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https://github.com/tandasat/hyperplatform

Intel VT-x based hypervisor aiming to provide a thin VM-exit filtering platform on Windows.
https://github.com/tandasat/hyperplatform

driver hypervisor virtual-machine windows-kernel

Last synced: 19 days ago
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Intel VT-x based hypervisor aiming to provide a thin VM-exit filtering platform on Windows.

Awesome Lists containing this project

README 

        
HyperPlatform

==============



Introduction

-------------

HyperPlatform is an Intel VT-x based hypervisor (a.k.a. virtual machine monitor)

aiming to provide a thin platform for research on Windows. HyperPlatform is

capable of monitoring a wide range of events, including but not limited to,

access to virtual/physical memory and system registers, occurrences of interrupts

and execution of certain instructions.



Researchers are free to selectively enable and/or disable any of those event

monitoring and implement their own logic on the top of HyperPlatform. Some

potential applications are:

- Analyzing kernel mode rootkit

- Implementing virtual-machine-based intrusion prevention system (VIPS)

- Reverse-engineering the Windows kernel



A simplified implementation of those ideas are available:

- MemoryMon detecting execution of kernel memory for rootkit analysis

 - https://github.com/tandasat/MemoryMon

- EopMon spotting a successful elevation of privilege (EoP) exploit

 - https://github.com/tandasat/EopMon

- DdiMon monitoring and controlling kernel API calls with stealth hook using EPT

 - https://github.com/tandasat/DdiMon

- GuardMon observing some of PatchGuard activities

 - https://github.com/tandasat/GuardMon



Advantages

-----------

HyperPlatform is designed to be easy to read and extend by researchers,

especially those who are familiar with Windows. For instance:

- HyperPlatform runs on Windows 7, 8.1 and 10 in both 32 and 64 bit architectures

  without any special configuration (except for enabling Intel-VT technology).

- HyperPlatform compiles in Visual Studio and can be debugged though Windbg

  just like a regular software driver.

- Source code of HyperPlatform is written and formatted in existing styles

  (Google C++ Style Guide and clang-format), and well commented.

- HyperPlatform has no dependencies, supports use of STL and is released under

  a relaxed license.



For more details, see the HyperPlatform User Document and Programmer's Reference.

- https://tandasat.github.io/HyperPlatform/userdocument/

- https://tandasat.github.io/HyperPlatform/doxygen/



Build

------

To build HyperPlatform for x64 Windows 10 and later, the following are required.

- Visual Studio Community 2022

- Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows 10 (10.0.22621 or later)

- Windows Driver Kit (WDK) 10 (10.0.22621 or later)



To build HyperPlatform for x86 and Windows 7 and 8.1, the following are required.

- Visual Studio Community 2019

- Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows 10 (10.0.22000)

- Windows Driver Kit (WDK) 10 (10.0.22000)



Installation and Uninstallation

--------------------------------

Clone full source code from Github with a below command and compile it on Visual

Studio.



    $ git clone --recursive https://github.com/tandasat/HyperPlatform.git



On the x64 platform, you have to enable test signing to install the driver.

To do that, open the command prompt with the administrator privilege and type

the following command, and then restart the system to activate the change:



    >bcdedit /set testsigning on



To install and uninstall the driver, use the 'sc' command. For installation:



    >sc create HyperPlatform type= kernel binPath= C:\Users\user\Desktop\HyperPlatform.sys

    >sc start HyperPlatform



Note that the system must support the Intel VT-x and EPT technology to

successfully install the driver. On Windows 10 RS4+ systems, this technology

can automatically be disabled by the Windows kernel which results in the

following error.



    >sc start HyperPlatform

    [SC] StartService FAILED 3224698910:



    A hypervisor feature is not available to the user.



This is due to Windows Defender Credential Guard being enabled by default.

To disable Windows Defender Credential Guard and enable the virtualization

technology for HyperPlatform, follow this instruction.

- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/credential-guard/credential-guard-manage



For uninstallation:



    >sc stop HyperPlatform

    >sc delete HyperPlatform

    >bcdedit /deletevalue testsigning



To install the driver on a virtual machine on VMware Workstation, see an "Using

VMware Workstation" section in the HyperPlatform User Document.

- https://tandasat.github.io/HyperPlatform/userdocument/



Output

-------

All logs are printed out to DbgView and saved in C:\Windows\HyperPlatform.log.



Supported Platforms

--------------------

- x86 and x64 Windows 7, 8.1 and 10

- The system must support the Intel VT-x and EPT technology



Related Project(s)

--------------------

- SimpleVisor

 - http://ionescu007.github.io/SimpleVisor/



SimpleVisor is a very (very) simple and readable Windows-specific hypervisor. I

recommend taking a look at the project to learn VT-x if you are new to hypervisor

development. It should give you a clearer view of how a hypervisor is initialized

and executed.



- hvpp

 - https://github.com/wbenny/hvpp

hvpp is a lightweight Intel x64/VT-x hypervisor written in C++. This is about the

same size as HyperPlatform in LOC yet written in a more polished matter with focus

on x64, making the entire code base more readable. This project also addresses

some issues remain unresolved in HyperPlatform and comes with educational comments

and demonstration code to learn VT-x in more depth. Unless you are allergic to C++

or looking for x86 support, I strongly encourage you to study this project too.



- ksm

 - https://github.com/asamy/ksm



ksm is lightweight-ish x64 hypervisor written in C for Windows for Intel

processors. It demonstrates some advanced VT-x features like #VE and VMFUNC where

HyperPlatform does not include.



- Bareflank Hypervisor

 - http://bareflank.github.io/hypervisor/



Bareflank Hypervisor is an actively developed open source hypervisor. It comes

with rich documents, tests, and comments, supports multiple platforms. The size

of code is larger than that of HyperPlatform, but you will find it interesting if

you are looking for more comprehensive yet still lightweight-ish hypervisors.



License

--------

This software is released under the MIT License, see LICENSE.