Analysis of AdvCare.sys: suspicious verdict, risk score 58/100. 2 YARA matches, 0/76 multi-engine detections. SHA256 697d3e6d215d1ed6. Kernel imports, IOCTL codes, MITRE ATT&CK, and code-signing details.
DriverShield analyzed the Windows kernel driver AdvCare.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 | 2 |
| Multi-engine detections | 0 / 76 |
| File size | 21200 bytes |
| Code-signing signer | Symantec Time Stamping Services CA - G2 |
| Analyzed | 2026-04-01 |
| SHA256 | 697d3e6d215d1ed6dc2465334502db92e0ca77ad0b8392c945ac9e0f36509666 |
| SHA1 | b08ca7e4a4aeb8a1f8049c1aa61255afe87987cd |
| MD5 | 25b14ddbce32c0fd3ce53ac82145e257 |
Version resource data embedded in the AdvCare.sys PE header, as extracted by the analysis engine.
| File description | AdvCare Driver (x64) |
|---|---|
| Product | AdvCare |
| Company | Advantech Co., Ltd. |
| Original filename | AdvCare.sys |
| Internal name | AdvCare |
| File version | 2.00 |
| Copyright | Advantech Copyright (C) 2014 |
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 | 80 / 100 |
| Dangerous kernel imports | 100 / 100 |
| IOCTL dispatch surface | 21 / 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 AdvCare.sys, ranked by exploitation relevance.
| API | Risk | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| MmMapIoSpace | critical | Highly dangerous - potential for arbitrary code execution, memory corruption, or process termination |
| HalGetBusDataByOffset | 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 |
| MmUnmapIoSpace | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| IoCreateSymbolicLink | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IofCompleteRequest | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ExAllocatePool | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| RtlInitUnicodeString | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoDeleteSymbolicLink | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoDeleteDevice | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoCreateDevice | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x0080863B | high | METHOD_NEITHER | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #398 |
| 0x002200F0 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #60 |
| 0x0080248C | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2339 |
| 0x00808689 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #418 |
| 0x008024B4 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2349 |
| 0x003402D4 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #181 |
| 0x00340031 | medium | METHOD_IN_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 | 0x1C60 | 0x1E00 | 6.02 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| .rdata | 0x0410 | 0x0600 | 3.13 | IDATA, READ |
| .data | 0x0120 | 0x0000 | 0 | IDATA, READ, WRITE |
| .pdata | 0x0270 | 0x0400 | 2.7 | IDATA, READ |
| INIT | 0x0244 | 0x0400 | 2.93 | CODE, EXEC, READ, WRITE, DISCARD |
| .rsrc | 0x0338 | 0x0400 | 2.77 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| Control Flow Guard | Not enabled |
|---|---|
| ASLR | Not enabled |
| DEP | Not enabled |
| Integrity check | Not enforced |
| Mitigation score | 5 / 100 |
| Rule | Severity | Detects |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| T1014 | Rootkit | Defense Evasion |
| T1055.012 | Process Hollowing | Defense Evasion |
| T1068 | Exploitation for Privilege Escalation | Privilege Escalation |
| T1071 | Application Layer Protocol | Command and Control |
| T1211 | Exploitation for Defense Evasion | Defense Evasion |
| T1542.001 | Pre-OS Boot: System Firmware | Persistence |
| T1543.003 | Windows Service | 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 | Symantec Time Stamping Services CA - G2 |
|---|---|
| Signer organisation | Symantec Corporation |
| Issuer | Thawte Timestamping CA |
| Serial | 7E93EBFB7CC64E59EA4B9A77D406FC3B |
| Valid from | 2012-12-21 00:00 UTC |
| Valid until | 2020-12-30 23:59 UTC (expired) |
| Signature validity | Not verified |
Engine angr, status static_approximation, 0 paths explored at a maximum depth of 0. Vulnerability classes reached: 2. Exploitable paths: 0.
Based on DriverShield static and dynamic analysis, AdvCare.sys shows some suspicious signals and warrants manual review. Its composite risk score is 58/100 (verdict: suspicious). Always validate findings independently before acting.
AdvCare.sys has a DriverShield composite risk score of 58/100, placing it in the suspicious verdict band. SHA256: 697d3e6d215d1ed6dc2465334502db92e0ca77ad0b8392c945ac9e0f36509666.
AdvCare.sys is a Windows kernel-mode driver (.sys) analyzed by DriverShield for vulnerabilities, BYOVD abuse potential, and malware indicators. It is code-signed by Symantec Time Stamping Services CA - G2.
Related: Other drivers signed by Symantec Time Stamping Services CA - G2 · What an IOCTL dispatch code is · How YARA matching feeds the score · BYOVD research index · full driver database · CVE library · code signing atlas