Exploring malicious Windows drivers (Part 1): Introduction to the kernel and drivers
Summary: Cisco Talos published the first part of a series introducing the Windows kernel and drivers for analysts new to malicious driver research, citing prior work on the driver-based browser hijacker RedDriver and the signature timestamp forging tool HookSignTool. The post explains that drivers run in kernel mode within a shared virtual address space alongside the operating system, so a driver that writes to another driver's or the OS's address crashes the entire system with a Blue Screen of Death.
What's compelling: A malicious driver that loads successfully gives an attacker full access to the system, and Talos notes such drivers are difficult to detect - which is why the shortage of analysts with kernel knowledge is a gap an attacker can sit in.
Read the original at Cisco Talos ↗
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