More secure: Windows 10 will block installation of uncertified drivers

With the October 2020 Patch Tuesday cumulative updates, Microsoft has made a change that aims to strengthen Windows’ validation of driver software. This change was introduced to prevent malware from exploiting hardware drivers to compromise Windows 10 devices.

As part of these new security improvements, Microsoft says Windows 10 will prevent users from installing OEM or manufacturer drivers if Windows can't verify the software publisher.

While the new driver verification mode is important for security, the change could lead to driver errors in Windows 10 if Microsoft is unable to verify the driver.

When validation fails, users of all supported versions of Windows 10 may see two driver error messages. The first error message reads "Windows cannot verify the publisher of this driver software" and the second error message reads "No signature was found in the subject."

Both of these error messages mean that Windows found a malformed catalog file during driver verification and the driver installation will fail.

If you get the above two errors when installing a driver from the OEM or driver manufacturer's website, Microsoft says you need to contact the manufacturer and ask them to upload a driver with appropriate fixes.

Users are likely to encounter these issues only when applying older driver updates. New drivers released by Intel, AMD or Nvidia are already compatible with Windows 10's new verification model.

It’s also worth mentioning that Microsoft is working on some improvements to stop drivers from breaking the installation of Windows 10. For example, Microsoft now allows hardware partners (Dell, HP, Intel, etc.) to request Windows 10 feature upgrade blocks when driver compatibility issues are discovered during testing.

Similarly, Microsoft is exploring new machine learning techniques to reduce compatibility issues caused by driver updates on Windows 10.