Analysis of rtkio64.sys: malicious verdict, risk score 88/100. 3 YARA matches, 1/75 multi-engine detections. SHA256 4ed2d2c1b00e87b9. Kernel imports, IOCTL codes, MITRE ATT&CK, and code-signing details.
DriverShield analyzed the Windows kernel driver rtkio64.sys and assigned a verdict of Malicious with a composite risk score of 88/100, indicating malicious indicators (80-100 band).
| Verdict | Malicious (88/100) |
| YARA matches | 3 |
| Multi-engine detections | 1 / 75 |
| File size | 54960 bytes |
| Code-signing signer | DigiCert High Assurance EV Root CA |
| Analyzed | 2026-09-06 |
| SHA256 | 4ed2d2c1b00e87b926fb58b4ea43d2db35e5912975f4400aa7bd9f8c239d08b7 |
| SHA1 | 02a8b74899591da7b7f49c0450328d39b939d7e4 |
| MD5 | 96e10a2904fff9491762a4fb549ad580 |
Version resource data embedded in the rtkio64.sys PE header, as extracted by the analysis engine.
| File description | Realtek IO Driver |
|---|---|
| Product | Realtek IO Driver |
| Company | Realtek |
| Original filename | rtkio64.sys |
| Internal name | rtkio64.sys |
| File version | 1.009.0709.2020 built by: WinDDK |
| Copyright | Copyright (C) 2020 Realtek Semiconductor Corporation. All Right 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 | 85 / 100 |
| Dangerous kernel imports | 100 / 100 |
| IOCTL dispatch surface | 75 / 100 |
| Known-vulnerable corpus | 100 / 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 rtkio64.sys, ranked by exploitation relevance.
| API | Risk | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| MmMapIoSpace | critical | Highly dangerous - potential for arbitrary code execution, memory corruption, or process termination |
| MmMapLockedPagesSpecifyCache | 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 |
| ZwCreateKey | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ZwSetValueKey | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| MmUnmapIoSpace | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| KeBugCheckEx | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ObOpenObjectByPointer | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| IoCreateDevice | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IofCompleteRequest | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ExAllocatePoolWithTag | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwOpenKey | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwQueryValueKey | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoCreateSymbolicLink | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoDeleteSymbolicLink | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoDeleteDevice | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| RtlInitUnicodeString | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoCreateDeviceSecure | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00222000 | medium (known exploit) | METHOD_BUFFERED | Driver communication init |
| 0x00226417 | high | METHOD_NEITHER | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #2309 |
| 0x002200F0 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #60 |
| 0x0080C481 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #288 |
| 0x00802484 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2337 |
| 0x0080249C | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2343 |
| 0x00340030 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #12 |
| 0x00808789 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #482 |
| 0x00340418 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #262 |
| 0x00340088 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #34 |
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 | 0x421B | 0x4400 | 6.29 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| .rdata | 0x092C | 0x0A00 | 4.5 | IDATA, READ |
| .data | 0x0400 | 0x0400 | 1.15 | IDATA, READ, WRITE |
| .pdata | 0x03A8 | 0x0400 | 4.03 | IDATA, READ |
| PAGE | 0x1F94 | 0x2000 | 6.22 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| INIT | 0x0C80 | 0x0E00 | 5.43 | CODE, EXEC, READ, WRITE, DISCARD |
| .rsrc | 0x0478 | 0x0600 | 2.62 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| .reloc | 0x006C | 0x0200 | 0.35 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| Control Flow Guard | Not enabled |
|---|---|
| ASLR | Not enabled |
| DEP | Not enabled |
| Integrity check | Not enforced |
| Mitigation score | 5 / 100 |
| Rule | Severity | Detects |
|---|---|---|
| PUA_VULN_Driver_Realtek_Rtkiosys_Realtekiodriver_4ED2 | medium | Detects vulnerable driver mentioned in known-vulnerable driver corpus project using VersionInfo values from the PE header - rtkio.sys, rtkio64.sys, rtkiow8x64.sys, rtkiow10x64.sys. Investigate matches... |
| BYOVD_MemRW | critical | Phys memory mapping + device creation |
| SUSP_PhysMem | high | Physical memory mapping |
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 |
| T1112 | Modify Registry | Defense Evasion |
| T1211 | Exploitation for Defense Evasion | Defense Evasion |
| T1543.003 | Windows Service | Persistence |
| T1547.001 | Registry Run Keys | Persistence |
| T1553.002 | Subvert Trust Controls: Code Signing | Defense Evasion |
| T1562.001 | Impair Defenses | Defense Evasion |
| T1569.002 | Service Execution | Execution |
| T1652 | Device Driver Discovery | Discovery |
| Signer | DigiCert High Assurance EV Root CA |
|---|---|
| Signer organisation | DigiCert Inc |
| Issuer | Microsoft Code Verification Root |
| Serial | 61204DB4000000000027 |
| Valid from | 2011-04-15 19:45 UTC |
| Valid until | 2021-04-15 19:55 UTC (expired) |
| Signature validity | Not verified |
Engine angr, status completed, 56 paths explored at a maximum depth of 56. Vulnerability classes reached: 0. Exploitable paths: 3.
Corpus match: this hash is present in the known-vulnerable driver corpus DriverShield cross-references during analysis, which is why the score carries a full weighting on that component.
Based on DriverShield static and dynamic analysis, rtkio64.sys is flagged as malicious and should be treated as dangerous. Its composite risk score is 88/100 (verdict: malicious). Always validate findings independently before acting.
rtkio64.sys has a DriverShield composite risk score of 88/100, placing it in the malicious verdict band. SHA256: 4ed2d2c1b00e87b926fb58b4ea43d2db35e5912975f4400aa7bd9f8c239d08b7.
rtkio64.sys is a Windows kernel-mode driver (.sys) analyzed by DriverShield for vulnerabilities, BYOVD abuse potential, and malware indicators. It is code-signed by DigiCert High Assurance EV Root CA.
Related: Other drivers signed by DigiCert High Assurance EV 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