CRITICAL

Stuxnet Sabotage

Interactive simulation and visual analysis of the attack vector.

01Authenticode Verification

Stuxnet utilized stolen private keys from Realtek and JMicron to digitally sign its kernel drivers. This allowed the malware to silently bypass Windows Driver Signature Enforcement.

Windows Kernel Mode Code Signing

Windows x64 strictly requires all kernel-mode drivers (`.sys`) to be digitally signed by a trusted Certificate Authority. Stuxnet bypassed this by stealing private keys from legitimate hardware manufacturers.

mrxnet.sys

Signer: Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
Status: Pending

mrxcls.sys

Signer: JMicron Technology Corp.
Status: Pending

ATTACKER TERMINAL // KERNEL ACCESS LOG

02Rootkit Stealth

Once in the kernel (Ring 0), the malware hooked NTDLL APIs like NtQueryDirectoryFile, perfectly hiding its payload files (~WTR*.tmp) from the OS, antivirus, and users.

Task Manager User Mode (Ring 3)

Explorer.exe (Query Files)

NtQueryDirectoryFile()

NTDLL.DLL

Windows Kernel (Ring 0)

Dir Output (USB Drive):

report_2010.pdf

wincc_backup.bak

~WTR4141.tmp (Stuxnet Payload)

~WTR4132.tmp (Stuxnet Hook)

autorun.inf

03Air-Gapped Propagation

Since the target nuclear facility was physically disconnected from the internet (air-gapped), Stuxnet infected USB flash drives to physically cross the boundary.