Secure Boot is not the problem. Javelin is.

[Karhaa]

EA is handling this entire situation like garbage, and Im not sure if they're intentionally being vague, which is leading people to be completely misunderstood about what secure boot and TPM 2.0, or what, but these two security features are not the problem, and stop thinking they are.

Javelin is the problem. With this piece of software, it completely undermines the entire security philosophy both secure boot and TPM 2.0 try to emphasize and enforce.

Moreover, they're two fundamental security features that you should be enabling anyway. Running without them is worse than installing a dangerous piece of software like Javelin, which is by design, a root kit.

Lets move forward and define a few things...

Ring levels are a way to describe privilege levels in computer systems, especially in CPUs like x86. They control how much access code has to system resources:

Ring 0 – Kernel Mode: Full access to everything hardware, memory, drivers, etc. This is where the OS kernel and things like Javelin run. If something here is compromised, your whole system is at risk. If a piece of software whats to "do" something, it can just do it without permission, without you knowing. This level of system authorization is well beyond the control of what you have, as the administrator.

Ring 3 – User Mode: Restricted access. This is where normal applications run (like games, browsers, etc.). They must request permission from Ring 0 to do sensitive operations.

There are technically Ring 1 and Ring 2, but they're not related to our conversation. Just know, Ring 0 (privileged) and Ring 3 (unprivileged).

So when people say “Ring 0 access,” they mean code or software is running with the highest level of power and control over your entire system.

btw.... Javelin, EA's anti cheat, is ring 0.

What is TPM 2.0?
The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 is a physical or firmware-based security chip built into most modern systems. And is a requirement for windows 11. It’s designed to store cryptographic keys, perform hardware-backed integrity checks, and verify the trustworthiness of the boot process through attestation. It’s not a live malware scanner or anti-cheat engine. Its role is passive it ensures your system boots with unmodified, trusted components and can help with full disk encryption (like BitLocker). EA’s vague references to TPM imply some kind of active cheat detection, which isn’t what TPM is built for.

What is Secure Boot?
Secure Boot is a firmware security feature (part of UEFI) that ensures only signed, trusted bootloaders and operating system components are allowed to run during the system startup. Its job ends once the OS is loaded. It prevents rootkits and bootkits from injecting malicious code during and into the Windows boot process but it has zero oversight over what runs after Windows starts. Once the system is fully booted, any kernel-mode software (like Javelin) operates outside the scope of Secure Boot’s protections.

What is a Rootkit?
A rootkit is a type of software, often malicious, that hides its presence and operates at the deepest levels of the OS, frequently in the kernel (Ring 0). It can manipulate system behavior, intercept processes, and potentially hide from user-mode monitoring tools. The reason people compare kernel-mode anti-cheat drivers like Javelin to rootkits is because they functionally behave like one, even if the intent isn’t malicious. They load silently at the same privilege level, can monitor or alter system processes, and pose the same systemic risk if exploited.

So lets go over what EA said.

1. “Requiring Secure Boot provides us with features that we can leverage against cheats that attempt to infiltrate during the Windows boot process.”

No.... Secure Boot is designed to protect the OS from tampering at boot not to give applications additional anti-cheat capabilities. Once Windows is fully booted and the kernel is loaded, a kernel-mode driver (like Javelin) bypasses Secure Boot’s protections by design.

The moment Javelin is running in Ring 0, any exploit, bug, or flaw, in it can directly compromise the same Secure Boot protected environment EA claims to be securing. That’s not “leveraging” Secure Boot it’s undermining it completely.

2. “It also lets the Battlefield Positive Play team use its own features and related dependent security features like TPM… to combat cheating.”

TPM 2.0 can be used for things like attestation and encryption, but EA doesn’t explain what specific TPM-based anti-cheat methods they’re using because there aren’t any well-documented, off-the-shelf methods for live cheat detection via TPM.

This sounds like TPM is actively scanning for cheats. In truth, TPM’s role is passive it can store keys and provide hardware-backed integrity checks, but kernel-level cheats can still bypass game code after the OS is running.

3. The list of “relevant” threats:
Kernel-Level Cheats and Rootkits

Irony alert... Javelin itself is a kernel-level driver. If EA can load theirs, so can an attacker with sufficient privilege escalation. This is a double-edged sword.

Memory Manipulation and Injection

This is already mitigated by user-mode anti-cheats in many cases. Running at kernel level anti cheat doesn’t magically block all memory edits, skilled cheat developers can still operate at kernel level or bypass detection entirely. Normally by running, and using the cheats on a second system, then piping it into the main PC.

Spoofing and Hardware ID Manipulation

Secure Boot doesn’t stop hardware spoofing. At best, EA can tie some hardware IDs to a TPM keys, but this is trivial to bypass for determined attackers.

Virtual Machines and Emulation

Secure Boot can make VM-based attacks slightly harder, but it’s not a silver bullet. And again, this is unrelated to Javelin’s core risks it’s more about Windows configuration.

Tampering with Anticheat Systems

The biggest vulnerability here is that Javelin itself can be tampered with if an exploit is found. Any “antitamper” claim is only as strong as Javelin’s own code security.

4. “Javelin has been built from the ground up by a team of veteran engineers…”

Marketing fluff. Every kernel-mode anti-cheat says this. What matters is that any bug, flaw, or vulnerability, in their kernel driver grants an attacker the highest possible privileges in Windows, which is why this completely undermines Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 requirements that EA states is so important for their Anti Cheat to work properly.

Even “veteran” teams have shipped drivers with catastrophic security flaws (see: Riot’s Vanguard, Capcom’s driver fiasco, etc.)..... **CLOUD STRIKE**

5. The Core Contradiction

EA claims to require Secure Boot and TPM to make things more secure, but the moment you install Javelin, you’re giving a third-party, non-Microsoft, non-audited piece of software the exact same privileges that Secure Boot is designed to protect from malicious code.

This is like putting a security fence around your house, then handing a stranger the keys to the front door “because they promise to guard it.”

6. The Effectiveness Myth

We already know Battlefield 6 cheats are live on day one despite these measures.

That means:

The kernel-mode driver didn’t stop all cheats.

Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 added no observable extra anti-cheat benefit.

The primary function of Javelin is not to create an uncheatable game it’s to raise the cost of cheating slightly, and make cheats harder to execute. But, this comes at the expense of your system’s security. So the only people who lose in this situation, are the legitimate players, just trying to enjoy the game.

This could have been handle client and server side, without the need for undermining customer system integrity and security. User Mode, client side anti-cheats are just as effective, especially when piggy backed with kernel level SERVER SIDE, anti cheats.

This level of Ring 0 privilege is dangerous by design, but this all circles back to the fundamental and real security nightmare this creates. What happens if there’s even a single flaw in Javelin’s code? One overlooked bug, one exploitable vulnerability, if there is even a SINGLE flaw, the entire chain of trust that Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 provided is now rendered meaningless. A compromised Javelin driver doesn’t just put your game at risk it hands an attacker the exact same authority that Windows’ most trusted components have. Or worse, we get thr cloudstrike incident 2.0 where MILLIONS of machines get obliterated.

When a Ring 0 driver fails, or crashes, it takes the entire system with it, this is whats known as BSoD. Ring 0 is a very sensitive environment, and something going catastrophically wrong isnt like your browser, game, or some other piece of software becoming unresponsive, crashing. So you close it or task manager to force it closed and start it again. No, no. When a Ring 0 driver crashes, the entire system becomes unstable, and thats when a blue screen happens. This also means Javelin has abilities like bypassing Windows Defender, circumventing driver signing enforcement (required my Microsoft for Ring 0 access), and undermining hardware-backed encryption keys stored in the TPM.

That’s the part that makes this so fundamentally backwards. The entire security philosophy of Windows 11, and the reason Microsoft made TPM 2.0, and Secure Boot mandatory, is to reduce the kernel footprint and attack surface and make hardware-level security the norm. Injecting a closed-source, third-party rootkit into Ring 0 does the opposite of that, it increases the attack surface, introduces opaque code into the most sensitive part of the OS, and erodes the very protections those hardware and firmware features were meant to enforce.

If you're enjoying Battlefield 6, I love that for you and im genuinely excited for you. It looks like an awesome game, and I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[Facemeltingsolo]

Correct. You have astroturfing and bots lying to people and telling them this is about security and it will make them more secure when you are installing a rootkit on the PC and making it much less secure. Vanguard with Valorant is the same garbage.

[Lil Sprankles]

sweet chatgpt post, bro

[Piggy]

not gonna read that but no its secure boot that's the problem. you can tell me differently but Im not gonna play this game with the secure boot bios bs....that's all. you can make up all the reasons in the world but my issue is 100% secure boot and nothing else.