HLK driver submission erstricted capabilities

Question

hi,

in my company we develop open-VPX boards.

Upon client request, we have developed a Windows kernel driver.

We have a EV certificate for signing it, but we also need the Microsoft digital signature to be able to install the driver on recent Windows (> 1709).

The problem we face is that in open-VPX environment, many Windows features, such as PnP are not supported, so we do not support them in our driver. But, this leads to failed tests when we run the HLK playlist.

Is there a mean to indicate the working context of the driver when we submit a HLK package? Indeed, our first submission was rejected because of PnP tests failed.

Thank you for your help,

regards,

Manuel

Answer 1

I don't believe that there is anything in OpenVPX that would prevent your driver from supporting PnP or power management. Why do you think your driver cannot support them?

 -Brian

---

Azius Developer Training www.azius.com Windows device driver, internals, security, & forensics training and consulting. Blog at www.azius.com/blog

Answer 2

How do you install your driver?  If you're not PnP, then you probably don't need an INF and a full driver package.  If that's so, then the answer is easy.  You can submit your driver for "attestation signing".  No testing is required.  You submit it through the same dashboard where you make HLK submissions.  You'll have to create a fake INF in order to submit, but in the file you get back, all of your executable files will have Microsoft signatures.

For most people, the downside to attestation signing is that the resulting package works only on Windows 10, but that limitation is in the CAT file.  If you don't use the CAT file, then the driver appears to be WHQL signed and can be installed on any system.

---

Tim Roberts | Driver MVP Emeritus | Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.