YellowKey Tool Bypasses Windows 11 BitLocker Using Only a USB Stick

Nightmare-Eclipse, a cybersecurity researcher previously known for a controversial reveal of three Windows Defender zero-day exploits seemingly rejected by Microsoft for petty reasons, has followed up with information regarding a BitLocker bypass vulnerability dubbed "YellowKey." Nightmare-Eclipse describes the vulnerability as one of the most insane discoveries ever, even stating that it "almost feels like a backdoor."

Nightmare-Eclipse considers this a backdoor because the bug isn't present anywhere except within the WinRE (recovery environment) and that the same component is present in Windows but without the functionality needed to bypass BitLocker. Additionally, only Windows 11, Windows Server 2022, and Windows Server 2025 are affected, not Windows 10. In order to exploit the vulnerability, one need only copy the FsTx folder to "System Volume Information\FsTx" on their recovery drive, boot into WinRE by holding Shift when restarting, and holding CTRL during the restart. This results in what we have pictured ...