Executive brief
A security bypass vulnerability exists in Microsoft Windows BitLocker, the built-in drive encryption feature used to protect data on lost or stolen devices. An attacker with physical access to a computer could bypass these protections to gain unauthorized access to encrypted data. This could lead to the theft of sensitive corporate information or the compromise of the device's integrity.
Technical details
A protection mechanism failure exists in Windows BitLocker due to missing authentication for a critical function (CWE-306). The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the target device to bypass encryption security features. Successful exploitation could grant the attacker full access to the encrypted volume, compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The attack requires no user interaction and has low complexity, provided the attacker has physical proximity to the hardware. Microsoft has released security updates to address this issue.
Affected products
- Microsoft Windows BitLocker
Timeline
- 2026-06-09: disclosed
- 2026-06-09: advisory