Analysis of ArgusMonitor.sys: suspicious verdict, risk score 30/100. 0 YARA matches, 0/75 multi-engine detections. SHA256 bd62fa2cb145750f. Kernel imports, IOCTL codes, MITRE ATT&CK, and code-signing details.
DriverShield analyzed the Windows kernel driver ArgusMonitor.sys and assigned a verdict of Suspicious with a composite risk score of 30/100, indicating some risk signals warranting review (30-59 band).
| Verdict | Suspicious (30/100) |
| YARA matches | 0 |
| Multi-engine detections | 0 / 75 |
| File size | 67272 bytes |
| Code-signing signer | Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher |
| Analyzed | 2026-04-02 |
| SHA256 | bd62fa2cb145750fd4214f0ca57f3b314303791305e0b971510f796c0ff88247 |
| SHA1 | 9f40a74730755974643e9d7957dad82449bc21fc |
| MD5 | d34108dc3a0b79bec1eed11761434139 |
Version resource data embedded in the ArgusMonitor.sys PE header, as extracted by the analysis engine.
| File description | Argus Monitor Hardware Access Driver |
|---|---|
| Product | Argus Monitor Driver |
| Company | Argotronic eGbR |
| Original filename | ArgusMonitor.sys |
| Internal name | ArgusMonitor.sys |
| File version | 3.04.0 |
| Copyright | Copyright (C) 2008-2026 Argotronic eGbR. 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 | 90 / 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-mode APIs resolved from the Import Address Table of ArgusMonitor.sys, ranked by exploitation relevance.
| API | Risk | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| MmGetSystemRoutineAddress | high | Potentially dangerous - could be used for privilege escalation or security bypass |
| HalSetBusDataByOffset | high | Potentially dangerous - could be used for privilege escalation or security bypass |
| HalGetBusDataByOffset | high | Potentially dangerous - could be used for privilege escalation or security bypass |
| ZwWriteFile | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| IoGetDeviceObjectPointer | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| MmUnmapIoSpace | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ZwSetInformationFile | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ZwClose | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwQueryInformationFile | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoCreateSymbolicLink | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IofCompleteRequest | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| KeSetEvent | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| KeInitializeEvent | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwReadFile | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| KeWaitForSingleObject | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| RtlInitUnicodeString | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoBuildDeviceIoControlRequest | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoCreateDevice | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ExAllocatePool2 | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoDeleteSymbolicLink | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwQueryValueKey | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| KeDelayExecutionThread | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwOpenKey | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwCreateFile | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoDeleteDevice | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x0080BAFF | high | METHOD_NEITHER | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #3775 |
| 0x0022B807 | high | METHOD_NEITHER | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #3585 |
| 0x00220117 | high | METHOD_NEITHER | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #69 |
| 0x002200F0 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #60 |
| 0x9C4022A0 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #2216 |
| 0x9C402454 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #2325 |
| 0x9C4026A0 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #2472 |
| 0x0080BA00 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #3712 |
| 0x9C402A00 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #2688 |
| 0x9C402D00 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #2880 |
| 0x9C4038FC | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #3647 |
| 0x9C402F94 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #3045 |
| 0x9C40354C | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #3411 |
| 0x9C403950 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #3668 |
| 0x9C403B38 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #3790 |
| 0x9C403D2C | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #3915 |
| 0x0080248C | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2339 |
| 0x0080CB15 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #709 |
| 0x0080BC41 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #3856 |
| 0x0080170D | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #1475 |
| 0x0080EC81 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2848 |
| 0x00802D00 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2880 |
| 0x0080BA41 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #3728 |
| 0x0080BF41 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #4048 |
Showing 24 of 30 extracted control codes.
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 | 0xA517 | 0xA600 | 6.36 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| .rdata | 0x0FEC | 0x1000 | 5.02 | IDATA, READ |
| .data | 0x1260 | 0x0A00 | 5.42 | IDATA, READ, WRITE |
| .pdata | 0x0504 | 0x0600 | 3.88 | IDATA, READ |
| INIT | 0x0B3C | 0x0C00 | 5.6 | CODE, EXEC, READ, DISCARD |
| .rsrc | 0x0458 | 0x0600 | 2.73 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| .reloc | 0x0024 | 0x0200 | 0.5 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| Control Flow Guard | Enabled |
|---|---|
| ASLR | Enabled |
| DEP | Enabled |
| Integrity check | Not enforced |
| Mitigation score | 100 / 100 |
Techniques this driver could enable if loaded by an adversary.
| ID | Technique | Tactic |
|---|---|---|
| T1003.001 | OS Credential Dumping: LSASS Memory | Credential Access |
| T1014 | Rootkit | Defense Evasion |
| T1055.012 | Process Hollowing | Defense Evasion |
| T1068 | Exploitation for Privilege Escalation | Privilege Escalation |
| T1112 | Modify Registry | Defense Evasion |
| T1211 | Exploitation for Defense Evasion | Defense Evasion |
| T1542.001 | Pre-OS Boot: System Firmware | Persistence |
| T1543.003 | Windows Service | Persistence |
| T1547.001 | Registry Run Keys | Persistence |
| T1553.002 | Subvert Trust Controls: Code Signing | Defense Evasion |
| T1569.002 | Service Execution | Execution |
| T1601 | Modify System Image | Defense Evasion |
| T1652 | Device Driver Discovery | Discovery |
| Signer | Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher |
|---|---|
| Signer organisation | Microsoft Corporation |
| Issuer | Microsoft Windows Third Party Component CA 2014 |
| Serial | 3300000074FF3D4A9E7C401E86000000000074 |
| Valid from | 2025-07-16 20:48 UTC |
| Valid until | 2026-07-14 20:48 UTC |
| Signature validity | Verified |
Engine angr, status completed, 100 paths explored at a maximum depth of 100. Vulnerability classes reached: 1. Exploitable paths: 0.
Based on DriverShield static and dynamic analysis, ArgusMonitor.sys shows some suspicious signals and warrants manual review. Its composite risk score is 30/100 (verdict: suspicious). Always validate findings independently before acting.
ArgusMonitor.sys has a DriverShield composite risk score of 30/100, placing it in the suspicious verdict band. SHA256: bd62fa2cb145750fd4214f0ca57f3b314303791305e0b971510f796c0ff88247.
ArgusMonitor.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 · BYOVD research index · full driver database · CVE library · code signing atlas