IRONSMITHINTEL
MEDIUMCVSS6.6
|CVE-2024-20666|Auth: see msrc advisory|Reboot: required|Manual only

KB5034129: Windows Server 2022 Security Update (January 2024)

An attacker with physical access to a device can bypass BitLocker encryption and read protected data by abusing flaws in the Windows boot manager and Recovery Environment.

Published Jan 9, 2024 · Updated May 23, 2026
Why patchRisk explained in plain English
Worst-case scenarioIf unpatched

An attacker with physical access to a powered-off or sleeping device — a lost or stolen laptop, a server pulled from a rack, a seized machine — can manipulate the boot/recovery path to bypass BitLocker and read the encrypted volume. No login credentials are needed; the attack defeats disk encryption directly. This matters most for portable devices and any server where physical security cannot be guaranteed.

How the attack works

BitLocker is the Windows full-disk encryption feature that protects data at rest using a Volume Master Key (VMK). A series of distinct bugs in the Windows boot manager and Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) let an attacker with physical access either skip BitLocker validation entirely or coerce the system into a state where the VMK is exposed — defeating the at-rest protection BitLocker is supposed to provide.

Am I affected?Quick check

Probably yes if any of these apply:

●Portable Windows devices protected by BitLocker (laptops, tablets)
●Servers in locations where physical access cannot be guaranteed (branch offices, co-location, edge sites)

Affected OS versions

Windows Server 2022
Real-world incidentsWhat we've seen

A laptop holding sensitive corporate data is stolen from a car. The thief — or a buyer of the stolen hardware — uses the boot-manager bypass to defeat BitLocker and read the drive, despite the disk being "encrypted." For organisations that rely on BitLocker for compliance (the "encrypted at rest, so a lost device is not a breach" argument), this bypass undermines that assurance until patched.

How to patch

Manual download

For air-gapped servers or out-of-band deployment. Microsoft Update Catalog returns every OS-version variant of this update.

↗ Microsoft Update CatalogKB5034129

Manual remediation steps

Note on this vulnerability

This is a physical-access BitLocker bypass, not a network or local-code-execution flaw. The patch updates the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE); on some systems WinRE must be updated separately from the main cumulative update — see the Microsoft guidance for KB-specific WinRE servicing steps if the standard update does not remediate.

Prerequisites

    1
    Local administrator on the target server
    1
    Maintenance window with reboot capacity
    1
    Current backup or snapshot you can roll back to
    1
    Network path to Windows Update / WSUS / Microsoft Update Catalog

Estimated time

20–40 minutes per server (download + install + reboot)

Reboot required

Yes — install the cumulative update and reboot the server before the fix is active.

Steps

1. Confirm the server is missing the patch

Get-HotFix -Id KB5034129 -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

2. Install the update — pick one channel

Windows Update / WSUS (preferred):

UsoClient ScanInstallWait

Manual download (offline / air-gapped):

1
Open Microsoft Update Catalog: https://catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB5034129
2
Download the MSU for Windows Server 2022 that matches your architecture (x64).
3
Copy the .msu file to the server and run as Administrator.

3. Reboot

Restart-Computer -Force

Verification

Get-HotFix -Id KB5034129
[System.Environment]::OSVersion.Version

Rollback

wusa.exe /uninstall /kb:5034129 /quiet /norestart

Notes

    1
    This entry covers Windows Server 2022 specifically (KB5034129). Other Windows Server versions have their own KB for CVE-2024-20666.
    1
    Reference advisories: MSRC https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-20666 and NVD https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-20666.
PowerShell automationComing soon

No tested PowerShell script for this entry yet. We’re prioritising automation based on user demand.

References

↗ CVE-2024-20666↗ MSRC Advisory↗ NVD↗ KBKB5034129