Key facts
- Three critical cryptographic keys for Secure Boot expire on June 24.
- Secure Boot verifies digital signatures of boot-time software to prevent malware.
- The expiration leaves Windows and Linux systems vulnerable to new UEFI threats.
- Microsoft is updating Windows, and Linux distributors are updating bootloader shims.
- LogoFail vulnerabilities prompted the need for these key updates.
Users of Windows and Linux operating systems are approaching a critical deadline to update cryptographic keys that secure their systems during the boot process. On June 24, three Microsoft-signed certificates that are fundamental to Secure Boot will expire. Secure Boot is a security feature designed to prevent firmware-based malware, known as bootkits, from infecting systems by verifying the digital signatures of all code loaded at startup.