Debug register rootkits : A study of malicious use of the IA-32 debug registers

Abstract: The debug register rootkit is a special type of rootkit that has existed for over a decade, and is told to be undetectable by any scanning tools. It exploits the debug registers in Intel’s IA-32 processor architecture. This paper investigates the debug register rootkit to find out why it is considered a threat, and which malware removal tools have implemented detection algorithms against this threat. By implementing and running a debug register rootkit against the most popular Linux tools, new conclusions about the protection of the Linux system can be reached. Recently, debug register rootkits were found on Windows as well. This project intends to bring knowledge about the problem and investigate if there are any threats. Our study has shown that still after 12 years, the most popular tools for the Linux operating system have not implemented any detection algorithms against this threat. The security industry may need to prepare for this threat in case it is spread further.