NICM.SYS - Clean (25/100) - DriverShield Analysis

Analysis of NICM.SYS: clean verdict, risk score 25/100. 0 YARA matches, 1/76 multi-engine detections. SHA256 26c86227d3f38789. Kernel imports, IOCTL codes, MITRE ATT&CK, and code-signing details.

NICM.SYS - Analysis Report

DriverShield analyzed the Windows kernel driver NICM.SYS and assigned a verdict of Clean with a composite risk score of 25/100, indicating no notable risk signals (0-29 band).

Verdict	Clean (25/100)
YARA matches	0
Multi-engine detections	1 / 76
File size	51704 bytes
Code-signing signer	Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher
Analyzed	2026-09-06
SHA256	26c86227d3f387897c1efd77dc711eef748eb90be84149cb306e3d4c45cc71c7
SHA1	fc121ed6fb37e97a004b6faf217435b772dfc4c0
MD5	1dd639abb3415376e945a740073e185c

Driver identity

Version resource data embedded in the NICM.SYS PE header, as extracted by the analysis engine.

File description	XTier Client Portability Layer
Product	Micro Focus XTier
Company	Micro Focus
Original filename	NICM.SYS
File version	3.1.12.0
Copyright	(C) Copyright 2000-2017, Micro Focus. All Rights Reserved.

How the 25/100 score breaks down

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	0 / 100
Dangerous kernel imports	75 / 100
IOCTL dispatch surface	54 / 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 imports (17)

Kernel-mode APIs resolved from the Import Address Table of NICM.SYS, ranked by exploitation relevance.

API	Risk	Why it matters
ZwDeleteKey	medium	Moderate risk - system modification capability
KeBugCheckEx	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
ExAllocatePoolWithTag	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
KeWaitForSingleObject	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
KeInitializeEvent	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
DbgPrintEx	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
DbgPrint	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
IoCreateDevice	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
ZwClose	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
IoDeleteDevice	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
KeDelayExecutionThread	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
ZwOpenKey	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
ZwQueryValueKey	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign
KeSetEvent	low	Standard kernel API - generally benign

IOCTL dispatch codes (18)

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
0x00347F83	high	METHOD_NEITHER	FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #4064
0x0080840F	high	METHOD_NEITHER	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #259
0x0022541F	high	METHOD_NEITHER	FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #1287
0x002200F0	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #60
0x0034B305	medium	METHOD_IN_DIRECT	FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #3265
0x00340315	medium	METHOD_IN_DIRECT	FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #197
0x00342305	medium	METHOD_IN_DIRECT	FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #2241
0x00802484	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2337
0x0080249C	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2343
0x008024AC	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2347
0x0022FB81	medium	METHOD_IN_DIRECT	FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #3808
0x00228348	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #210
0x0034D70D	medium	METHOD_IN_DIRECT	FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #1475
0x00802494	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2341
0x0080F981	medium	METHOD_IN_DIRECT	FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #3680
0x00226F1D	medium	METHOD_IN_DIRECT	FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #3015
0x00227F0D	medium	METHOD_IN_DIRECT	FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #4035
0x00340300	medium	METHOD_BUFFERED	FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #192

PE sections

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	0x7B2F	0x7C00	6.26	CODE, EXEC, READ
.rdata	0x07BC	0x0800	4.54	IDATA, READ
.data	0x08C8	0x0600	2.36	IDATA, READ, WRITE
.pdata	0x05DC	0x0600	4.23	IDATA, READ
.edata	0x0063	0x0200	1.1	IDATA, READ
INIT	0x0976	0x0A00	5.04	CODE, EXEC, READ, WRITE, DISCARD
.rsrc	0x0360	0x0400	2.89	IDATA, READ, DISCARD
.reloc	0x0160	0x0200	2.82	IDATA, READ, DISCARD

Exploit mitigations

Control Flow Guard	Not enabled
ASLR	Not enabled
DEP	Not enabled
Integrity check	Not enforced
Mitigation score	5 / 100

• No CFG - Control Flow Guard is not enabled. Indirect call targets are not validated, making the driver susceptible to control flow hijacking via corrupted function pointers or vtables.
• No ASLR - ASLR is disabled. The driver loads at a predictable address, enabling reliable exploitation of memory corruption vulnerabilities.
• No DEP - DEP is disabled. Data pages are executable, allowing shellcode execution from stack/heap buffers.
• Expired Certificate - The driver is signed but the certificate has expired. Windows may still load it depending on revocation policy.

MITRE ATT&CK techniques (8)

Techniques this driver could enable if loaded by an adversary.

ID	Technique	Tactic
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

Code-signing chain

Signer	Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher
Signer organisation	Microsoft Corporation
Issuer	Microsoft Windows Third Party Component CA 2014
Serial	33000000433A68189E33902987000000000043
Valid from	2020-12-15 22:25 UTC
Valid until	2021-12-02 22:25 UTC (expired)
Signature validity	Not verified

• Certificate revision: 0x0200
• Certificate type: PKCS#7
• Chain: Microsoft Windows Third Party Component CA 2014

Symbolic execution

Engine angr, status completed, 12 paths explored at a maximum depth of 12. Vulnerability classes reached: 1. Exploitable paths: 0.

Frequently asked questions about NICM.SYS

Is NICM.SYS safe?

Based on DriverShield static and dynamic analysis, NICM.SYS is assessed as clean, with no notable risk signals. Its composite risk score is 25/100 (verdict: clean). Always validate findings independently before acting.

What is the risk score of NICM.SYS?

NICM.SYS has a DriverShield composite risk score of 25/100, placing it in the clean verdict band. SHA256: 26c86227d3f387897c1efd77dc711eef748eb90be84149cb306e3d4c45cc71c7.

What is NICM.SYS?

NICM.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 · BYOVD research index · full driver database · CVE library · code signing atlas

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