Windows security update causes BitLocker recovery screens and boot problems
Windows users have been experiencing performance problems, boot failures, and receiving BitLocker Recovery prompts since installing the KB5012170 security update.
According to Bleeping Computer, Microsoft released the update to correct vulnerabilities in various UEFI bootloaders that malicious actors could use to bypass Secure Boot and execute unsigned code.
The KB5012170 update fails on devices without valid bootloaders, which Bleeping Computers says is a good thing, as these devices would no longer boot if the update were successful.
However, devices with valid bootloaders have been experiencing various issues, with around 2% of Windows 11 devices showing BitLocker recovery screens after installing the update.
Users who experience this issue can find their recovery keys by signing into their Microsoft account on another device and going to the BitLocker recovery key page.
Bleeping Computer added that some of its readers had reported slow boot times and altered disk configurations after installing the update.
“I have Windows 10 21H1 and after I downloaded the update last week I noticed the boot time change to VERY long,” BleepingComputer quoted a reader as saying.
“Can confirm that. What’s worse, the update changed my RAID mode to AHCI, so I had to manually put that back on approx 10 devices, that ran into BSOD,” another reader commented.
“All of them. Almost brand new Latitudes 5320 and all behaved the same. You can see, if the update changed your RAID mode too,” the reader added.
Fortunately, it appears that the issue resolves itself after users enter the BitLocker recovery key and modify their disk configurations.
Microsoft had previously warned Windows users that the update might not install on some devices.
“When attempting to install KB5012170, it might fail to install, and you might receive an error 0x800f0922,” Microsoft said.
“This issue can be mitigated on some devices by updating the UEFI bios to the latest version before attempting to install KB5012170.”
The ox8oof0922 error is the same as what appears when attempting to install the update on a device without a valid bootloader.
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