Microsoft Provides a Secure Boot Certificate Update

Back in February, Microsoft announced that it would roll out new Secure Boot certificates via Windows Update. Today, it provided a small update about how users will experience this change.

“Today, Microsoft announced that starting in April 2026, the Windows Security app will display additional information about the status of Secure Boot certificate updates on a [PC],” a Microsoft representative told us. “This can be found under Device security > Secure Boot [in the Windows Security app] to help users easily understand their device’s Secure Boot certificate update status.”

For those unfamiliar, the issue is that the Secure Boot functionality in Windows requires security certificates, and the original certificates date back to 2011 and need to be updated. If your PC is from 2024 or newer, it’s likely that you’re all set, and you won’t need to download a new security certificate. But if you have an older PC, it will almost certainly have to be updated. This will happen automatically via Windows Update. But if you’re not sure of the status of that certificate, you will be able to see that now in Windows Security as noted above.

As the company notes on Microsoft Support, the Windows Security tray icon and in-app Secure Boot interface will display a green check box, a yellow bang, or a red stop icon to indicate the certificate status. If it’s green, the certificate is up-to-date and you’re good. If it’s yellow, there’s a safety recommendation noting that you will need to manually update the certificate and may need to contact your PC maker. And if it’s red, there’s an issue that requires your immediate attention: The new certificate cannot be delivered to your PC because of a security vulnerability that impacts the boot process.

This change is rolling out starting today, but Microsoft will make additional improvements to the process starting in May that will include notifications and additional in-app guidance and controls.

If you’re an IT admin, you can learn more about this issue on Microsoft Support.