Vulnerability · Published Jan 13, 2026 · Assigned by microsoft

CVE-2026-21265Secure Boot Certificate Expiration Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Medium 6.4

In plain English

A medium-severity security flaw in Windows 10 Version 1607 from Microsoft. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 1.1% (higher than 66% of all known vulnerabilities).

Severity (CVSS 3.1)6.4Medium
Exploit odds (30 days)1.1%top 34.3% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official 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.

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607 10.0.14393.0 – before 10.0.14393.8783
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1809 10.0.17763.0 – before 10.0.17763.8276
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 21H2 10.0.19044.0 – before 10.0.19044.6809
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 22H2 10.0.19045.0 – before 10.0.19045.6809
Microsoft Windows 11 version 23H2 10.0.22631.0 – before 10.0.22631.6491
Microsoft Windows 11 Version 23H2 10.0.22631.0 – before 10.0.22631.6491
Microsoft Windows 11 Version 24H2 10.0.26100.0 – before 10.0.26100.7623
Microsoft Windows 11 Version 25H2 10.0.26200.0 – before 10.0.26200.7623
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 6.2.9200.0 – before 6.2.9200.25868
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation) 6.2.9200.0 – before 6.2.9200.25868
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 6.3.9600.0 – before 6.3.9600.22968
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation) 6.3.9600.0 – before 6.3.9600.22968
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 10.0.14393.0 – before 10.0.14393.8783
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation) 10.0.14393.0 – before 10.0.14393.8783
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 10.0.17763.0 – before 10.0.17763.8276
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation) 10.0.17763.0 – before 10.0.17763.8276
Microsoft Windows Server 2022 10.0.20348.0 – before 10.0.20348.4648
Microsoft Windows Server 2022, 23H2 Edition (Server Core installation) 10.0.25398.0 – before 10.0.25398.2092
Microsoft Windows Server 2025 10.0.26100.0 – before 10.0.26100.32230
Microsoft Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation) 10.0.26100.0 – before 10.0.26100.32230

Weakness: CWE-1329 · Vector: 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

References