Windows 11 PCs Fail to Shut Down After January Security Update

Microsoft’s January 13, 2026 update (KB5073455) for Windows 11 23H2 causes systems with Secure Launch enabled (Enterprise and IoT editions) to fail to shut down or hibernate and instead restart, due to interference with Secure Launch (a VBS/System Guard feature). Microsoft confirmed the issue, provided a temporary command-line shutdown workaround, recommended disabling Secure Launch as a last-resort mitigation (reducing boot integrity), and indicated a permanent fix will arrive in a future update; the regression raises operational and exposure risks for security-hardened enterprise environments.