Analysis of pcw.sys: clean verdict, risk score 27/100. 0 YARA matches. SHA256 847188b15906af94. Kernel imports, IOCTL codes, MITRE ATT&CK, and code-signing details.
DriverShield analyzed the Windows kernel driver pcw.sys and assigned a verdict of Clean with a composite risk score of 27/100, indicating no notable risk signals (0-29 band).
| Verdict | Clean (27/100) |
| YARA matches | 0 |
| File size | 60272 bytes |
| Code-signing signer | Microsoft Windows |
| Analyzed | 2026-03-22 |
| SHA256 | 847188b15906af94de0658b0f6f5827671ba659eead184b7ef5b274c7f9ae089 |
| SHA1 | 6d78112d01b115efc8180ff95e733011649e2733 |
| MD5 | b1dc8ca902109f8c0a6845ec270b0525 |
Version resource data embedded in the pcw.sys PE header, as extracted by the analysis engine.
| File description | Performance Counters for Windows Driver |
|---|---|
| Product | Microsoft® Windows® Operating System |
| Company | Microsoft Corporation |
| Original filename | pcw.sys |
| Internal name | pcw.sys |
| File version | 10.0.19041.3636 (WinBuild.160101.0800) |
| Copyright | © Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. |
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 | 0 / 100 |
| Dangerous kernel imports | 100 / 100 |
| IOCTL dispatch surface | 42 / 100 |
| Known-vulnerable corpus | 0 / 100 |
| Code-signing state | 80 / 100 |
| Packing and entropy | 0 / 100 |
| Dynamic behaviour | 0 / 100 |
| CVE cross-reference | 0 / 100 |
Kernel-mode APIs resolved from the Import Address Table of pcw.sys, ranked by exploitation relevance.
| API | Risk | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| MmCopyVirtualMemory | 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 |
| ObOpenObjectByPointer | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ZwCreateKey | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ObReferenceObjectByHandle | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ProbeForWrite | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| KeWaitForSingleObject | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| KeSetEvent | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| PsGetCurrentProcess | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwOpenKey | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoCreateDeviceSecure | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IofCompleteRequest | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoCreateDevice | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoDeleteDevice | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| RtlInitUnicodeString | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ExAllocatePoolWithTag | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| SeAccessCheck | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| KeInitializeEvent | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwQueryValueKey | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwClose | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x0080B58B | high | METHOD_NEITHER | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #3426 |
| 0x00808D8B | high | METHOD_NEITHER | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #866 |
| 0x002200F0 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #60 |
| 0x00340031 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #12 |
| 0x00340030 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #12 |
| 0x00340038 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #14 |
| 0x008024A4 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2345 |
| 0x0080EC81 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2848 |
| 0x0080249C | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2343 |
| 0x0080C481 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #288 |
| 0x0022B941 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #3664 |
| 0x0080248C | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2339 |
| 0x0034BED8 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #4022 |
| 0x003403A8 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #234 |
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 | 0x0669 | 0x0800 | 5.13 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| .rdata | 0x13D0 | 0x1400 | 4.71 | IDATA, READ |
| .data | 0x0438 | 0x0400 | 1.59 | IDATA, READ, WRITE |
| .pdata | 0x060C | 0x0800 | 3.62 | IDATA, READ |
| .idata | 0x106E | 0x1200 | 4.31 | IDATA, READ |
| PAGE | 0x7144 | 0x7200 | 6.14 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| INIT | 0x0302 | 0x0400 | 5.03 | CODE, EXEC, READ, DISCARD |
| GFIDS | 0x0084 | 0x0200 | 1.21 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| .rsrc | 0x0410 | 0x0600 | 2.49 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| .reloc | 0x0804 | 0x0A00 | 4.89 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| Control Flow Guard | Enabled |
|---|---|
| ASLR | Enabled |
| DEP | Enabled |
| Integrity check | Enforced |
| Mitigation score | 90 / 100 |
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 |
| T1055.001 | Process Injection: DLL Injection | Defense Evasion |
| T1055.012 | Process Hollowing | Defense Evasion |
| T1068 | Exploitation for Privilege Escalation | Privilege Escalation |
| T1071 | Application Layer Protocol | Command and Control |
| T1112 | Modify Registry | Defense Evasion |
| T1211 | Exploitation for Defense Evasion | Defense Evasion |
| T1489 | Service Stop | Impact |
| T1543.003 | Windows Service | Persistence |
| T1547.001 | Registry Run Keys | Persistence |
| T1553.002 | Subvert Trust Controls: Code Signing | Defense Evasion |
| T1562.001 | Impair Defenses: Disable/Modify Tools | Defense Evasion |
| T1569.002 | Service Execution | Execution |
| T1652 | Device Driver Discovery | Discovery |
| Signer | Microsoft Windows |
|---|---|
| Signer organisation | Microsoft Corporation |
| Issuer | Microsoft Windows Production PCA 2011 |
| Serial | 33000004158295A1A3D82E2857000000000415 |
| Valid from | 2023-02-03 00:05 UTC |
| Valid until | 2024-02-01 00:05 UTC (expired) |
| Signature validity | Not verified |
Engine angr, status static_approximation, 0 paths explored at a maximum depth of 0. Vulnerability classes reached: 1. Exploitable paths: 0.
Based on DriverShield static and dynamic analysis, pcw.sys is assessed as clean, with no notable risk signals. Its composite risk score is 27/100 (verdict: clean). Always validate findings independently before acting.
pcw.sys has a DriverShield composite risk score of 27/100, placing it in the clean verdict band. SHA256: 847188b15906af94de0658b0f6f5827671ba659eead184b7ef5b274c7f9ae089.
pcw.sys is a Windows kernel-mode driver (.sys) analyzed by DriverShield for vulnerabilities, BYOVD abuse potential, and malware indicators. It is code-signed by Microsoft Windows.
Related: Other drivers signed by Microsoft Windows · What an IOCTL dispatch code is · BYOVD research index · full driver database · CVE library · code signing atlas