CVE-2026-21265
Secure Boot Certificate Expiration Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
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.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- High
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
6.4
Secure Boot Certificate Expiration Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
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.
- Record
CVE-2026-21265- CVSS 3.1
- 6.4 Medium
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 - Weakness
- CWE-1329
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-2100
6.4
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.
- Record
EUVD-2026-2100- CVSS 3.1
- 6.4 Medium
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 - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-xqxc-72vf-v8f5
6.4
Windows Secure Boot stores Microsoft certificates in the UEFI KEK and DB. These original...
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.
- Record
GHSA-xqxc-72vf-v8f5- CVSS 3.1
- 6.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-1329
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
6.4
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.
- Record
CVE-2026-21265- CVSS 3.1
- 6.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-1329
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2026-21265
6.4
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.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2026-21265- CVSS 3.1
- 6.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
- microsoft windows 10 version 1607
- microsoft windows 10 version 1809
- microsoft windows 10 version 21h2
- microsoft windows 10 version 22h2
- microsoft windows 11 version 23h2
- microsoft windows 11 version 24h2
- microsoft windows 11 version 25h2
- microsoft windows server 2012
- microsoft windows server 2012 (server core installation)
- microsoft windows server 2012 r2
- microsoft windows server 2012 r2 (server core installation)
- microsoft windows server 2016
Show 15 moreShow less
- microsoft windows server 2016 (server core installation)
- microsoft windows server 2019
- microsoft windows server 2019 (server core installation)
- microsoft windows server 2022
- microsoft windows server 2022, 23h2 edition (server core installation)
- microsoft windows server 2025
- microsoft windows server 2025 (server core installation)
- microsoft windows 10 1607
- microsoft windows 10 1809
- microsoft windows 10 21h2
- microsoft windows 10 22h2
- microsoft windows 11 23h2
- microsoft windows 11 24h2
- microsoft windows 11 25h2
- microsoft windows server 2022 23h2
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
secureboot-dbUbuntu:14.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.11.4~ubuntu0.14.04.1 |
None known |
shimUbuntu:14.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.4-0ubuntu40.8-0ubuntu20.9+1474479173.6c180c6-1ubuntu113-0ubuntu2 |
None known |
shim-signedUbuntu:14.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.31.41.51.61.9 Show 8 moreShow less1.17~14.04.11.18~14.04.11.19~14.04.11.32~14.04.21.33.1~14.04.21.33.1~14.04.31.33.1~14.04.41.33.1~14.04.5 |
None known |
secureboot-dbUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.11.4~ubuntu0.16.04.1 |
None known |
shimUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.8-0ubuntu20.9+1474479173.6c180c6-1ubuntu113-0ubuntu215+1533136590.3beb971-0ubuntu115+1552672080.a4a1fbe-0ubuntu215.4-0ubuntu7 |
None known |
shim-signedUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.111.121.17~16.04.11.18~16.04.11.19~16.04.1 Show 10 moreShow less1.27~16.04.11.28~16.04.11.32~16.04.11.33.1~16.04.11.33.1~16.04.21.33.1~16.04.31.33.1~16.04.41.33.1~16.04.51.33.1~16.04.61.33.1~16.04.10 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-21265 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.4) in Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607, published January 13, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.10%, the 65th percentile. No source names a fixed version.