Audio.sys - Suspicious (58/100) - DriverShield Analysis

Analysis of Audio.sys: suspicious verdict, risk score 58/100. 2 YARA matches, 0/75 multi-engine detections. SHA256 8d19f51c8dedfac0. Kernel imports, IOCTL codes, MITRE ATT&CK, and code-signing details.

Audio.sys - Analysis Report

DriverShield analyzed the Windows kernel driver Audio.sys and assigned a verdict of Suspicious with a composite risk score of 58/100, indicating some risk signals warranting review (30-59 band).

Verdict	Suspicious (58/100)
YARA matches	2
Multi-engine detections	0 / 75
File size	138944 bytes
Code-signing signer	GlobalSign Root CA
Analyzed	2026-10-10
SHA256	8d19f51c8dedfac0009d5f0a9af09e6fa4eceb71418e1a3d07a76223db1d7a64
SHA1	906fc8aa7f9125750a17a065281ef50eefedd120
MD5	8f1c369b678150aa8a298ea6f283cd04

Driver identity

Version resource data embedded in the Audio.sys PE header, as extracted by the analysis engine.

File description	Microsoft Virtual Audio Tablet Sample Driver
Product	Windows (R) Win 7 DDK driver
Company	Windows (R) Win 7 DDK provider
Original filename	Audio.sys
Internal name	Audio.sys
File version	10.0.10011.16384
Copyright	Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp.2013

How the 58/100 score breaks down

Each component is scored 0-100 and then weighted into the composite. See the analysis methodology for the exact formula.

Component	Sub-score
Multi-engine consensus	0 / 100
YARA signature matches	80 / 100
Dangerous kernel imports	100 / 100
IOCTL dispatch surface	84 / 100
Known-vulnerable corpus	0 / 100
Code-signing state	0 / 100
Packing and entropy	0 / 100
Dynamic behaviour	0 / 100
CVE cross-reference	0 / 100

Kernel imports (24)

Kernel-mode APIs resolved from the Import Address Table of Audio.sys, ranked by exploitation relevance.

API	Risk	Why it matters
MmMapIoSpace	critical	Highly dangerous - potential for arbitrary code execution, memory corruption, or process termination
MmGetSystemRoutineAddress	high	Potentially dangerous - could be used for privilege escalation or security bypass
ZwSetValueKey	medium	Moderate risk - system modification capability
ZwCreateKey	medium	Moderate risk - system modification capability
ObReferenceObjectByHandle	medium	Moderate risk - system modification capability
ZwWriteFile	medium	Moderate risk - system modification capability
MmUnmapIoSpace	medium	Moderate risk - system modification capability
IoCreateSymbolicLink	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
ZwCreateFile	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
KeInitializeEvent	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
RtlInitUnicodeString	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
KeDelayExecutionThread	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
ZwOpenFile	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
ExAllocatePoolWithTag	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
KeWaitForSingleObject	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
IoDeleteSymbolicLink	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
IofCompleteRequest	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
ZwClose	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
ExFreePool	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
KeSetEvent	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
ZwOpenKey	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
IoCreateDevice	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
IoDeleteDevice	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
DbgPrintEx	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign

IOCTL dispatch codes (28)

Control codes reachable through the driver dispatch routine. Codes tied to published exploit code are flagged, since they are the primary Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) entry points.

Code	Severity	Transfer	Description
0x0080958B	high	METHOD_NEITHER	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #1378
0x00808E8B	high	METHOD_NEITHER	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #930
0x0080838B	high	METHOD_NEITHER	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #226
0x0080A383	high	METHOD_NEITHER	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2272
0x00808B8B	high	METHOD_NEITHER	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #738
0x0080BB83	high	METHOD_NEITHER	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #3808
0x00808F8B	high	METHOD_NEITHER	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #994
0x0080BE83	high	METHOD_NEITHER	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #4000
0x002200F0	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #60
0x00223004	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #3073
0x00800014	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #5
0x00802484	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2337
0x0022EFE8	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #3066
0x00808B89	medium	METHOD_IN_DIRECT	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #738
0x008000F8	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #62
0x0080818D	medium	METHOD_IN_DIRECT	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #99
0x00807F0D	medium	METHOD_IN_DIRECT	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #4035
0x0080249C	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2343
0x0034B30D	medium	METHOD_IN_DIRECT	FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #3267
0x0034DB0D	medium	METHOD_IN_DIRECT	FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #1731
0x00227B0D	medium	METHOD_IN_DIRECT	FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #3779
0x0080B789	medium	METHOD_IN_DIRECT	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #3554
0x00220074	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #29
0x00340380	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #224

Showing 24 of 28 extracted control codes.

PE sections

Section layout and Shannon entropy. High entropy in a code section is a packing or encryption indicator.

Section	Virtual size	Raw size	Entropy	Flags
.text	0x126B5	0x12800	6.38	CODE, EXEC, READ
.rdata	0x2554	0x2600	5.01	IDATA, READ
.data	0x5308	0x4600	3.24	IDATA, READ, WRITE
.pdata	0x0CA8	0x0E00	4.49	IDATA, READ
INIT	0x0C4C	0x0E00	5.25	CODE, EXEC, READ, DISCARD
.rsrc	0x0468	0x0600	2.84	IDATA, READ, DISCARD
.reloc	0x04E4	0x0600	4.91	IDATA, READ, DISCARD

Exploit mitigations

Control Flow Guard	Enabled
ASLR	Enabled
DEP	Enabled
Integrity check	Not enforced
Mitigation score	100 / 100

• CFG Enabled - Control Flow Guard is active - indirect calls are validated against a bitmap of valid targets at runtime.
• ASLR Enabled - Address Space Layout Randomization is active - base address is randomized on each load.
• DEP/NX Enabled - Data Execution Prevention is active - non-executable pages cannot be executed.
• Valid Signature - The driver has a valid, non-expired digital signature.

YARA rule matches (2)

Rule	Severity	Detects
BYOVD_MemRW	critical	Phys memory mapping + device creation
SUSP_PhysMem	high	Physical memory mapping

MITRE ATT&CK techniques (11)

Techniques this driver could enable if loaded by an adversary.

ID	Technique	Tactic
T1003	OS Credential Dumping	Credential Access
T1003.001	OS Credential Dumping: LSASS Memory	Credential Access
T1006	Direct Volume Access	Defense Evasion
T1055.012	Process Hollowing	Defense Evasion
T1068	Exploitation for Privilege Escalation	Privilege Escalation
T1071	Application Layer Protocol	Command and Control
T1211	Exploitation for Defense Evasion	Defense Evasion
T1543.003	Windows Service	Persistence
T1553.002	Subvert Trust Controls: Code Signing	Defense Evasion
T1569.002	Service Execution	Execution
T1652	Device Driver Discovery	Discovery

Code-signing chain

Signer	GlobalSign Root CA
Signer organisation	GlobalSign nv-sa
Issuer	GlobalSign Root CA
Serial	40000000001154B5AC394
Valid from	1998-09-01 12:00 UTC
Valid until	2028-01-28 12:00 UTC
Signature validity	Verified

• Certificate revision: 0x0200
• Certificate type: PKCS#7
• Chain: GlobalSign
• Chain: DigiCert Trusted Root G4
• Chain: GlobalSign Code Signing Root R45
• Chain: DigiCert Trusted G4 TimeStamping RSA4096 SHA256 2025 CA1
• Chain: GlobalSign GCC R45 EV CodeSigning CA 2020
• Chain: DigiCert SHA256 RSA4096 Timestamp Responder 2025 1

Symbolic execution

Engine angr, status static_approximation, 0 paths explored at a maximum depth of 0. Vulnerability classes reached: 0. Exploitable paths: 0.

Frequently asked questions about Audio.sys

Is Audio.sys safe?

Based on DriverShield static and dynamic analysis, Audio.sys shows some suspicious signals and warrants manual review. Its composite risk score is 58/100 (verdict: suspicious). Always validate findings independently before acting.

What is the risk score of Audio.sys?

Audio.sys has a DriverShield composite risk score of 58/100, placing it in the suspicious verdict band. SHA256: 8d19f51c8dedfac0009d5f0a9af09e6fa4eceb71418e1a3d07a76223db1d7a64.

What is Audio.sys?

Audio.sys is a Windows kernel-mode driver (.sys) analyzed by DriverShield for vulnerabilities, BYOVD abuse potential, and malware indicators. It is code-signed by GlobalSign Root CA.

Related: Other drivers signed by GlobalSign Root CA · What an IOCTL dispatch code is · How YARA matching feeds the score · BYOVD research index · full driver database · CVE library · code signing atlas

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