SECDRV.SYS Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of older games.

Anonymous
2015-08-01T20:13:40+00:00

Hello,

I have discovered an unfortunate problem with Windows 10.

Many games from the early-mid 2000's used Macrovision's SafeDisc (version 2) as a means of copy protection. At game startup, Windows loaded SECDRV.SYS to verify an original game disc was in the drive, after which the game would start.

When you try to run ANY game which uses this SafeDisc form of copy protection in Windows 10, the following happens:

 - You get an error window that tells you to log in with Administrator Privileges and to try again. This happens on any account, even those with Administrator access. The game fails to start.

 - If you then set "Run as Admin" compatibility mode on the game's startup file, the message disappears, but the game doesn't start.

 - Keeping a window open for C:\WINDOWS\SYSWOW64\DRIVERS shows SECDRV.SYS appearing at the moment you try to start the game. Based on its size, it appears to be the file that is present on the game disc (tested across several games), even though I see no disc activity and cannot find the file elsewhere on my system.

 - The Windows event log shows that SECDRV.SYS failed to load.

 - This happens both with an upgraded install (Windows 8.1 > Windows 10) and with a fresh Windows 10 install, with one of the games being installed immediately upon the fresh install completing.

 - On my Windows 64-bit 8.1 system, C:\WINDOWS\WINSXS has a folder called amd64_macrovision-protection-safedisc_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.16384_none_4e6b3758913c9240 with a SECDRV.SYS in it, presumably the one that ships with Windows. Windows 10 had such a folder in early builds, but it is missing from the release build. It appears SafeDisc support is missing entirely.

OTHER TESTING I HAVE DONE:

 - I updated one of the games to a version that no longer required the CD check, and it started immediately and ran perfectly once the check was removed. However, this is possible only with a very limited number of games, or resorting to fixes that violate the game's EULA or put the user's system security at risk.

 - I tried disabling driver signature verification and installing one of the games again; same problem.

 - Multiple compatibility modes; same problem. XP (Service Pack 3) mode and / or Run as Administrator mode make the error message go away, but the games still fail to launch.

SIGNIFICANCE:

Unless this is fixed in Windows 10, a massive catalog of older games will cease to function in Windows 10 for the simple reason that they cannot pass the SafeDisc copy protection check. I am accustomed to some games breaking with every new version of Windows as technology progresses (for example, the loss of the ability to run 16-bit programs in 64-bit Windows), but this seems to be an unnecessarily harsh change.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Gaming

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-02-17T23:55:28+00:00

    I think the default service start configuration is demand start (manual).

    sc.exe start secdrv

    will again start the driver.

    You can configure it to automatically start after every boot as follows

    sc.exe config secdrv start= auto

    You can find out what the start type is with the 'query configuration' command:

    sc.exe qc secdrv

    Not having secdrv started only protects you from issues with the driver itself. You might still have software that runs elevated simply start the driver and exploit your system from there. You will also still be vulnerable from having secure boot disabled.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-02-17T23:45:14+00:00

    Thanks for the response and recommendations, I'll be sure to take precautions.

    I've noticed that once you've re-booted the system, SECDRV fails to start and games will fail to load, as expected; at this point the system will once again be protected, providing you haven't been compromised by a root kit attack?

    I know that the below commands and disable driver signature enforcementallow SECDRV to once again load:

    bcdedit.exe -set loadoptions DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS

    bcdedit /set TESTSIGNING ON

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-02-17T16:52:51+00:00

    Hello from Prague, 

    I used your advice, installed the Windows 10 SDK, and certified the SECDRV driver.

    Now, the AOM game runs directly from Windows 10, even under another account on my computer.

    In addition, this was my first practical demonstration of Windows Powershell.

    Previously, I used AOM to boot the computer without signing the drivers and I was so dangerous to run the game. Thank you for your help.

    J. Tomascin

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-02-17T15:24:24+00:00

    Well as you need to disable secure boot to run SECDRV in the first place, previous recommendation is for when you have just one computer.

    Better yet run secdrv on a different computer altogether. Disabling secure boot opens your whole device up for potential root kit attacks compromising your whole OS every time you run code with Administrator privileges (installers, ...).

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  5. Anonymous
    2018-02-17T15:21:10+00:00

    Search for CVE secdrv.

    I can find in less than a minute elevation of privilege and "Provides administrator access, Allows complete confidentiality, integrity, and availability violation; Allows unauthorized disclosure of information; Allows disruption of service." 

    This is just what is known already. Depends on the version of the driver being used.

    I wouldn't expect this list to be complete, secdrv is old and not being updated.

    Also don't expect any exploits to be found by AntiVirus very soon now that the number of people using secdrv is really low....

    I recommend running multiboot with different credentials or even a local account (don't use the same Microsoft account), encrypting both your boot drives with BitLocker and not letting the one OS access the volume of the other. Obviously if you have Steam do that on your secure OS - use the one with SECDRV installed just for games that need it.

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