Windows devices with new CPUs are susceptible to data damage

Microsoft has announced today that Windows devices with the newest supported processors are susceptible to “data damage” on Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022.

Microsoft warns that Windows computers equipped with modern CPUs may be susceptible to data loss. Devices that support the most recent Vector Advanced Encryption Standard (VAES) instruction set are most affected by the issue.

The most affected Windows devices use one of the following on new hardware:

• AES XEX-based tweaked-codebook mode with ciphertext stealing (AES-XTS)
• AES with Galois/Counter Mode (GCM) (AES-GCM)

Microsoft addressed the issue in the May 24 and June 14 security releases for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022, however the updates could lower the performance of devices.

To avoid the performance issues, users are advised to install the June 23 preview update (Windows 11, Windows Server 2022) or the July 12 security update (Windows 11, Windows Server 2022) for their OS version.