections by booting a manipulated Windows recovery environment, exposing decrypted drives in minutes. This underscores how TPM-only deployments can be vulnerable to physical attacks, as the boot chain's trust decisions may be downgraded. Microsoft patched the vulnerability in July 2025, but administrators are advised to review their boot chain security, especially for enterprise fleets still relying on older trust models.