Analysis of WDTKernel.Sys: clean verdict, risk score 24/100. 1 YARA match, 0/76 multi-engine detections. SHA256 7ba3bda363e38f53. Kernel imports, IOCTL codes, MITRE ATT&CK, and code-signing details.
DriverShield analyzed the Windows kernel driver WDTKernel.Sys and assigned a verdict of Clean with a composite risk score of 24/100, indicating no notable risk signals (0-29 band).
| Verdict | Clean (24/100) |
| YARA matches | 1 |
| Multi-engine detections | 0 / 76 |
| File size | 52128 bytes |
| Code-signing signer | Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher |
| Analyzed | 2026-04-24 |
| SHA256 | 7ba3bda363e38f53b552ff675a7d6f5f0d3cc513dd954a819f684d658435485d |
| SHA1 | 5db003990fa789b2ffb0ab2ad52afc59d2d69a1c |
| MD5 | f21341ed4502a414e2b271c10f083cc6 |
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 | 1.2.1.0 |
| Copyright | Copyright (c) 2020 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 | 78 / 100 |
| IOCTL dispatch surface | 12 / 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 |
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 |
| ZwCreateKey | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ZwSetValueKey | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| RtlInitUnicodeString | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwClose | 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 |
| 0x0022A305 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #2241 |
| 0x00222735 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #2509 |
| 0x003402B8 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #174 |
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 | 0x11BA | 0x1200 | 5.96 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| .rdata | 0x0628 | 0x0800 | 3.39 | IDATA, READ |
| .data | 0x0394 | 0x0200 | 0.73 | IDATA, READ, WRITE |
| .pdata | 0x027C | 0x0400 | 2.65 | IDATA, READ |
| PAGED_CO | 0x0938 | 0x0A00 | 5.78 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| PAGE | 0x05F8 | 0x0600 | 5.64 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| INIT | 0x02C2 | 0x0400 | 4.11 | CODE, EXEC, READ, DISCARD |
| .rsrc | 0x0318 | 0x0400 | 2.67 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| .reloc | 0x0028 | 0x0200 | 0.47 | 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 |
| T1112 | Modify Registry | Defense Evasion |
| T1543.003 | Windows Service | Persistence |
| T1547.001 | Registry Run Keys | Persistence |
| 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 | 330000003A6AE333708FDA7A7B00000000003A |
| Valid from | 2020-03-11 17:31 UTC |
| Valid until | 2021-03-05 17:31 UTC (expired) |
| Signature validity | Not verified |
Engine angr, status completed, 26 paths explored at a maximum depth of 26. Vulnerability classes reached: 0. Exploitable paths: 2.
Based on DriverShield static and dynamic analysis, WDTKernel.Sys is assessed as clean, with no notable risk signals. Its composite risk score is 24/100 (verdict: clean). Always validate findings independently before acting.
WDTKernel.Sys has a DriverShield composite risk score of 24/100, placing it in the clean verdict band. SHA256: 7ba3bda363e38f53b552ff675a7d6f5f0d3cc513dd954a819f684d658435485d.
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