Microsoft Releases Mitigation for YellowKey BitLocker Bypass CVE-2026-45585 Exploit

Microsoft Releases Mitigation for YellowKey BitLocker Bypass CVE-2026-45585 Exploit

By The Hacker News
Publication Date: 2026-05-20 08:28:00

Ravie LakshmananMay 20, 2026Vulnerability / Encryption

Microsoft on Tuesday released a mitigation for a BitLocker bypass vulnerability named YellowKey following its public disclosure last week.

The zero-day flaw, now tracked as CVE-2026-45585, carries a CVSS score of 6.8. It has been described as a BitLocker security feature bypass.

“Microsoft is aware of a security feature bypass vulnerability in Windows publicly referred to as ‘YellowKey,'” the tech giant said in an advisory. “The proof of concept for this vulnerability has been made public, violating coordinated vulnerability best practices.”

The issue impacts Windows 11 version 26H1 for x64-based Systems, Windows 11 Version 24H2 for x64-based Systems, Windows 11 Version 25H2 for x64-based Systems, Windows Server 2025, and Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation).

Cybersecurity

YellowKey was disclosed by a security researcher named Chaotic Eclipse (aka Nightmare-Eclipse). It essentially allows placing specially crafted ‘FsTx’…