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02/25/2025	Configure Credential Guard	Learn how to configure Credential Guard using MDM, Group Policy, or the registry.	how-to

Configure Credential Guard

This article describes how to configure Credential Guard using Microsoft Intune, Group Policy, or the registry.

Default enablement

Starting in Windows 11, 22H2 and Windows Server 2025, Credential Guard is enabled by default on devices which meet the requirements.

System administrators can explicitly enable or disable Credential Guard using one of the methods described in this article. Explicitly configured values overwrite the default enablement state after a reboot.

If a device has Credential Guard explicitly turned off before updating to a newer version of Windows where Credential Guard is enabled by default, it will remain disabled even after the update.

Important

For information about known issues related to default enablement, see Credential Guard: known issues.

Enable Credential Guard

Credential Guard should be enabled before a device is joined to a domain or before a domain user signs in for the first time. If Credential Guard is enabled after domain join, the user and device secrets may already be compromised.

To enable Credential Guard, you can use:

Microsoft Intune/MDM
Group policy
Registry

[!INCLUDE tab-intro]

:::image type="icon" source="../../images/icons/intune.svg" border="false"::: Intune/CSP

Configure Credential Guard with Intune

[!INCLUDE intune-settings-catalog-1]

Category	Setting name	Value
Device Guard	Credential Guard	Select one of the options: - Enabled with UEFI lock - Enabled without lock

Important

If you want to be able to turn off Credential Guard remotely, choose the option Enabled without lock.

[!INCLUDE intune-settings-catalog-2]

Tip

You can also configure Credential Guard by using an account protection profile in endpoint security. For more information, see Account protection policy settings for endpoint security in Microsoft Intune.

Alternatively, you can configure devices using a custom policy with the DeviceGuard Policy CSP.

Setting
Setting name: Turn On Virtualization Based Security OMA-URI: `./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/DeviceGuard/EnableVirtualizationBasedSecurity` Data type: int Value: `1`
Setting name: Credential Guard Configuration OMA-URI: `./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/DeviceGuard/LsaCfgFlags` Data type: int Value: Enabled with UEFI lock: `1` Enabled without lock: `2`

Once the policy is applied, restart the device.

:::image type="icon" source="../../images/icons/group-policy.svg" border="false"::: GPO

Configure Credential Guard with group policy

[!INCLUDE gpo-settings-1]

Group policy path	Group policy setting	Value
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Device Guard	Turn On Virtualization Based Security	Enabled and select one of the options listed under the Credential Guard Configuration dropdown: - Enabled with UEFI lock - Enabled without lock

Important

If you want to be able to turn off Credential Guard remotely, choose the option Enabled without lock.

[!INCLUDE gpo-settings-2]

Once the policy is applied, restart the device.

:::image type="icon" source="../../images/icons/registry.svg" border="false"::: Registry

Configure Credential Guard with registry settings

To configure devices using the registry, use the following settings:

Setting
Key path: `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard` Key name: `EnableVirtualizationBasedSecurity` Type: `REG_DWORD` Value: `1` (to enable Virtualization Based Security)
Key path: `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard` Key name: `RequirePlatformSecurityFeatures` Type: `REG_DWORD` Value: `1` (to use Secure Boot) `3` (to use Secure Boot and DMA protection)
Key path: `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa` Key name: `LsaCfgFlags` Type: `REG_DWORD` Value: `1` (to enable Credential Guard with UEFI lock) `2` (to enable Credential Guard without lock)

Restart the device to apply the change.

Tip

You can enable Credential Guard by setting the registry entries in the FirstLogonCommands unattend setting.

Verify if Credential Guard is enabled

Checking Task Manager if LsaIso.exe is running isn't a recommended method for determining whether Credential Guard is running. Instead, use one of the following methods:

System Information
PowerShell
Event Viewer

System Information

You can use System Information to determine whether Credential Guard is running on a device.

Select Start, type msinfo32.exe, and then select System Information
Select System Summary
Confirm that Credential Guard is shown next to Virtualization-based Security Services Running

PowerShell

You can use PowerShell to determine whether Credential Guard is running on a device. From an elevated PowerShell session, use the following command:

(Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_DeviceGuard -Namespace root\Microsoft\Windows\DeviceGuard).SecurityServicesRunning

The command generates the following output:

0: Credential Guard is disabled (not running)
1: Credential Guard is enabled (running)

Event viewer

Perform regular reviews of the devices that have Credential Guard enabled, using security audit policies or WMI queries.
Open the Event Viewer (eventvwr.exe) and go to Windows Logs\System and filter the event sources for WinInit:

:::row::: :::column span="1"::: Event ID :::column-end::: :::column span="3"::: Description :::column-end::: :::row-end::: :::row::: :::column span="1"::: 13 (Information) :::column-end::: :::column span="3":::

Credential Guard (LsaIso.exe) was started and will protect LSA credentials.

:::column-end::: :::row-end::: :::row::: :::column span="1"::: 14 (Information) :::column-end::: :::column span="3":::

Credential Guard (LsaIso.exe) configuration: [**0x0** | **0x1** | **0x2**], **0**

The first variable: 0x1 or 0x2 means that Credential Guard is configured to run. 0x0 means that it's not configured to run.
The second variable: 0 means that it's configured to run in protect mode. 1 means that it's configured to run in test mode. This variable should always be 0. :::column-end::: :::row-end::: :::row::: :::column span="1"::: 15 (Warning) :::column-end::: :::column span="3":::

Credential Guard (LsaIso.exe) is configured but the secure kernel isn't running;
continuing without Credential Guard.

:::column-end::: :::row-end::: :::row::: :::column span="1"::: 16 (Warning) :::column-end::: :::column span="3":::

Credential Guard (LsaIso.exe) failed to launch: [error code]

:::column-end::: :::row-end::: :::row::: :::column span="1"::: 17 :::column-end::: :::column span="3":::

Error reading Credential Guard (LsaIso.exe) UEFI configuration: [error code]

:::column-end::: :::row-end:::

The following event indicates whether TPM is used for key protection. Path: Applications and Services logs > Microsoft > Windows > Kernel-Boot

:::row::: :::column span="1"::: Event ID :::column-end::: :::column span="3"::: Description :::column-end::: :::row-end::: :::row::: :::column span="1"::: 51 (Information) :::column-end::: :::column span="3":::

VSM Master Encryption Key Provisioning. Using cached copy status: 0x0. Unsealing cached copy status: 0x1. New key generation status: 0x1. Sealing status: 0x1. TPM PCR mask: 0x0.

:::column-end::: :::row-end:::

The TPM PCR mask is only relevant when SRTM is used. If the cached Copy status is 1, SRTM was not used - typically indicating DRTM is in use - and the PCR mask should be ignored.

Disable Credential Guard

There are different options to disable Credential Guard. The option you choose depends on how Credential Guard is configured:

Credential Guard running in a virtual machine can be disabled by the host
If Credential Guard is enabled with UEFI Lock, follow the procedure described in disable Credential Guard with UEFI Lock
If Credential Guard is enabled without UEFI Lock, or as part of the default enablement update, use one of the following options to disable it:
- Microsoft Intune/MDM
- Group policy
- Registry

[!INCLUDE tab-intro]

:::image type="icon" source="../../images/icons/intune.svg" border="false"::: Intune/CSP

Disable Credential Guard with Intune

If Credential Guard is enabled via Intune and without UEFI Lock, disabling the same policy setting disables Credential Guard.

[!INCLUDE intune-settings-catalog-1]

Category	Setting name	Value
Device Guard	Credential Guard	Disabled

[!INCLUDE intune-settings-catalog-2]

Alternatively, you can configure devices using a custom policy with the DeviceGuard Policy CSP.

Setting
Setting name: Credential Guard Configuration OMA-URI: `./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/DeviceGuard/LsaCfgFlags` Data type: int Value: `0`

Once the policy is applied, restart the device.

:::image type="icon" source="../../images/icons/group-policy.svg" border="false"::: GPO

Disable Credential Guard with group policy

If Credential Guard is enabled via Group Policy and without UEFI Lock, disabling the same group policy setting disables Credential Guard.

[!INCLUDE gpo-settings-1]

Group policy path	Group policy setting	Value
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Device Guard	Turn On Virtualization Based Security	Disabled

[!INCLUDE gpo-settings-2]

Once the policy is applied, restart the device.

:::image type="icon" source="../../images/icons/registry.svg" border="false"::: Registry

Disable Credential Guard with registry settings

If Credential Guard is enabled without UEFI Lock and without Group Policy, it's sufficient to edit the registry keys to disable it.

Setting
Key path: `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa` Key name: `LsaCfgFlags` Type: `REG_DWORD` Value: `0`
Key path: `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DeviceGuard` Key name: `LsaCfgFlags` Type: `REG_DWORD` Value: `0`

Note

Deleting these registry settings may not disable Credential Guard. They must be set to a value of 0.

Restart the device to apply the change.

For information on disabling Virtualization-based Security (VBS), see disable Virtualization-based Security.

Disable Credential Guard with UEFI lock

If Credential Guard is enabled with UEFI lock, follow this procedure since the settings are persisted in EFI (firmware) variables.

Note

This scenario requires physical presence at the machine to press a function key to accept the change.

Follow the steps in Disable Credential Guard

Delete the Credential Guard EFI variables by using bcdedit. From an elevated command prompt, type the following commands:

mountvol X: /s
copy %WINDIR%\System32\SecConfig.efi X:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\SecConfig.efi /Y
bcdedit /create {0cb3b571-2f2e-4343-a879-d86a476d7215} /d "DebugTool" /application osloader
bcdedit /set {0cb3b571-2f2e-4343-a879-d86a476d7215} path "\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\SecConfig.efi"
bcdedit /set {bootmgr} bootsequence {0cb3b571-2f2e-4343-a879-d86a476d7215}
bcdedit /set {0cb3b571-2f2e-4343-a879-d86a476d7215} loadoptions DISABLE-LSA-ISO
bcdedit /set {0cb3b571-2f2e-4343-a879-d86a476d7215} device partition=X:
mountvol X: /d

Restart the device. Before the OS boots, a prompt appears notifying that UEFI was modified, and asking for confirmation. The prompt must be confirmed for the changes to persist.

Disable Credential Guard for a virtual machine

From the host, you can disable Credential Guard for a virtual machine with the following command:

Set-VMSecurity -VMName <VMName> -VirtualizationBasedSecurityOptOut $true

Disable Virtualization-based Security

If you disable Virtualization-based Security (VBS), you'll automatically disable Credential Guard and other features that rely on VBS.

Important

Other security features beside Credential Guard rely on VBS. Disabling VBS may have unintended side effects.

Use one of the following options to disable VBS:

Microsoft Intune/MDM
Group policy
Registry

[!INCLUDE tab-intro]

:::image type="icon" source="../../images/icons/intune.svg" border="false"::: Intune/CSP

Disable VBS with Intune

If VBS is enabled via Intune and without UEFI Lock, disabling the same policy setting disables VBS.

[!INCLUDE intune-settings-catalog-1]

Category	Setting name	Value
Device Guard	Enable Virtualization Based Security	Disabled

[!INCLUDE intune-settings-catalog-2]

Alternatively, you can configure devices using a custom policy with the DeviceGuard Policy CSP.

Setting
Setting name: Turn On Virtualization Based Security OMA-URI: `./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/DeviceGuard/EnableVirtualizationBasedSecurity` Data type: int Value: `0`

Once the policy is applied, restart the device.

:::image type="icon" source="../../images/icons/group-policy.svg" border="false"::: GPO

Disable VBS with group policy

Configure the policy used to enable VBS to Disabled.

[!INCLUDE gpo-settings-1]

Group policy path	Group policy setting	Value
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Device Guard\Turn on Virtualization Based Security	Turn On Virtualization Based Security	Disabled

[!INCLUDE gpo-settings-2]

Once the policy is applied, restart the device

:::image type="icon" source="../../images/icons/registry.svg" border="false"::: Registry

Disable VBS with registry settings

Delete the following registry keys:

Setting
Key path: `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard` Key name: `EnableVirtualizationBasedSecurity`
Key path: `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard` Key name: `RequirePlatformSecurityFeatures`

Important

If you manually remove the registry settings, make sure to delete them all, otherwise the device might go into BitLocker recovery.

Restart the device to apply the change.

If Credential Guard is enabled with UEFI Lock, the EFI variables stored in firmware must be cleared using the command bcdedit.exe. From an elevated command prompt, run the following commands:

bcdedit /set {0cb3b571-2f2e-4343-a879-d86a476d7215} loadoptions DISABLE-LSA-ISO,DISABLE-VBS
bcdedit /set vsmlaunchtype off

Next steps

Review the advice and sample code for making your environment more secure and robust with Credential Guard in the Additional mitigations article
Review considerations and known issues when using Credential Guard

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Configure Credential Guard

Default enablement

Enable Credential Guard

Configure Credential Guard with Intune

Configure Credential Guard with group policy

Configure Credential Guard with registry settings

Verify if Credential Guard is enabled

System Information

PowerShell

Event viewer

Disable Credential Guard

Disable Credential Guard with Intune

Disable Credential Guard with group policy

Disable Credential Guard with registry settings

Disable Credential Guard with UEFI lock

Disable Credential Guard for a virtual machine

Disable Virtualization-based Security

Disable VBS with Intune

Disable VBS with group policy

Disable VBS with registry settings

Next steps

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