Analysis of HP_WKS_SWTOOLS_DRIVER.sys: malicious verdict, risk score 88/100. 2 YARA matches, 0/75 multi-engine detections. SHA256 bf07c46effde8b6b. Kernel imports, IOCTL codes, MITRE ATT&CK, and code-signing details.
DriverShield analyzed the Windows kernel driver HP_WKS_SWTOOLS_DRIVER.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 | 2 |
| Multi-engine detections | 0 / 75 |
| File size | 19128 bytes |
| Code-signing signer | Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher |
| Analyzed | 2026-09-06 |
| SHA256 | bf07c46effde8b6b0fd3c9586a5a9636800fb37418c1e8e606c67cb613cbf832 |
| SHA1 | 528c24f0b3424598843937c10f97ee37dbb07109 |
| MD5 | c3c0be3d23dac6698ba12cea5d7b2dd8 |
Version resource data embedded in the HP_WKS_SWTOOLS_DRIVER.sys PE header, as extracted by the analysis engine.
| File description | HP SW TOOLS DRIVER |
|---|---|
| Product | HP SW TOOLS DRIVER |
| Company | HP Inc. |
| Original filename | HP SW TOOLS DRIVER |
| Internal name | HP SW TOOLS DRIVER |
| File version | 1.5.0.0 |
| Copyright | Copyright (C) 2018 HP Inc. |
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 | 100 / 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 HP_WKS_SWTOOLS_DRIVER.sys, ranked by exploitation relevance.
| API | Risk | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| MmMapLockedPagesSpecifyCache | critical | Highly dangerous - potential for arbitrary code execution, memory corruption, or process termination |
| MmMapIoSpace | critical | Highly dangerous - potential for arbitrary code execution, memory corruption, or process termination |
| HalSetBusDataByOffset | high | Potentially dangerous - could be used for privilege escalation or security bypass |
| HalGetBusDataByOffset | high | Potentially dangerous - could be used for privilege escalation or security bypass |
| MmUnmapIoSpace | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| IoDeleteDevice | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoDeleteSymbolicLink | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| RtlInitUnicodeString | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoCreateDevice | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IofCompleteRequest | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x9C402088 | critical (known exploit) | METHOD_BUFFERED | MSR write (LnvMSRIO) |
| 0x9C406104 | high (known exploit) | METHOD_BUFFERED | Physical memory read (LnvMSRIO) |
| 0x9C402084 | high (known exploit) | METHOD_BUFFERED | MSR read (LnvMSRIO) |
| 0x002200F0 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #60 |
| 0x9C4060CC | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #2099 |
| 0x9C4060D0 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #2100 |
| 0x9C4060D4 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #2101 |
| 0x9C40A108 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #2114 |
| 0x9C406144 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | CUSTOM_LENOVO Function #2129 |
| 0x003402FC | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #191 |
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 | 0x08C7 | 0x0A00 | 5.59 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| .rdata | 0x038C | 0x0400 | 3.34 | IDATA, READ |
| .data | 0x0F28 | 0x0200 | 0.62 | IDATA, READ, WRITE |
| .pdata | 0x0108 | 0x0200 | 2.16 | IDATA, READ |
| PAGE | 0x0324 | 0x0400 | 5.06 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| INIT | 0x04C4 | 0x0600 | 4.46 | CODE, EXEC, READ, DISCARD |
| .rsrc | 0x0360 | 0x0400 | 2.84 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| .reloc | 0x0020 | 0x0200 | 0.28 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| Control Flow Guard | Not enabled |
|---|---|
| ASLR | Enabled |
| DEP | Enabled |
| Integrity check | Not enforced |
| Mitigation score | 55 / 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 |
| T1542.001 | Pre-OS Boot: System Firmware | Persistence |
| T1543.003 | Windows Service | Persistence |
| T1562.001 | Impair Defenses | Defense Evasion |
| T1569.002 | Service Execution | Execution |
| T1601 | Modify System Image | Defense Evasion |
| T1652 | Device Driver Discovery | Discovery |
| Signer | Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher |
|---|---|
| Signer organisation | Microsoft Corporation |
| Issuer | Microsoft Windows Third Party Component CA 2014 |
| Serial | 33000000253A2738690A3451C1000000000025 |
| Valid from | 2018-09-06 21:30 UTC |
| Valid until | 2019-09-06 21:30 UTC (expired) |
| Signature validity | Not verified |
Engine angr, status completed, 43 paths explored at a maximum depth of 43. 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, HP_WKS_SWTOOLS_DRIVER.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.
HP_WKS_SWTOOLS_DRIVER.sys has a DriverShield composite risk score of 88/100, placing it in the malicious verdict band. SHA256: bf07c46effde8b6b0fd3c9586a5a9636800fb37418c1e8e606c67cb613cbf832.
HP_WKS_SWTOOLS_DRIVER.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