Microsoft confirms recent Defender LSA issue on Windows 11, issues workaround

Earlier today, we published an article regarding an old, persistent issue that keeps annoying Windows 11 users. The bug shows "Standard hardware security not supported" even on systems that are fully compatible with Windows 11.

This isn't the only such Security app bug that has been bothering Windows users though. Microsoft has confirmed that a recent Defender update (KB5007651, version 1.0.2302.21002), released via Patch Tuesday, is broken and it displays a wrong message saying "Local Security protection is off" which persistently prompts users to restart the device. However, upon restarting, no matter the number of times, the same message persists.

Microsoft has explained the issue on its health dashboard, and has also provided a way to verify if Local Security Authority (LSA) protection is enabled or not in the Workaround section.

After installing "Update for Microsoft Defender Antivirus antimalware platform - KB5007651 (Version 1.0.2302.21002)", you might receive a security notification or warning stating that "Local Security protection is off. Your device may be vulnerable." and once protections are enabled, your Windows device might persistently prompt that a restart is required. Important: This issue affects only "Update for Microsoft Defender Antivirus antimalware platform - KB5007651 (Version 1.0.2302.21002)". All other Windows updates released on March 14, 2023 for affected platforms (KB5023706 and KB5023698), do not cause this issue.

Workaround: If you have enabled Local Security Authority (LSA) protection and have restarted your device at least once, you can dismiss warning notifications and ignore any additional notifications prompting for a restart. You can verify that LSA protection is enabled by looking in Event Viewer using the information available here. Important: Currently, we do not recommend any other workaround for this issue.

You may find more details on Microsoft's support article here.