Analysis of winhv.sys: vulnerable verdict, risk score 72/100. 1 YARA match. SHA256 1abe49124bb18500. Kernel imports, IOCTL codes, MITRE ATT&CK, and code-signing details.
DriverShield analyzed the Windows kernel driver winhv.sys and assigned a verdict of Vulnerable with a composite risk score of 72/100, indicating a known or likely vulnerability surface (60-79 band).
| Verdict | Vulnerable (72/100) |
| YARA matches | 1 |
| File size | 42504 bytes |
| Code-signing signer | Microsoft Windows |
| Analyzed | 2026-03-22 |
| SHA256 | 1abe49124bb185009368f0b8cd4c0c5b57802987580140de6dc826dee9de34ef |
| SHA1 | f0cb12aab46ec80e1a60fbf8acc6ebb954f7b2c4 |
| MD5 | 1588d61cf74fe332ac1a2080604b3db4 |
Version resource data embedded in the winhv.sys PE header, as extracted by the analysis engine.
| File description | Windows Hypervisor Interface Driver |
|---|---|
| Product | Microsoft® Windows® Operating System |
| Company | Microsoft Corporation |
| Original filename | WinHv.sys |
| Internal name | WinHv.sys |
| File version | 10.0.19041.5072 (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 | 30 / 100 |
| Dangerous kernel imports | 100 / 100 |
| IOCTL dispatch surface | 84 / 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 winhv.sys, ranked by exploitation relevance.
| API | Risk | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| MmMapLockedPagesSpecifyCache | critical | Highly dangerous - potential for arbitrary code execution, memory corruption, or process termination |
| MmGetPhysicalAddress | high | Potentially dangerous - could be used for privilege escalation or security bypass |
| ZwSetSystemInformation | high | Potentially dangerous - could be used for privilege escalation or security bypass |
| MmUnmapIoSpace | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ExAllocatePoolWithTag | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| KeInitializeEvent | 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 |
| 0x002200F0 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #60 |
| 0x0080EC81 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2848 |
| 0x00802494 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2341 |
| 0x008024AC | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2347 |
| 0x0080248C | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2339 |
| 0x0022F981 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #3680 |
| 0x00802500 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2368 |
| 0x008024BC | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2351 |
| 0x00223DC0 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #3952 |
| 0x00222002 | medium | METHOD_OUT_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #2048 |
| 0x0034A002 | medium | METHOD_OUT_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #2048 |
| 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 | 0x3609 | 0x3800 | 5.95 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| .rdata | 0x0C18 | 0x0E00 | 4.11 | IDATA, READ |
| .data | 0x5000 | 0x0200 | 0.28 | IDATA, READ, WRITE |
| .pdata | 0x0750 | 0x0800 | 4.11 | IDATA, READ |
| .idata | 0x09DE | 0x0A00 | 4.7 | IDATA, READ |
| PAGE | 0x083A | 0x0A00 | 5.31 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| .edata | 0x034E | 0x0400 | 4.55 | IDATA, READ |
| INIT | 0x0663 | 0x0800 | 5.22 | CODE, EXEC, READ, DISCARD |
| GFIDS | 0x00C4 | 0x0200 | 1.61 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| .rsrc | 0x0410 | 0x0600 | 2.5 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| .reloc | 0x0298 | 0x0400 | 3.75 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| Control Flow Guard | Enabled |
|---|---|
| ASLR | Enabled |
| DEP | Enabled |
| Integrity check | Not enforced |
| Mitigation score | 85 / 100 |
| Rule | Severity | Detects |
|---|---|---|
| SUSP_PhysMem | high | Physical memory mapping |
Techniques this driver could enable if loaded by an adversary.
| ID | Technique | Tactic |
|---|---|---|
| T1003.001 | OS Credential Dumping: LSASS Memory | Credential Access |
| 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 |
| T1652 | Device Driver Discovery | Discovery |
| Signer | Microsoft Windows |
|---|---|
| Signer organisation | Microsoft Corporation |
| Issuer | Microsoft Windows Production PCA 2011 |
| Serial | 330000045FF3C96C1A7FF7DA1D00000000045F |
| Valid from | 2023-11-16 19:20 UTC |
| Valid until | 2024-11-14 19:20 UTC (expired) |
| Signature validity | Not verified |
Engine angr, status static_approximation, 0 paths explored at a maximum depth of 0. Vulnerability classes reached: 0. Exploitable paths: 1.
Based on DriverShield static and dynamic analysis, winhv.sys is flagged as vulnerable and is a potential Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) risk. Its composite risk score is 72/100 (verdict: vulnerable). Always validate findings independently before acting.
winhv.sys has a DriverShield composite risk score of 72/100, placing it in the vulnerable verdict band. SHA256: 1abe49124bb185009368f0b8cd4c0c5b57802987580140de6dc826dee9de34ef.
winhv.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 · How YARA matching feeds the score · BYOVD research index · full driver database · CVE library · code signing atlas