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STATUS_VSM_NOT_INITIALIZED
The secure execution environment required by the request is not available
STATUS_VSM_NOT_INITIALIZED reports that Virtual Secure Mode (VSM) is not initialized. VSM is built on Hyper-V virtualization and provides isolated virtual trust levels used by Virtualization-based Security features. The status should not be simplified to “the CPU lacks virtualization”: firmware support, hypervisor launch and Windows feature configuration all affect whether the VSM environment is present.
Microsoft's VBS requirements document the platform dependencies for virtualization-based security, while the Hyper-V Top Level Functional Specification describes VSM and virtual trust levels. A machine can have virtualization-capable hardware yet still reach this status if the hypervisor or VSM configuration required by the caller is not active.
What to verify
- Whether the Hyper-V hypervisor launched for the current boot and whether VBS/VSM is configured.
- Firmware virtualization features, SLAT and other platform requirements relevant to the Windows release.
- Boot configuration and policy changes made before the status first appeared.
- The exact security feature or component requesting VSM rather than assuming all VBS features share identical requirements.
Reinstalling an ordinary device driver is not the first remedy for a missing secure execution environment. Establish hypervisor and VSM state first, then compare the target platform with the documented requirements of the feature that requested the secure service.
References
- Microsoft: Virtual Secure Mode
- Microsoft: Virtualization-based Security requirements
- Microsoft: Hyper-V hardware requirements
- Microsoft Open Specifications: NTSTATUS values
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