BSOD 111 (VSL_INITIALIZATION_FAILED): causes and diagnosis

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: Virtual Secure Mode / secure-kernel related initialization failed during startup.

Could be also:
Constant	Type	OS
ERROR_BUFFER_OVERFLOW	Win32 error	Windows
ECONNREFUSED	errno	Linux
EIDRM	errno	Windows
SESSION3_INITIALIZATION_FAILED	BugCheck Code	Windows

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SESSION3_INITIALIZATION_FAILED	SESSION4_INITIALIZATION_FAILED

VSL_INITIALIZATION_FAILED

VSL secure environment initialization failure for VSL_INITIALIZATION_FAILED

VSL_INITIALIZATION_FAILED is bug check code 0x0000006F. VSL refers to the Virtual Secure Level infrastructure used by virtualization-based security. This bug check points at early secure environment initialization rather than a normal driver load failure.

How to read it in a dump

Check whether VBS, Credential Guard, HVCI, Secure Boot, or hypervisor settings changed.
Firmware virtualization features and the Windows hypervisor path can be central evidence.
The stack and nested status decide whether the issue is firmware, policy, secure kernel, or image integrity.

What to check

Check UEFI Secure Boot, TPM, virtualization extensions, VBS policy, and recent hypervisor/security updates.
Compare with SECURE_BOOT_VIOLATION or HYPERVISOR_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT if present.
Verify that platform firmware and boot components are compatible with enabled security features.

References

Dump evidence

Preserve the complete dump, the four bug-check parameters, the exact Windows build, loaded-module list, and the event timeline immediately before the stop. AllStat summarizes the condition as “this result”; that sentence identifies the failure class, while the parameters and stack determine which object, driver, processor, or subsystem instance was involved.

Analysis order

Run WinDbg !analyze -v, then inspect the documented meaning of each parameter instead of relying only on the probably-caused-by line.
find the earliest abnormal event: driver update, firmware change, device reset, storage error, verifier report, resource exhaustion, or application hang connected with vsl / initialization.
keep third-party filter, security, storage, graphics, and virtualization drivers in the module inventory; removing evidence before dump analysis can obscure the responsible path.

Do not repeatedly reboot a machine affected by this result before collecting the dump and event logs. Recovery actions should follow the component identified by the stack and parameters, not merely the symbolic stop-code name.

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