By enforcing Secure Boot, Vanguard ensures that the operating system bootloader has not been tampered with. If a bootkit attempts to inject code during the boot process, the UEFI firmware will detect the invalid signature and halt the boot process or refuse to load the compromised driver.
To close this vulnerability, Riot made a radical decision: This is not a mere suggestion; if Secure Boot is off, Vanguard will refuse to launch, and Valorant will not run.
The integration of Secure Boot into Valorant’s ecosystem is part of Riot Games’ aggressive stance against cheating. By leveraging hardware-level security, Riot’s proprietary anti-cheat system, Vanguard, can ensure that the operating system has not been compromised by low-level malware or "kernel-level" cheats before the game even launches. Why Valorant Requires Secure Boot secure boot valorant
The requirement for Secure Boot in Valorant is a technically sound defensive measure against the rising sophistication of kernel-level cheats and bootkits. It closes a critical vulnerability window where cheats could load before the anti-cheat software and disable it.
Secure Boot is a security standard developed by the UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) Consortium. It is designed to ensure that a PC boots using only software that is trusted by the PC’s original equipment manufacturer (OEM). In essence, Secure Boot creates a —a chain of cryptographic verification that starts the moment you press the power button. By enforcing Secure Boot, Vanguard ensures that the
Secure Boot requires your system to be in UEFI mode rather than "Legacy" or "CSM" mode. How to Enable Secure Boot (By Brand)
Before diving into your BIOS settings, you should verify if Secure Boot is already active: Press the to open the Run box. Type msinfo32 and press Enter to open System Information . The integration of Secure Boot into Valorant’s ecosystem
When Riot Games launched Valorant, they introduced Vanguard, an anti-cheat client that runs at the kernel level (Ring 0). This allows the software to see everything happening on your system, preventing cheats that try to hide underneath the operating system.
