Analysis of vmx86.sys: vulnerable verdict, risk score 72/100. 2 YARA matches, 0/75 multi-engine detections. SHA256 4bfb88a5ebcc36a1. Kernel imports, IOCTL codes, MITRE ATT&CK, and code-signing details.
DriverShield analyzed the Windows kernel driver vmx86.sys and assigned a verdict of Vulnerable with a composite risk score of 72/100, indicating a known or likely vulnerability surface (60-79 band).
| Verdict | Vulnerable (72/100) |
| YARA matches | 2 |
| Multi-engine detections | 0 / 75 |
| File size | 100920 bytes |
| Code-signing signer | Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher |
| Analyzed | 2026-04-02 |
| SHA256 | 4bfb88a5ebcc36a1d7c45f5b4d51bdc44bbb42179acd023b35ee8ba87ecd9543 |
| SHA1 | 7dbb9e8284c5fd2f8ec771c84ac0422b47bd0c99 |
| MD5 | ef15d6c224d31a39a0d39e6c5cdcaf45 |
Version resource data embedded in the vmx86.sys PE header, as extracted by the analysis engine.
| File description | VMware kernel driver |
|---|---|
| Product | VMware kernel driver |
| Company | Broadcom Inc. |
| Original filename | vmx86.sys |
| Internal name | vmx86.sys |
| File version | 17.6.0.0 |
| Copyright | Copyright © 1998-2024 Broadcom. |
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 | 60 / 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 vmx86.sys, ranked by exploitation relevance.
| API | Risk | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| MmMapIoSpace | critical | Highly dangerous - potential for arbitrary code execution, memory corruption, or process termination |
| ZwMapViewOfSection | critical | Highly dangerous - potential for arbitrary code execution, memory corruption, or process termination |
| MmMapLockedPagesSpecifyCache | critical | Highly dangerous - potential for arbitrary code execution, memory corruption, or process termination |
| MmGetSystemRoutineAddress | high | Potentially dangerous - could be used for privilege escalation or security bypass |
| MmGetPhysicalAddress | high | Potentially dangerous - could be used for privilege escalation or security bypass |
| MmAllocateContiguousMemorySpecifyCache | high | Potentially dangerous - could be used for privilege escalation or security bypass |
| NtQuerySystemInformation | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ZwSetValueKey | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ObReferenceObjectByHandle | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ZwCreateKey | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| MmUnmapIoSpace | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ZwQuerySystemInformation | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| KeBugCheckEx | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| KeWaitForSingleObject | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoCreateDevice | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| KeSetEvent | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| SeAccessCheck | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoDeleteDevice | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ProbeForWrite | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoCreateSymbolicLink | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoDeleteSymbolicLink | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ExAllocatePoolWithTag | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ProbeForRead | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| DbgPrint | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| ZwQueryValueKey | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| KeDelayExecutionThread | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| KeInitializeEvent | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| RtlInitUnicodeString | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
Showing the 28 highest-relevance imports of 31 resolved.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x0034BBFF | high | METHOD_NEITHER | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #3839 |
| 0x00808B8B | high | METHOD_NEITHER | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #738 |
| 0x002200F0 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #60 |
| 0x0022BA00 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #3712 |
| 0x0034FBE8 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #3834 |
| 0x00802484 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2337 |
| 0x0080B94E | medium | METHOD_OUT_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #3667 |
| 0x0034BF1E | medium | METHOD_OUT_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #4039 |
| 0x008024AC | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2347 |
| 0x0080B589 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #3426 |
| 0x00808310 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #196 |
| 0x00808611 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #388 |
| 0x00809F05 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #1985 |
| 0x00808789 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #482 |
| 0x00227FE8 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #4090 |
| 0x002215E8 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #1402 |
| 0x0022A7E8 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #2554 |
| 0x00340036 | medium | METHOD_OUT_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #13 |
| 0x0022341C | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #3335 |
| 0x00340314 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #197 |
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 | 0x10D68 | 0x10E00 | 6.31 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| .rdata | 0x1850 | 0x1A00 | 4.09 | IDATA, READ |
| .data | 0x90D8 | 0x0C00 | 0.54 | IDATA, READ, WRITE |
| .pdata | 0x1698 | 0x1800 | 4.5 | IDATA, READ |
| INIT | 0x0C72 | 0x0E00 | 4.9 | CODE, EXEC, READ, DISCARD |
| .rsrc | 0x0378 | 0x0400 | 2.99 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| .reloc | 0x0030 | 0x0200 | 0.63 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| Control Flow Guard | Enabled |
|---|---|
| ASLR | Enabled |
| DEP | Enabled |
| Integrity check | Not enforced |
| Mitigation score | 85 / 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 |
| 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 |
| T1211 | Exploitation for Defense Evasion | Defense Evasion |
| T1543.003 | Windows Service | Persistence |
| T1547.001 | Registry Run Keys | Persistence |
| T1553.002 | Subvert Trust Controls: Code Signing | 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 | 3300000108E2337A567040C0D5000000000108 |
| Valid from | 2023-09-14 19:14 UTC |
| Valid until | 2024-09-04 19:14 UTC (expired) |
| Signature validity | Not verified |
Engine angr, status static_approximation, 0 paths explored at a maximum depth of 0. Vulnerability classes reached: 0. Exploitable paths: 1.
Based on DriverShield static and dynamic analysis, vmx86.sys is flagged as vulnerable and is a potential Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) risk. Its composite risk score is 72/100 (verdict: vulnerable). Always validate findings independently before acting.
vmx86.sys has a DriverShield composite risk score of 72/100, placing it in the vulnerable verdict band. SHA256: 4bfb88a5ebcc36a1d7c45f5b4d51bdc44bbb42179acd023b35ee8ba87ecd9543.
vmx86.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