Windows Secure Boot Certificates Are Expiring – Here’s How to Check if Your PC is Ready

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Windows computers are facing an upcoming issue with their security certificates. These certificates, which have been quietly working in the background for the last 15 years, are about to expire. Most people aren’t aware of these certificates, but they play a vital role in keeping computers secure.

Secure Boot certificates are essential, but usually invisible, components of Windows. They work automatically in the background, and most users don’t need to think about them.

Secure Boot helps protect your Windows computer when it starts up. It verifies that everything loading during the initial startup process is safe and won’t damage your device.

Windows is often targeted by threats because starting up the operating system provides an easy way for harmful software to install itself. Viruses and malware can take advantage of the boot-up process to load before you even open any programs. This means Windows might unknowingly load malicious software during its startup sequence, even with features intended to protect it.

Most users won’t even be aware that Secure Boot certificates are expiring, as Microsoft automatically sends out new ones through Windows Updates. Computer manufacturers also provide these updates via firmware and BIOS support. But if you haven’t received these updates for some reason, here’s how to check if your system is still secure.

How You Might Not Be Secure?

Starting June 27th and continuing through October 2026, some security certificates used by Windows will expire. If you regularly update Windows, you shouldn’t have any problems. However, if you’re using an older version of Windows 10 or Windows 11 and haven’t updated recently, it’s a good idea to check if your system is still secure. This is particularly important for Windows 11 users who don’t install updates.

So, checking for this is super easy. All I have to do is open PowerShell as an admin and then run this one little code snippet:

This command checks if the Secure Boot UEFI database contains the signature ‘Windows UEFI CA 2023’, indicating a trusted certificate for verifying the operating system’s boot process.

Okay, so I just ran that check, and if it says “True,” awesome – my certificates are all good! But if it says “False,” that means I need to update Windows and then get in touch with the people who made my device to see if there are any firmware updates available. Fingers crossed it says True!

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2026-05-04 10:15