hwpolicy.sys - Clean (4/100) - DriverShield Analysis

Analysis of hwpolicy.sys: clean verdict, risk score 4/100. 0 YARA matches. SHA256 6efbd82f397c1c2c. Kernel imports, IOCTL codes, MITRE ATT&CK, and code-signing details.

hwpolicy.sys - Analysis Report

DriverShield analyzed the Windows kernel driver hwpolicy.sys and assigned a verdict of Clean with a composite risk score of 4/100, indicating no notable risk signals (0-29 band).

Verdict	Clean (4/100)
YARA matches	0
File size	34288 bytes
Code-signing signer	Microsoft Windows
Analyzed	2026-03-22
SHA256	6efbd82f397c1c2c5ca5d5dcd3645ab9e5ad22b7af307086e9314e75fa23e66d
SHA1	b16c25830520d9863a4f7b44e5d8e70ea9655d9d
MD5	4e72da127d9da69f55bdc590678b3866

Driver identity

Version resource data embedded in the hwpolicy.sys PE header, as extracted by the analysis engine.

File description	Hardware Policy Driver
Product	Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
Company	Microsoft Corporation
Original filename	hwpolicy.sys
Internal name	hwpolicy.sys
File version	10.0.19041.3636 (WinBuild.160101.0800)
Copyright	© Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

How the 4/100 score breaks down

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	0 / 100
IOCTL dispatch surface	3 / 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

IOCTL dispatch codes (1)

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
0x003403A0	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #232

PE sections

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	0x0075	0x0200	1.24	CODE, EXEC, READ
.rdata	0x0300	0x0400	2.57	IDATA, READ
.data	0x0098	0x0200	0.28	IDATA, READ, WRITE
.pdata	0x006C	0x0200	0.89	IDATA, READ
.00cfg	0x0010	0x0200	0.15	IDATA, READ
PAGE	0x0024	0x0200	0.4	CODE, EXEC, READ
.edata	0x0061	0x0200	1.02	IDATA, READ
INIT	0x0082	0x0200	1.92	CODE, EXEC, READ, DISCARD
GFIDS	0x001C	0x0200	0.21	IDATA, READ, DISCARD
.rsrc	0x4470	0x4600	1.86	IDATA, READ, DISCARD
.reloc	0x003C	0x0200	0.4	IDATA, READ, DISCARD

Exploit mitigations

Control Flow Guard	Enabled
ASLR	Enabled
DEP	Enabled
Integrity check	Not enforced
Mitigation score	85 / 100

CFG Enabled - Control Flow Guard is active - indirect calls are validated against a bitmap of valid targets at runtime.
ASLR Enabled - Address Space Layout Randomization is active - base address is randomized on each load.
DEP/NX Enabled - Data Execution Prevention is active - non-executable pages cannot be executed.
Expired Certificate - The driver is signed but the certificate has expired. Windows may still load it depending on revocation policy.

MITRE ATT&CK techniques (3)

Techniques this driver could enable if loaded by an adversary.

ID	Technique	Tactic
T1071	Application Layer Protocol	Command and Control
T1543.003	Windows Service	Persistence
T1652	Device Driver Discovery	Discovery

Code-signing chain

Signer	Microsoft Windows
Signer organisation	Microsoft Corporation
Issuer	Microsoft Windows Production PCA 2011
Serial	330000041331BC198807A90774000000000413
Valid from	2023-02-03 00:05 UTC
Valid until	2024-02-01 00:05 UTC (expired)
Signature validity	Not verified

Certificate revision: 0x0200
Certificate type: PKCS#7
Chain: Microsoft Windows Production PCA 2011

Symbolic execution

Engine angr, status no_findings, 0 paths explored at a maximum depth of 0. Vulnerability classes reached: 0. Exploitable paths: 0.

Frequently asked questions about hwpolicy.sys

Is hwpolicy.sys safe?

Based on DriverShield static and dynamic analysis, hwpolicy.sys is assessed as clean, with no notable risk signals. Its composite risk score is 4/100 (verdict: clean). Always validate findings independently before acting.

What is the risk score of hwpolicy.sys?

hwpolicy.sys has a DriverShield composite risk score of 4/100, placing it in the clean verdict band. SHA256: 6efbd82f397c1c2c5ca5d5dcd3645ab9e5ad22b7af307086e9314e75fa23e66d.

What is hwpolicy.sys?

hwpolicy.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 · BYOVD research index · full driver database · CVE library · code signing atlas