May 13, 2026
Locked out? Microsoft said lol
Microsoft BitLocker – YellowKey zero-day exploit
BitLocker panic erupts as users ask: is Microsoft security just theater?
TLDR: A new exploit called YellowKey allegedly lets attackers open some BitLocker-protected drives with a simple USB-and-reboot trick, which is a huge deal because many people trust it to protect lost devices. In the comments, readers swung between disbelief, anger, and backdoor speculation, asking whether this will actually hurt Microsoft at all.
Windows security discourse has officially entered its soap-opera era. A researcher calling themselves Chaotic Eclipse dropped YellowKey, an exploit that reportedly lets someone with a USB stick and a reboot stroll right into a drive that users thought was safely locked with BitLocker, Microsoft’s built-in disk protection. A second exploit, GreenPlasma, allegedly grabs even deeper control of a system. But the real fireworks? The comment section, where readers instantly went from concern to full-on conspiracy-board energy.
The loudest reaction was pure disbelief. One stunned commenter asked, “How is this even possible, backdoor or no?” Another wondered whether Microsoft takes a massive reputation hit here, or whether it’s simply too big and too embedded in offices, schools, and governments for the scandal to truly matter. That tension — is this a disaster, or just another Tuesday for Big Tech? — became the main drama of the thread.
Others were much less forgiving, saying this is exactly why companies should stop blindly trusting Windows to protect lost or stolen devices. The angriest hot take was basically: Microsoft keeps promising security, yet users keep getting plot twists instead. Meanwhile, the amateur detectives showed up with the researcher’s blog and GitHub links, turning the comments into a mini true-crime evidence locker. The darkest joke of all? If your “secure” drive opens with a USB trick and a reboot, people aren’t debating bugs anymore — they’re debating whether they just witnessed a magic act or a backdoor.
Key Points
- •The article reports that security researcher Chaotic Eclipse published two new alleged Windows zero-days named YellowKey and GreenPlasma.
- •YellowKey is described as a BitLocker bypass that, according to the article and Tom’s Hardware’s test, can provide access to a locked drive through Windows Recovery Environment without requesting keys.
- •The article says YellowKey reportedly affects Windows 11, Windows Server 2022, and Windows Server 2025, but not Windows 10.
- •GreenPlasma is described as a local privilege-escalation exploit that allegedly achieves SYSTEM-level access by manipulating CTFMon and Windows Object Manager sections.
- •At the time of writing, the article says Microsoft had not issued an official response to YellowKey or GreenPlasma; BlueHammer had been patched and RedSun was said by the researcher to have been silently patched.