Analysis of WDTKernel.sys: suspicious verdict, risk score 58/100. 1 YARA match, 0/76 multi-engine detections. SHA256 0e27bec347ca0050. Kernel imports, IOCTL codes, MITRE ATT&CK, and code-signing details.
DriverShield analyzed the Windows kernel driver WDTKernel.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 | 0 / 76 |
| File size | 26752 bytes |
| Code-signing signer | Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher |
| Analyzed | 2026-04-24 |
| SHA256 | 0e27bec347ca0050c455467bd8d774175c503b8aa1af3411e94966f7dc6b28b7 |
| SHA1 | 25dad15b7ee7c7e81167f1ed64ac8c6a2204e96d |
| MD5 | 1055e17ed942357c832a7dfd68861e7d |
Version resource data embedded in the WDTKernel.sys PE header, as extracted by the analysis engine.
| Product | WDTKernel.sys |
|---|---|
| Company | Dell Inc |
| Original filename | WDTKernel.sys |
| Internal name | WDTKernel.sys |
| File version | 1.4.1.0 |
| Copyright | Copyright (c) 2024 Dell Inc. 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 | 60 / 100 |
| IOCTL dispatch surface | 12 / 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 WDTKernel.sys, ranked by exploitation relevance.
| API | Risk | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| MmMapIoSpace | critical | Highly dangerous - potential for arbitrary code execution, memory corruption, or process termination |
| MmUnmapIoSpace | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| RtlInitUnicodeString | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| DbgPrintEx | 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 |
| 0x00228B0D | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #707 |
| 0x003402B8 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #174 |
| 0x00340032 | medium | METHOD_OUT_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #12 |
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 | 0x120A | 0x1400 | 5.66 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| .rdata | 0x08A8 | 0x0A00 | 4.41 | IDATA, READ |
| .data | 0x0394 | 0x0200 | 0.73 | IDATA, READ, WRITE |
| .pdata | 0x0264 | 0x0400 | 2.52 | IDATA, READ |
| PAGED_CO | 0x0905 | 0x0A00 | 5.69 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| PAGE | 0x05C8 | 0x0600 | 5.52 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| INIT | 0x0298 | 0x0400 | 3.93 | CODE, EXEC, READ, DISCARD |
| .rsrc | 0x0318 | 0x0400 | 2.67 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| .reloc | 0x0028 | 0x0200 | 0.46 | 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 | 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 | Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher |
|---|---|
| Signer organisation | Microsoft Corporation |
| Issuer | Microsoft Windows Third Party Component CA 2012 |
| Serial | 3300000110BBDA1909B3F83897000000000110 |
| Valid from | 2024-05-16 22:16 UTC |
| Valid until | 2025-05-14 22:16 UTC (expired) |
| Signature validity | Not verified |
Engine angr, status completed, 29 paths explored at a maximum depth of 29. Vulnerability classes reached: 0. Exploitable paths: 2.
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, WDTKernel.sys shows some suspicious signals and warrants manual review. Its composite risk score is 58/100 (verdict: suspicious). Always validate findings independently before acting.
WDTKernel.sys has a DriverShield composite risk score of 58/100, placing it in the suspicious verdict band. SHA256: 0e27bec347ca0050c455467bd8d774175c503b8aa1af3411e94966f7dc6b28b7.
WDTKernel.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