A deep technical exploration of how modern kernel-level anti-cheat systems work on Windows, covering the three-component architecture (kernel driver, usermode service, game DLL), kernel callback APIs (ObRegisterCallbacks, PsSetCreateProcessNotifyRoutineEx, PsSetLoadImageNotifyRoutine, etc.), memory protection and scanning techniques (VAD tree walking, heuristic detection of manually mapped code, PE header scanning), anti-injection detection methods (CreateRemoteThread, APC injection, reflective DLL injection), hook detection (IAT hooks, inline hooks, SSDT integrity), and driver-level protections including BYOVD attack defense, PiDDBCacheTable internals, and the arms race between cheat developers and anti-cheat engineers. Systems covered include BattlEye (BEDaisy.sys), EasyAntiCheat, Vanguard (vgk.sys), and FACEIT AC. Includes working pseudocode and WinDbg examples throughout.
Table of contents
1. Introduction2. Architecture of a Kernel Anti-Cheat3. Kernel Callbacks and Monitoring4. Memory Protection and Scanning5. Anti-Injection Detection6. Hook Detection7. Driver-Level Protections8. Anti-Debug Protections9. DMA Cheats and Detection10. Behavioral Detection and Telemetry11. Anti-VM and Environment Checks12. Hardware Fingerprinting and Ban Enforcement13. The Arms Race: Current Trends and Future Directions14. ConclusionReferencesSort: