CVE-2025-48818: 
vulnerability analysis and mitigation

Time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition in Windows BitLocker was discovered and disclosed on July 8, 2025. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-48818, allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass BitLocker security features through physical access to the device. This vulnerability affects multiple versions of Windows including Windows Server 2025, Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows Server editions from 2016 to 2022 (NVD, MITRE).

The vulnerability is classified as CWE-367 (Time-of-check Time-of-use Race Condition) and has been assigned a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.8 (Medium). The CVSS vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, indicating that physical access is required, but the attack complexity is low and no privileges or user interaction are needed (NVD).

If successfully exploited, this vulnerability could allow attackers to bypass BitLocker encryption protections and gain unauthorized access to encrypted data on the system drive. This poses a particular risk for organizations where devices may be lost or stolen, as attackers with physical access could potentially circumvent encryption safeguards (Immersive Labs).

Microsoft has released security patches for all affected versions of Windows. Organizations are strongly urged to apply the official security updates immediately to prevent potential unauthorized access to encrypted data (NVD).