CVE-2026-45585 — Windows BitLocker Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
Executive Summary
Microsoft is aware of a security feature bypass vulnerability in Windows publicly referred to as "YellowKey". The proof of concept for this vulnerability has been made public violating coordinated vulnerability best practices. We are issuing this CVE to provide mitigation guidance that can be implemented to protect against this vulnerability until the security update is made available. Mitigation FAQs Should I leverage the temporary mitigation? Microsoft recommends that you consider implementing these mitigations if you are concerned your devices and data are at risk of being compromised or stolen. For example, if your organization’s employees take their work devices home or on business travel. What impact to service availability/management could be caused by implementing the mitigations? Implementing these mitigations will not impact service availability or management operations. Do customers need to revert the changes made to mitigate the vulnerability once the security update to protect against this vulnerability is available? No. The security update will maintain the mitigation's behavior once the security update is installed. I am using TPM+PIN, am I at risk of this vulnerability being exploited No, if you are using TPM+PIN the vulnerability is not exploitable.
Overview
CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:W/RC:C
EPSS Score
Affected Products
| Product | KB Article | Severity | Impact | Restart Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 11 Version 24H2 for x64-based Systems | 5094126 (Security Update) |
Important | Security Feature Bypass | Yes |
| Windows 11 Version 25H2 for x64-based Systems | 5094126 (Security Update) |
Important | Security Feature Bypass | Yes |
| Windows 11 version 26H1 for x64-based Systems | 5095051 (Security Update) |
Important | Security Feature Bypass | Yes |
| Windows Server 2025 | 5094125 (Security Update) |
Important | Security Feature Bypass | Yes |
| Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation) | 5094125 (Security Update) |
Important | Security Feature Bypass | Yes |
Patches
| Article | Type | Restart |
|---|---|---|
5094126 |
Security Update | Yes |
5095051 |
Security Update | Yes |
5094125 |
Security Update | Yes |
Exploits & PoC
12 public PoCsUnverified third-party code
Public proof-of-concept repositories aggregated from PoC-in-GitHub. They are not reviewed and may be incomplete, non-functional, or malicious — inspect the code before running anything.
| Repository | Stars | Published | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| yellowkeycve2026/YellowKey-BitLocker-CVE-2026-45585 | 13 | 2026-08-26 | YellowKey BitLocker recovery - bitlocker yellowkey, yellowkey bitlocker, CVE-2026-45585, yellowkey github, yellowkey vulnerability, yellowkey CVE, TPM, BitLocker recovery key backup, Windows 10/11, CL |
| Desireeontrial76/yellowkey-bitlocker | 7 | 2026-06-16 | Manage and recover BitLocker encrypted drives with this tool for Windows 11 recovery key management and educational study of CVE-2026-45585. |
| andrei-majer/bitlocker-hardening | 5 | 2026-05-24 | BitLocker TPM+PIN Hardening Against CVE-2026-45585 (YellowKey) |
| everest90909/YellowKey-WinRE-Remediation | 1 | 2026-05-21 | Intune Remediation package for the CVE-2026-45585 YellowKey BitLocker/WinRE bypass mitigation described in the provided procedure. This package removes `autofstx.exe` from the offline WinRE image's ` |
| 0xBlackash/CVE-2026-45585 | 1 | 2026-05-31 | CVE-2026-45585 |
| bjbakker1984/Yellowkey-mitigation | 0 | 2026-05-20 | A small script to apply Yellowkey mitigation based on CVE-2026-45585 instructions |
| ChanderManiPandey2022/Yellow-Key-Check | 0 | 2026-06-04 | YellowKey | BitLocker Bypass Vulnerability (CVE-2026-45585) |
| ChanderManiPandey2022/YellowKey-BitLocker-Bypass-CVE-2026-45585-Detect-Fix-Automatically-via-Microsoft-Intune | 0 | 2026-06-08 | YellowKey | BitLocker Bypass CVE-2026-45585 | Detect & Fix Automatically via Microsoft Intune |
| boobalover7/YellowKey-Bitlocker-CVE-2026-45585 | 0 | 2026-07-21 | Manage BitLocker recovery keys, monitor drive encryption status, and unlock volumes through a portable interface for Windows. |
| tchuin2609/YellowKey-Bitlocker | 0 | 2026-07-25 | Manage BitLocker encrypted drives on Windows. Extract recovery keys, check encryption status, and apply security mitigations for CVE-2026-45585. |
| tchuin2609/tchuin2609.github.io | 0 | 2026-07-25 | Manage BitLocker encrypted drives on Windows 10 and 11. Extract recovery keys, check encryption status, and apply security mitigations for CVE-2026-45585. |
| Donalhighnecked528/YellowKey-Bitlocker-CVE-2026-45585 | 0 | 2026-08-03 | Manage BitLocker recovery keys, unlock encrypted drives, and monitor encryption status with this lightweight Windows utility. |
Detection Rules
Acknowledgments
None