Bypass Record

Pre-OS Boot × Microsoft Windows Secure Boot

A publicly-reported instance of Pre-OS Boot bypassing Microsoft Windows Secure Boot, recorded with its original source. Factual record; no assessment of any specific deployment.

Product
Microsoft Windows Secure Boot
Technique
Pre-OS Boot
MITRE ATT&CK
T1542
Confidence
High
Severity
Critical
Status
poc
Disclosed
2024-04-09
Config / version noted
Not stated

Provenance

Reported as

A vulnerability in Windows Secure Boot allows attackers with administrative privileges to bypass Secure Boot protections

Mechanism

The vulnerability allows loading of revoked or malicious bootloaders due to flaws in Secure Boot's validation logic. An attacker with local admin rights can replace legitimate EFI boot files (e.g., bootmgfw.efi) with a malicious version, which the system fails to block, enabling pre-OS malware execution that evades endpoint security products.

Detection & mitigation

Monitor for unexpected changes to EFI system partition files (e.g., bootmgfw.efi) and validate bootloader integrity using TPM measurements or Secure Boot logs. Apply Microsoft's updated blocklists and patches to prevent loading of revoked bootloaders.

Pre-OS Boot has also been recorded against

This is a record of a publicly-reported event, not an assessment of any specific organization's deployment. Detection and mitigation notes are drawn from the cited source. Where the source is silent, fields are omitted.