CVE-2026-21265
Secure Boot Certificate Expiration Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
- Published
- Updated
- Reserved
- Assigned by
- microsoft
Description
Windows Secure Boot stores Microsoft certificates in the UEFI KEK and DB. These original certificates are approaching expiration, and devices containing affected certificate versions must update them to maintain Secure Boot functionality and avoid compromising security by losing security fixes related to Windows boot manager or Secure Boot. The operating system’s certificate update protection mechanism relies on firmware components that might contain defects, which can cause certificate trust updates to fail or behave unpredictably. This leads to potential disruption of the Secure Boot trust chain and requires careful validation and deployment to restore intended security guarantees. Certificate Authority (CA) Location Purpose Expiration Date Microsoft Corporation KEK CA 2011 KEK Signs updates to the DB and DBX 06/24/2026 Microsoft Corporation UEFI CA 2011 DB Signs 3rd party boot loaders, Option ROMs, etc. 06/27/2026 Microsoft Windows Production PCA 2011 DB Signs the Windows Boot Manager 10/19/2026 For more information see this CVE and Windows Secure Boot certificate expiration and CA updates.
Timeline
ID reserved
By microsoft
- 33 days later
· 33 days later
Published
- 7 months later
· 7 months later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| microsoftCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | Medium6.4 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C |
| NVDNVD · Analyzed | 3.1 | Medium6.4 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 1.1% · top 34% of all CVEs (7 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Medium 6.4.
Weakness
Affected products
Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 1607
- affected 10.0.14393.0 – < 10.0.14393.8783
Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 1809
- affected 10.0.17763.0 – < 10.0.17763.8276
Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 21H2
- affected 10.0.19044.0 – < 10.0.19044.6809
Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 22H2
- affected 10.0.19045.0 – < 10.0.19045.6809
Microsoft · Windows 11 version 23H2
- affected 10.0.22631.0 – < 10.0.22631.6491
Microsoft · Windows 11 Version 23H2
- affected 10.0.22631.0 – < 10.0.22631.6491
Microsoft · Windows 11 Version 24H2
- affected 10.0.26100.0 – < 10.0.26100.7623
Microsoft · Windows 11 Version 25H2
- affected 10.0.26200.0 – < 10.0.26200.7623
Microsoft · Windows Server 2012
- affected 6.2.9200.0 – < 6.2.9200.25868
Microsoft · Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation)
- affected 6.2.9200.0 – < 6.2.9200.25868
Microsoft · Windows Server 2012 R2
- affected 6.3.9600.0 – < 6.3.9600.22968
Microsoft · Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation)
- affected 6.3.9600.0 – < 6.3.9600.22968
Microsoft · Windows Server 2016
- affected 10.0.14393.0 – < 10.0.14393.8783
Microsoft · Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)
- affected 10.0.14393.0 – < 10.0.14393.8783
Microsoft · Windows Server 2019
- affected 10.0.17763.0 – < 10.0.17763.8276
Microsoft · Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)
- affected 10.0.17763.0 – < 10.0.17763.8276
Microsoft · Windows Server 2022
- affected 10.0.20348.0 – < 10.0.20348.4648
Microsoft · Windows Server 2022, 23H2 Edition (Server Core installation)
- affected 10.0.25398.0 – < 10.0.25398.2092
Microsoft · Windows Server 2025
- affected 10.0.26100.0 – < 10.0.26100.32230
Microsoft · Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation)
- affected 10.0.26100.0 – < 10.0.26100.32230
References (1)
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://trackcve.app/cve/CVE-2026-21265)Record last updated .