Analysis of DBUtil_2_3.sys: malicious verdict, risk score 88/100. 3 YARA matches, 8/76 multi-engine detections. SHA256 0296e2ce999e67c7. Kernel imports, IOCTL codes, MITRE ATT&CK, and code-signing details.
DriverShield analyzed the Windows kernel driver DBUtil_2_3.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 | 8 / 76 |
| File size | 14840 bytes |
| Code-signing signer | VeriSign Time Stamping Services Signer - G2 |
| Analyzed | 2026-03-23 |
| SHA256 | 0296e2ce999e67c76352613a718e11516fe1b0efc3ffdb8918fc999dd76a73a5 |
| SHA1 | c948ae14761095e4d76b55d9de86412258be7afd |
| MD5 | c996d7971c49252c582171d9380360f2 |
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 | 100 / 100 |
| Dangerous kernel imports | 100 / 100 |
| IOCTL dispatch surface | 6 / 100 |
| Known-vulnerable corpus | 100 / 100 |
| Code-signing state | 80 / 100 |
| Packing and entropy | 0 / 100 |
| Dynamic behaviour | 0 / 100 |
| CVE cross-reference | 40 / 100 |
Kernel-mode APIs resolved from the Import Address Table of DBUtil_2_3.sys, ranked by exploitation relevance.
| API | Risk | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| MmMapIoSpace | critical | Highly dangerous - potential for arbitrary code execution, memory corruption, or process termination |
| MmAllocateContiguousMemorySpecifyCache | high | Potentially dangerous - could be used for privilege escalation or security bypass |
| MmGetPhysicalAddress | high | Potentially dangerous - could be used for privilege escalation or security bypass |
| KeBugCheckEx | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| MmUnmapIoSpace | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| IoCreateDevice | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IofCompleteRequest | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| RtlInitUnicodeString | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoDeleteDevice | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoCreateSymbolicLink | 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 |
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 | 0x0CBE | 0x0E00 | 5.85 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| .rdata | 0x01DC | 0x0200 | 4.32 | IDATA, READ |
| .data | 0x0170 | 0x0200 | 1.5 | IDATA, READ, WRITE |
| .pdata | 0x0090 | 0x0200 | 1.27 | IDATA, READ |
| PAGE | 0x032C | 0x0400 | 5.16 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| INIT | 0x0296 | 0x0400 | 3.62 | CODE, EXEC, READ, WRITE, DISCARD |
| Control Flow Guard | Not enabled |
|---|---|
| ASLR | Not enabled |
| DEP | Not enabled |
| Integrity check | Not enforced |
| Mitigation score | 5 / 100 |
| Rule | Severity | Detects |
|---|---|---|
| VULN_DBUtil | critical | Dell dbutil_2_3.sys CVE-2021-21551 |
| 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 |
| T1543.003 | Windows Service | Persistence |
| T1562.001 | Impair Defenses | Defense Evasion |
| T1569.002 | Service Execution | Execution |
| T1652 | Device Driver Discovery | Discovery |
| Signer | VeriSign Time Stamping Services Signer - G2 |
|---|---|
| Signer organisation | VeriSign, Inc. |
| Issuer | VeriSign Time Stamping Services CA |
| Serial | 3825D7FAF861AF9EF490E726B5D65AD5 |
| Valid from | 2007-06-15 00:00 UTC |
| Valid until | 2012-06-14 23:59 UTC (expired) |
| Signature validity | Not verified |
Engine angr, status completed, 76 paths explored at a maximum depth of 76. Vulnerability classes reached: 1. 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, DBUtil_2_3.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.
DBUtil_2_3.sys has a DriverShield composite risk score of 88/100, placing it in the malicious verdict band. SHA256: 0296e2ce999e67c76352613a718e11516fe1b0efc3ffdb8918fc999dd76a73a5.
DBUtil_2_3.sys is a Windows kernel-mode driver (.sys) analyzed by DriverShield for vulnerabilities, BYOVD abuse potential, and malware indicators. It is code-signed by VeriSign Time Stamping Services Signer - G2.
Related: Other drivers signed by VeriSign Time Stamping Services Signer - G2 · CVE-2021-21551 · What an IOCTL dispatch code is · How YARA matching feeds the score · BYOVD research index · full driver database · CVE library · code signing atlas