Ransomware Actor Exploits Genshin Impact's Kernel Level Anti-Cheat Driver And Literally Bypasses Antivirus Protection

On Wednesday, an investigation into the exploitation of the anti-cheat driver for Genshin Impact came to a head, revealing a ransomware actor has found a way to kill antivirus protection. Making matters worse, Genshin Impact doesn't even have to be installed for the exploit to work.

Authors Ryan Soliven and Hitomi Kimura headed the investigation and published their findings on Trend Micro. They explained how the legitimate driver mhyprot2.sys, the anti-cheat software for Genshin Impact, was used to bypass antivirus protection.

In the past, developer HoYoverse has faced scrutiny for the software due to it continually running at the kernel level. This means it ran even after the game was closed and was close to the very core of a PC's total control system. Now, with word of the anti-cheat software being abused, it's clear how bad this looks, and Genshin Impact isn't alone when utilizing kernel level anti-cheats...remember the backlash against Valorant's?

"Genshin Impact does not need to be installed on a victim's device for this work," Soliven and Kimura stated. They go on to say the module to bypass antivirus is "very easy to obtain and will be available to everyone until it is erased from existence." Both authors expressed how malicious the exploit could become and noted, "certificate revocation and antivirus detection might help to discourage the abuse, but there are no solutions at this time because it is a legitimate module."

You can read more about their report on Trend Micro to learn more!