BitLocker's Weakest Link: TPM-Only Encryption Undone by Recovery Environment

GreatXML reveals a fundamental architectural flaw in Windows' recovery environment that renders TPM-only BitLocker encryption meaningless—and organizations may have inadvertently enabled it through routine security operations like Windows Defender offline scans. Without a CVE or available patch, this vulnerability transforms brief physical access into complete decryption, exposing the false sense of security that many enterprises place in BitLocker for lost-device protection. The issue illustrates a deeper problem: Microsoft is patching individual attack vectors while leaving the fundamentally compromised pre-boot boundary untouched.