Skip to main content

Microsoft Security Advisory: Azure VMs with Trusted Launch

Microsoft has advised restarting all virtual machines (VMs) with Trusted Launch enabled to apply a recent security update Microsoft deployed. These security updates are required to mitigate the vulnerabilities disclosed by the Trusted Computer Group under:

VMs that have not been restarted or newly deployed after 6 August 2026 are still susceptible to these vulnerabilities.

We highly recommend customers restart their VMs as soon as operationally feasible to protect your resources against these vulnerabilities. Auto-updates will not automatically apply this update due to the need to restart your VMs.

Note: Only VMs which have not been restarted or newly deployed after 6 August 2026, are required to be restarted. Additionally, VM redeployment, recreation, and application or configuration changes are not required.

Action required

Customers with affected Trusted Launch VMs must complete the following steps:

  1. Identify VMs with Trusted Launch configured.
  2. Coordinate restart operations being completed as soon as possible.
  3. Perform restart operations on applicable VMs to apply the latest security update.

Customers may use their preferred management method, including the Azure portal, Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, REST API, or in-guest operating system restart procedures.

Resources

Restarting a Virtual Machine on Azure:

1. Azure CLI - az vm restart

  • Azure CLI command reference for az vm restart, including --force and --no-wait flags for restarting a VM from the command line
  • Example Command: az vm restart --resource-group < ResourceGroup > --name < VMName > --force force-restart a non-responsive VM. --no-wait return immediately without waiting

2. Azure PowerShell - Restart-AzVM

  • PowerShell cmdlet reference for restarting a VM by resource group and name, with parameters and examples.
  • Example Command: Restart-AzVM -ResourceGroupName "< ResourceGroup >" -Name "< VMName >"

3. REST API - Virtual Machines - Restart

  • REST endpoint (POST …/restart) to trigger a control-plane restart programmatically; useful for automation and integrations.
  • Example Command: POST https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/{subId}/resourceGroups/{rg}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/{vmName}/restart?api-version=2024-03-01 Authorization: Bearer < token >

4. Azure Portal Home

  • Virtual machines > select the VM > Overview toolbar > Restart, then confirm

5. Guest OS (from inside the VM)

  • Windows: Restart-Computer (or) shutdown /r /t 0
  • Linux: sudo reboot (or) sudo shutdown -r now