Microsoft is planning to take away a safety characteristic on variations of Home windows 11 older than 24H2. The corporate has confirmed that it’s deprecating VBS enclaves on the likes of Home windows 11 23H2 and 22H2. The identical is occurring to Server 2022 and 2019/2016 as properly. This primarily makes the older variations of Home windows 11 and Home windows Server much less safe.

The corporate writes:

VBS enclaves are being deprecated on Home windows 11, model 23H2 and earlier variations of Home windows. Help for VBS enclaves will proceed for Home windows 11, model 24H2 and later.

VBS enclaves are being deprecated on Home windows Server 2022 and earlier variations of Home windows Server. Help for VBS enclaves will proceed for Home windows Server 2025 and later.

VBS enclaves was launched in July final 12 months the place the corporate additionally talked in regards to the system necessities of the characteristic. Because the identify suggests, VBS enclaves is predicated on VBS or Virutalization-based Safety.

VBS is an important safety characteristic on Home windows 11 which Microsoft has identified a number of occasions prior to now. So we’re uncertain why the corporate is eradicating one of many VBS options on the marginally older OSes. Microsoft additionally doesn’t state the rationale.

The tech big usually removes older requirements to enhance the safety of its software program or introduces newer and improved ones. For instance, it up to date the way in which it collects person information on Edge not too long ago, and can be regularly killing off ActiveX on Workplace apps.

For these of you questioning how VBS enclaves helps, the characteristic is supposed to enhance the reminiscence security of apps by creating digital belief ranges (VTL) inside a software-based Belief Execution Surroundings (TEE).

Nonetheless, it’s not infallible as Microsoft needed to patch CVE-2025-21370 VBS enclaves native elevation of privilege (LPE) vulnerability again in January. On the subject of reminiscence security, Microsoft additionally started integrating Rust within the Home windows kernel again in 2024 on Home windows 11 model 23H2.

You may view the listing of deprecated options right here on Microsoft’s official web site.