Analysis of unknown.sys: malicious verdict, risk score 88/100. 3 YARA matches, 49/75 multi-engine detections. SHA256 97bd65e98cdc4e93. Kernel imports, IOCTL codes, MITRE ATT&CK, and code-signing details.
DriverShield analyzed the Windows kernel driver unknown.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 | 3 |
| Multi-engine detections | 49 / 75 |
| File size | 50096 bytes |
| Code-signing signer | Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher |
| Analyzed | 2026-09-06 |
| SHA256 | 97bd65e98cdc4e93d49edd4ea905d43a61244df0fd3323e6649330de3b1be091 |
| SHA1 | ba914fe77b177b45799403b16dd14765c510a074 |
| MD5 | 4e5136230ec590ce6ef038aac6e72cb2 |
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 | 100 / 100 |
| Dangerous kernel imports | 100 / 100 |
| IOCTL dispatch surface | 72 / 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 unknown.sys, ranked by exploitation relevance.
| API | Risk | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| MmMapLockedPagesSpecifyCache | critical | Highly dangerous - potential for arbitrary code execution, memory corruption, or process termination |
| MmCopyVirtualMemory | critical | Highly dangerous - potential for arbitrary code execution, memory corruption, or process termination |
| ZwTerminateProcess | critical | Highly dangerous - potential for arbitrary code execution, memory corruption, or process termination |
| ObRegisterCallbacks | high | Potentially dangerous - could be used for privilege escalation or security bypass |
| PsLookupProcessByProcessId | high | Potentially dangerous - could be used for privilege escalation or security bypass |
| ZwDeleteFile | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ZwQuerySystemInformation | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| ObReferenceObjectByHandle | medium | Moderate risk - system modification capability |
| IofCompleteRequest | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoCreateSymbolicLink | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoDeleteDevice | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| RtlInitUnicodeString | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoDeleteSymbolicLink | low | Standard kernel API - generally benign |
| IoCreateDevice | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00222000 | medium (known exploit) | METHOD_BUFFERED | Driver communication init |
| 0x82730FBB | high | METHOD_NEITHER | CUSTOM_VIRAGT Function #1006 |
| 0x002200F0 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_UNKNOWN Function #60 |
| 0x00802484 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2337 |
| 0x0080EC81 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2848 |
| 0x0080C481 | medium | METHOD_IN_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #288 |
| 0x0080248C | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #2339 |
| 0x00342444 | medium | METHOD_BUFFERED | FILE_DEVICE_DISK Function #2321 |
| 0x008002A2 | medium | METHOD_OUT_DIRECT | FILE_DEVICE_CUSTOM Function #168 |
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 | 0x3455 | 0x3600 | 5.26 | CODE, EXEC, READ |
| .rdata | 0x07C4 | 0x0800 | 3.88 | IDATA, READ |
| .data | 0x0068 | 0x0200 | 0.14 | IDATA, READ, WRITE |
| .pdata | 0x0198 | 0x0200 | 3.26 | IDATA, READ |
| INIT | 0x0564 | 0x0600 | 4.59 | CODE, EXEC, READ, DISCARD |
| .reloc | 0x0014 | 0x0200 | 0.26 | IDATA, READ, DISCARD |
| Control Flow Guard | Enabled |
|---|---|
| ASLR | Enabled |
| DEP | Enabled |
| Integrity check | Not enforced |
| Mitigation score | 85 / 100 |
| Rule | Severity | Detects |
|---|---|---|
| BYOVD_ProcKill | critical | Process termination EDR killer |
| SUSP_Callbacks | medium | Kernel callback registration |
| MAL_EDRKiller | critical | Generic EDR killer pattern |
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 |
| T1055.001 | Process Injection: DLL Injection | 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 |
| T1489 | Service Stop | Impact |
| T1543.003 | Windows Service | Persistence |
| T1553.002 | Subvert Trust Controls: Code Signing | Defense Evasion |
| T1562.001 | Disable/Modify Tools | Defense Evasion |
| T1562.006 | Indicator Blocking | Defense Evasion |
| T1564.001 | Hidden Files and Directories | Defense Evasion |
| T1569.002 | Service Execution | Execution |
| T1652 | Device Driver Discovery | Discovery |
| Signer | Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher |
|---|---|
| Signer organisation | Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher |
| Issuer | Microsoft Windows Third Party Component CA |
| Serial | 77F685FE096792D8605E243ECDCC9F63EAF940B3 |
| Valid from | 2025-09-01 16:20 UTC |
| Valid until | 2026-09-01 16:20 UTC (expired) |
| Signature validity | Not verified |
Engine angr, status completed, 100 paths explored at a maximum depth of 100. 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, unknown.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.
unknown.sys has a DriverShield composite risk score of 88/100, placing it in the malicious verdict band. SHA256: 97bd65e98cdc4e93d49edd4ea905d43a61244df0fd3323e6649330de3b1be091.
unknown.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