Applies To
Surface Surface Devices

Secure Boot is a security feature in Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) based firmware that helps ensure that only trusted software runs during a device's boot (start) sequence. It works by verifying the digital signature of pre-boot software against a set of trusted digital certificates (also known as certificate authority or CA) stored in the device's firmware. As an industry standard, UEFI Secure Boot defines how platform firmware manages the certificates, authenticates firmware, and how the operating system (OS) interfaces with this process.

Windows Secure Boot certificates expiring in 2026

To help keep your Windows device secure, Microsoft is updating the certificates used by Secure Boot—a security feature that helps protect your devices from malware during startup. These certificates, originally issued in 2011, are set to expire starting in June 2026. To stay protected, your device needs to receive a new set of certificates before then. For most users, this has already happened through Surface updates delivered through Windows Update or will happen in the future through regular Windows security updates.

How does this impact Surface devices?

Microsoft began updating the UEFI Secure Boot Signature Database (DB) on Surface devices to contain the “Windows UEFI CA 2023” certificate starting in 2023, and these updates were delivered to Surface devices through UEFI firmware installed by Windows Update. Also, all Surface devices manufactured in 2024 and later were launched with the “Windows UEFI CA 2023” certificate. For the devices not listed in this article, the general guidance for Windows users applies.

In addition to updating certificates stored in UEFI, we are also updating the Surface Recovery Images for all currently supported (as of September 2025) Surface devices. The table below shows which devices have the updated certificates already present in UEFI (and as of which version, if applicable) and updated recovery image status.

Product Name

Minimum UEFI version with 2023 CA

Recovery image (BMR) updated with 2023 CA

Note

Surface Laptop 13-inch

Any (product launched with 2023 CA)

Not included

2023 CA-signed BMR will be released in Nov 2025

Surface Pro 12-inch

Any (product launched with 2023 CA)

Included

Surface Laptop 5G for Business

Any (product launched with 2023 CA)

Included

Surface Laptop 7th Edition, Intel processor

Any (product launched with 2023 CA)

Included

Surface Pro 11th Edition, Intel processor

Any (product launched with 2023 CA)

Included

Surface Pro 11th Edition 5G

Any (product launched with 2023 CA)

Included

Surface Pro 11th Edition, Snapdragon processor

Any (product launched with 2023 CA)

Included

Surface Laptop 7th Edition, Snapdragon processor

Any (product launched with 2023 CA)

Included

Surface Laptop 6 for Business

Any (product launched with 2023 CA)

Included

Surface Pro 10 with 5G

Any (product launched with 2023 CA)

Included

Surface Pro 10 for Business

Any (product launched with 2023 CA)

Not included

2023 CA-signed BMR will be released in Oct 2025

Surface Hub 3

Any (product launched with 2023 CA)

Not included

2023 CA-signed BMR will be released in Nov 20251

Surface Go 4

8.200.143.0

Included

Surface Laptop Go 3

10.200.143.0

Included

Surface Laptop Studio 2

16.200.143.0

Not included

2023 CA-signed BMR will be released in Oct 2025

Surface Laptop 5

9.200.143.0

Included

Surface Pro 9

12.200.143.0

Included

Surface Pro 9 with 5G

18.7.235.0

Not included

2023 CA-signed BMR will be released in Nov 2025

Windows Dev Kit 2023

12.6.235.0

Not included

2023 CA-signed BMR will be released in Nov 2025

Surface Studio 2+

20.101.143.0

Not included

2023 CA-signed BMR will be released in Oct 2025

Surface Laptop Go 2

26.102.143.0

Not included

2023 CA-signed BMR will be released in Nov 2025

Surface Laptop SE

7.9.139.0

Included

Surface Pro X WiFi

10.703.140.0

Not included

2023 CA-signed BMR will be released in Nov 2025

Surface Go 3

11.200.143.0

Included

Surface Pro 8

23.200.143.0

Included

Surface Laptop Studio

23.200.143.0

Included

Surface Laptop 4 (Intel)

23.200.143.0

Included

Surface Laptop 4 (AMD)

4.200.140.0

Not included

2023 CA-signed BMR will be released in Nov 2025

Surface Pro 7+

23.200.143.0

Included

Surface Pro 7

17.200.140.0

Included

Surface Book 3

17.200.140.0

Not included

2023 CA-signed BMR will be released in Nov 2025

1Surface Hub 3 recovery images can be used with Hub 2S devices that have been migrated to Windows 11.

Actions for IT professionals and organizations

More details on the Secure Boot certificate expirations and validating or proactively deploying certificate updates are available here: Secure Boot Certificate updates: Guidance for IT professionals and organizations

The Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) added support for the 2023 CA in version 10.1.26100.2454 (December 2024), and new Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) images can be created with the updated certificate. Pre-existing images can be updated following the guidance here: Updating Windows bootable media to use the PCA2023 signed boot manager

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