Missing Ability to Patch ROM Code in Windows BitLocker allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature with a physical attack.
Weakness
Missing an ability to patch ROM code may leave a System or System-on-Chip (SoC) in a vulnerable state.
Affected Software
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows_10_1507 | Microsoft | * | 10.0.10240.21161 (excluding) |
| Windows_10_1607 | Microsoft | * | 10.0.14393.8519 (excluding) |
| Windows_10_1809 | Microsoft | * | 10.0.17763.7919 (excluding) |
| Windows_10_21h2 | Microsoft | * | 10.0.19044.6456 (excluding) |
| Windows_10_22h2 | Microsoft | * | 10.0.19045.6456 (excluding) |
| Windows_11_22h2 | Microsoft | * | 10.0.22621.6060 (excluding) |
| Windows_11_23h2 | Microsoft | * | 10.0.22631.6060 (excluding) |
| Windows_11_24h2 | Microsoft | * | 10.0.26100.6899 (excluding) |
| Windows_11_25h2 | Microsoft | * | 10.0.26200.6899 (excluding) |
| Windows_server_2016 | Microsoft | * | 10.0.14393.8519 (excluding) |
| Windows_server_2019 | Microsoft | * | 10.0.17763.7919 (excluding) |
| Windows_server_2022 | Microsoft | * | 10.0.20348.4294 (excluding) |
| Windows_server_2022_23h2 | Microsoft | * | 10.0.25398.1913 (excluding) |
| Windows_server_2025 | Microsoft | * | 10.0.26100.6899 (excluding) |
Extended Description
A System or System-on-Chip (SoC) that implements a boot process utilizing security mechanisms such as Root-of-Trust (RoT) typically starts by executing code from a Read-only-Memory (ROM) component. The code in ROM is immutable, hence any security vulnerabilities discovered in the ROM code can never be fixed for the systems that are already in use. A common weakness is that the ROM does not have the ability to patch if security vulnerabilities are uncovered after the system gets shipped. This leaves the system in a vulnerable state where an adversary can compromise the SoC.