SecureBootEncodeUEFI.exe

Hello Petar,

Thank you for using our Microsoft community.

This question is out of scope for the Answers Support Community. The best place to get help is Microsoft Learn - Windows-11(microsoft.com), where is intended to support more advanced users.

I won't be able to help you, but I'll leave that question open in case one of our amazing volunteers has ideas for you.

Best Regards,

Mosken_L - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

so maybe instead of shutting down a valid question, you move the thread to the correct subforum? Surely Microsoft's forums are not so archaic that they don't have the ability to do what every other forum has been capable of for 20 some years.

I'm having the exactly same problem here! Is it a virus or something? Were you able to solve it?

Try this guide:

What I wonder is, what if these tools themselves are "patched" to make it look "not corrupt"? Could someone please share the md5 of their SecureBootEncodeUEFI.exe? My Windows edition is 11 Pro for Workstations, but I doubt this file changes over versions or editions...

If SecureBootEncodeUEFI is missing or infected by malware, the following errors might appear:

• SecureBootEncodeUEFI.exe (Not Responding)

• SecureBootEncodeUEFI.exe is missing

• SecureBootEncodeUEFI.exe popping up on Command Prompt

If your computer’s SecureBootEncodeUEFI.exe executable behaves considerably differently, it may be feasible to repair it. Following the tutorial below will enable you to repair the problematic executable software and restore your computer’s regular operation.

How to Fix Infected SecureBootEncodeUEFI.exe - SecuredStatus

Inside C:\Windows\System32\SecureBootUpdates\ there are a few files containing certificates that appear to be used to validate Microsoft and third-party system components. One of these, for "Microsoft Windows", has been updated recently (it seems to have a one-year validity). Several of the files are - on my system - dated March 2023, as is SecureBootEncodeUEFI.exe

I suspect the encoding tool writes the new certificate into the UEFI which enables updating protection of Secure Boot. It might be set to do this "when convenient" or during a background security update (I read somewhere that it occurs if you run the regular maintenance under "Security and Maintenance" in Windows 11). It could allow a future update, for example, since new binaries will be signed with the latest key.

There has been a recent hack of MSI which could be related to this (some certificates might need to be added to a revocation list), although it could just as easily be a regular key rotation. There is a document "Micorosft guidance for applying Secure Boot DBX update (KB4575994)" that mentions the need for revocation updates.

The executable references SeSetEnvironmentPrivilege, suggesting it's intended to modify non-volatile firmware variables. This can be used for defining boot options on some platforms (this doesn't relate to Windows environment variables), and on most PCs it is used to set the Last Known Good Configuration (which has to be updated a certain amount of time after boot to ensure that the boot is successful - at least 120 seconds). It's also required by components that are part of the Windows upgrade process.

The bit that strikes me as not great is that this executable does not have an embedded digital signature. But it's far from the only executable like that in System32. Microsoft might have central lists of valid file hashes for components instead.

Hello! I recently started having the same nonsense. A window pops up exactly every 4 minutes, but only in case of computer idle. I armed myself with the original Microsoft utility - "Process Monitor" and a timer. Counting down 4 minutes and as scheduled, SecureBootEncodeUEFI.exe launches a command, invoking 1073 procedures (at least). It reads a lot of files, writes something, makes changes to the registry. Along with it, Conhost.exe also gets involved in executing its tasks. I will also note that in case of Process Monitor activation, there's not a big chance to catch SecureBootEncodeUEFI red-handed. It either stops appearing at all, or appears once getting under monitoring and doesn't pop up anymore. But as soon as you start working on the PC, as soon as you leave it, exactly after 4 and every 4 minutes, this window flashes until you try to catch it again. Its behavior is very annoying and suggests the execution of malicious code. Fortunately, in my case, this only happens on an empty laptop, used as an RDP client. I tried to identify the culprit out of interest. And there he was caught. Since the system integrity on the laptop is not important, I came to it at the address C:\Windows\System32, changed the owner to myself, gave myself full rights to it, and arrested it by placing it in an archive. The legality of its actions is completely unclear, whether it is infected or not, but it was not necessary to bother me with hide and seek. I recorded its actions, saving the entire list to a file. Since it does not have a digital signature, it is inclined to consider the file as spoofed. However, no viruses were found in the system and the laptop is not used at all except as a terminal client.

Win10 21H2 (19044.2965)

Screenshot of the start of the event:

I don't have official hashes from MS, but my own Windows 10 system had the following hashes for `C:\Windows\System32\SecureBootEncodeUEFI.exe`:

```
$ md5sum SecureBootEncodeUEFI.exe

5590b16ad20b138973ef92af619c7140

$ sha1sum SecureBootEncodeUEFI.exe

3997de40bd6933a981613328a24abb04e0c1e0ed
```

Modify date: 5/12/2023 (i.e., May 2023). This file has been popping up for me as well.
See this VirusTotal entry for additional details.