CVE-2026-45658: Windows BitLocker Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Synopsis

A protection mechanism failure in Windows BitLocker allows an attacker with physical access to the device to bypass drive encryption and access protected data. The vulnerability is exploited locally, requires only a low-privilege account, and no interaction from any other user. Successful exploitation gives an attacker full read, write, and control over data that BitLocker was protecting. Patched-image rebuilds at the listed fix versions are available on HarborGuard for affected environments.

HarborGuard Coverage

Exploit Conditions

• Network reachabilityNot required

  The attacker needs an existing shell or process on the host; no network path to the service is required.

• AuthenticationRequired

  Any low-privilege local account is sufficient; no administrator or elevated credentials are needed.

• Victim interactionNot required

  No action from any other user or victim is required to trigger the vulnerability.

• Attack complexityDetail

  The exploit is reliable and condition-free; no race conditions or special environmental factors are required.

Blast Radius

• Reads data from BitLocker-encrypted volumes that would otherwise be inaccessible without the encryption key.
• Writes to or modifies files on the encrypted volume, tampering with data or injecting malicious content.
• Gains full control over the contents of the protected drive, including credentials, configuration files, and stored secrets.