AnotherHypervisor

Logging my learning journey with Hypervisors and Virtualization. just another hypervisor...

References:

• Hypervisor from Scratch
• CSE 291 - Virtualization
  • Memory Virtualization
• Red Team Notes - Windows Kernel Internals
• 5 Days to Virtualization: A Series on Hypervisor Development

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Windows Host-Target Kernel Debugging

1. Host Setup
   • Ensure Windows Debugging Tools are installed on the host.
   • Locate kdnet.exe and VerifiedNICList.xml at: C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Debuggers\x64
2. Target Setup (ref)
   • Create a directory on the target: C:\KDNET
   • Copy kdnet.exe and VerifiedNICList.xml into C:\KDNET from host
   • Confirm that the output lists a supported NIC with C:\KDNET>kdnet.exe
3. Enable Debugging
   • Set the IP of the host and specify a unique debug port:
   • C:\KDNET>kdnet.exe <HostComputerIPAddress> <YourDebugPort>
   • Copy the generated key
4. Connect to Target from Host
   • WinDbgX.exe -k net:port=<DebugPort>,key=<GeneratedKey>

Testing in VMware Workstation

• Enabling virtualization passthrough in VMware Workstation requires disabling all virtualization-based features on Windows, however Windows Core Isolation/Memory Integrity requires the hypervisor.
• Solution is to turn off Virtualization-based security (VBS) for enabling Nested Virtualization in VMware
  1. In Windows Features, turn off Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Platform and Windows Hypervisor Platform
  2. Turn off Core Isolation in Device Security
  • Alternatively, use the Microsoft Device Guard and Credential Guard script to disable and re-enable virtualization and virtualization-based security
  • Verify settings in msinfo32
    • Virtualization-based security should be off
    • No hypervisor should be detected
• Reference:
  • VMware Help Article
  • Options to optimize gaming performance in Windows 11