How to Fix KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE BSOD (0x00000139)

By ErrorFix · Updated October 15, 2026 · 9 min read

What error 0x00000139 means

Windows keeps critical internal records — lists of running processes, driver objects, memory allocations — and guards them closely. When the kernel finds one of these records damaged, for example a list entry that no longer points where it should, it stops the whole system with KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE (stop code 0x00000139) rather than risk writing garbage into your files. The name sounds like a security product alert, but it is not about a virus scan failing: it means the kernel's own bookkeeping was found broken.

In the vast majority of real-world cases, the culprit is a driver — old, buggy, corrupted, or simply incompatible with your Windows build — that wrote into memory it didn't own and damaged one of those structures. That is why this blue screen so often appears right after a driver update, a Windows feature update, or installing new hardware or its utility software. Less common causes include malware (especially rootkits), damaged Windows system files, failing RAM, bad disk sectors, and unstable BIOS-level overclocking. The fix order below follows that ranking: newest change first, drivers second, system files and malware third, hardware last.

Common causes

• A recently updated or buggy driver: graphics, chipset, storage, or antivirus drivers that corrupt kernel lists — the top cause by far.
• Kernel-level software conflicts: third-party antivirus, VPN clients, virtualization tools, and game anti-cheat drivers all run deep inside the kernel.
• Corrupted Windows system files: damaged core files after a failed update or a hard shutdown.
• Malware or rootkits: malicious code that hooks into the kernel leaves behind the same corrupted structures.
• Failing RAM or a damaged drive: bad memory cells or disk sectors that corrupt the data the kernel is guarding.

How to fix error 0x00000139 — step by step

Work through these fixes in order. Step 1 fixes the most common scenario in minutes; the later steps cover the stubborn cases.

1. Undo the most recent change first. This blue screen very often starts right after something changed on the PC: a driver update, a Windows update, a new antivirus, a game overlay, or a new piece of hardware. Think about what happened in the last few days. If you can boot normally, press Win + I, go to Apps > Installed apps, sort by install date, and uninstall anything added just before the crashes began. If a Windows update arrived at the same time, go to Settings > Windows Update > Update history > Uninstall updates and remove the most recent one. A freshly installed or updated driver is the single most common cause of 0x00000139, and removing it is the fastest possible fix — try this before anything else.
2. Boot into Safe Mode to confirm a driver is the cause. If the PC crashes too fast to work normally, interrupt the boot process three times in a row (hold the power button during the Windows logo) to reach the Recovery screen. Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart, then press 4 for Safe Mode (press 5 for Safe Mode with Networking if you need to download drivers). Safe Mode loads only Microsoft's own drivers, so if the PC is stable here, the crash is being caused by a third-party driver or program rather than Windows itself or your hardware. Use that stability to work through the remaining steps.
3. Update or roll back your drivers from the real sources. Press Win + X and open Device Manager. If the crashes started right after a driver update, find that device, right-click it, open Properties, go to the Driver tab, and click Roll Back Driver. Otherwise update the big three from your PC or motherboard maker's support page — chipset, graphics, and storage controller — rather than relying on Windows Update's generic versions. While you are in Device Manager, look for any device with a yellow warning triangle, which marks hardware Windows itself is already unhappy with. Corrupting drivers in this bug check are usually old, buggy, or incompatible versions, so manufacturer-fresh drivers matter here.
4. Run Driver Verifier to catch the corrupting driver — carefully. Microsoft built Driver Verifier specifically for this kind of crash: it stress-tests drivers so the guilty one fails loudly and gets named in the next dump. Before you touch it, create a restore point (search "Create a restore point" in the Start menu and click Create). Then press Win + R, type verifier.exe, choose "Create standard settings," and select the driver you suspect — or "Automatically select all drivers installed on this computer" if you have no suspect. Restart and use the PC normally. Warning: Verifier can make a bad driver crash the PC on boot, which is the point — if you get stuck in a crash loop, boot into Safe Mode and run verifier /reset from an admin command prompt to turn it off, then roll back or uninstall the driver named in the crash dump. This is a diagnostic tool, not a permanent setting: reset it when you are done.
5. Repair Windows system files with SFC and DISM. If no single driver is obviously guilty, the corruption may sit in Windows itself. Open an admin Terminal (right-click Start > Terminal (Admin)). Run sfc /scannow first and let it finish — it checks and repairs protected Windows files. Then run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, which repairs the component store that SFC depends on. If SFC found corruption it couldn't fix, run SFC once more after DISM finishes. Restart and see whether the crashes stop. These two commands fix the "Windows files quietly damaged by a failed update or hard shutdown" version of this error.
6. Scan for malware and rootkits, and drop third-party antivirus temporarily. Corrupted kernel data structures are also exactly what a rootkit leaves behind, and over-aggressive third-party antivirus drivers are repeat offenders for 0x00000139. First, run a deep scan with Windows Security (Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options > Microsoft Defender Offline scan > Scan now) — the offline scan runs before Windows loads, so it can catch malware that hides once the system is running. Then, if you run a third-party antivirus, uninstall it temporarily and switch on Windows' built-in protection. If the blue screens stop, that product's driver was the problem — reinstall it from a fresh download or switch products rather than going without protection.
7. Test the RAM and the drive, then update the BIOS. Software causes are more common, but failing hardware corrupts kernel structures too. Press Win + R, type mdsched.exe, and choose "Restart now and check for problems" — any reported error means a memory stick needs replacing. Then open an admin Terminal and run chkdsk C: /f /r, type Y, and restart so the scan runs before Windows loads, catching bad sectors that can corrupt kernel data. Finally, check your PC or motherboard maker's support page for a BIOS/UEFI update: newer firmware fixes hardware-compatibility bugs that can trigger this exact bug check on newer CPUs and memory kits. Don't update the BIOS during a storm or on a dying battery — an interrupted BIOS flash is worse than the blue screen.

Did this fix it? Quick checklist

• The most recent driver, update, or program was removed or rolled back
• Driver Verifier ran clean after being reset — or named and removed the bad driver
• SFC and DISM completed with no unrepairable corruption
• Memory Diagnostic and CHKDSK reported zero errors, and Defender Offline found nothing

If crashes continue after all seven steps, the crash dump has the answer. Open C:\Windows\Minidump, note the newest .dmp file, and open it with WinDbg (free from the Microsoft Store) — the "Probably caused by" line usually names the driver directly. Update the BIOS if you haven't yet, and as a last resort back up your files and use Settings > System > Recovery > Reset this PC (choose "Keep my files" first). A fresh Windows that still crashes with 0x00000139 points at hardware — RAM first, motherboard second.