Analysis of libnicm.sys: suspicious verdict, risk score 58/100. 1 YARA match, 1/76 multi-engine detections. SHA256 95d50c69cdbf10c9. Kernel imports, IOCTL codes, MITRE ATT&CK, and code-signing details.
DriverShield analyzed the Windows kernel driver libnicm.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 | 1 |
| Multi-engine detections | 1 / 76 |
| File size | 35344 bytes |
| Code-signing signer | Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher |
| Analyzed | 2026-09-06 |
| SHA256 | 95d50c69cdbf10c9c9d61e64fe864ac91e6f6caa637d128eb20e1d3510e776d3 |
| SHA1 | 25d812a5ece19ea375178ef9d60415841087726e |
| MD5 | c1fce7aac4e9dd7a730997e2979fa1e2 |
Version resource data embedded in the libnicm.sys PE header, as extracted by the analysis engine.
| File description | XTier COM Services Driver |
|---|---|
| Product | Micro Focus XTier |
| Company | Micro Focus |
| Original filename | libnicm.sys |
| File version | 3.1.12.0 |
| Copyright | (C) Copyright 2000-2017, Micro Focus. 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 | 5 / 100 |
| Dangerous kernel imports | 100 / 100 |
| IOCTL dispatch surface | 33 / 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 libnicm.sys, ranked by exploitation relevance.
| API | Risk | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| MmMapLockedPagesSpecifyCache | critical | Highly dangerous - potential for arbitrary code execution, memory corruption, or process termination |
| ZwSetValueKey | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| KeBugCheckEx | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ZwCreateKey | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ZwQuerySystemInformation | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| IoDeleteDevice | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| DbgPrintEx | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoDeleteSymbolicLink | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| RtlInitAnsiString | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwOpenKey | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwQueryValueKey | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| RtlInitUnicodeString | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoCreateSymbolicLink | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IofCompleteRequest | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| KeWaitForSingleObject | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoCreateDevice | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| KeDelayExecutionThread | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwCreateFile | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| DbgPrint | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwClose | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ProbeForWrite | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwQueryInformationFile | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ExAllocatePoolWithTag | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwReadFile | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ProbeForRead | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwOpenFile | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x002200F0 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #60 |
| 0x0080249C | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2343 |
| 0x00345715 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #1477 |
| 0x00345F15 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #1989 |
| 0x00346315 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #2245 |
| 0x008024BC | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2351 |
| 0x0034DB0D | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #1731 |
| 0x00344B0D | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #707 |
| 0x0080C481 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #288 |
| 0x00220020 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #8 |
| 0x003402F8 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #190 |
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 | 0x3B20 | 0x3C00 | 6.27 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| .rdata | 0x0584 | 0x0600 | 4.44 | IDATA, READ |
| .data | 0x0968 | 0x0400 | 2.77 | IDATA, READ, WRITE |
| .pdata | 0x0234 | 0x0400 | 2.56 | IDATA, READ |
| .edata | 0x018E | 0x0200 | 4.12 | IDATA, READ |
| INIT | 0x0B4C | 0x0C00 | 5.58 | CODE, EXEC, READ, WRITE, DISCARD |
| .rsrc | 0x0358 | 0x0400 | 2.88 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| .reloc | 0x0018 | 0x0200 | 0.12 | 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_Microfocus_Microfocusxtier_95D5 | medium | Detects vulnerable driver mentioned in known-vulnerable driver corpus project using VersionInfo values from the PE header - libnicm.sys. Investigate matches in context: expected filenames or standard ... |
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 |
| 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 | Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher |
|---|---|
| Signer organisation | Microsoft Corporation |
| Issuer | Microsoft Windows Third Party Component CA 2014 |
| Serial | 330000004DE597A775E3157F7B00000000004D |
| Valid from | 2021-09-09 19:15 UTC |
| Valid until | 2022-09-01 19:15 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: 0.
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, libnicm.sys shows some suspicious signals and warrants manual review. Its composite risk score is 58/100 (verdict: suspicious). Always validate findings independently before acting.
libnicm.sys has a DriverShield composite risk score of 58/100, placing it in the suspicious verdict band. SHA256: 95d50c69cdbf10c9c9d61e64fe864ac91e6f6caa637d128eb20e1d3510e776d3.
libnicm.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 Hardware Compatibility Publisher.
Related: Other drivers signed by Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher · What an IOCTL dispatch code is · How YARA matching feeds the score · BYOVD research index · full driver database · CVE library · code signing atlas