First published on MSDN on Apr 01, 2015
NOTE: These driver signing changes correspond to the initial Windows 10 release. For driver signing changes in Windows 10, version 1607, see
this post
.
Beginning with the release of Windows 10, all new Windows 10 kernel mode drivers must be submitted to and digitally signed by the
Windows Hardware Developer Center Dashboard portal
. Windows 10 will not load new kernel mode drivers which are not signed by the portal.
Additionally, starting 90 days after the release of Windows 10, the portal will only accept driver submissions, including both kernel and user mode driver submissions, that have a valid Extended Validation (“EV”) Code Signing Certificate.
We’re making these changes to help make Windows more secure. These changes limit the risk of a driver publisher’s signing keys being lost or stolen and also ensures that driver publishers are strongly authenticated.
If you are a driver developer, here is what you need to do:
-
Ensure that you submit new drivers to Microsoft via the
Windows Hardware Developer Center Dashboard portal
.
-
Get started with the
process of getting an EV Code Signing Certificate
.
FAQs
What about existing drivers? Do I need to re-sign these drivers to get them to work with Windows 10?
No, existing drivers do not need to be re-signed. To ensure backwards compatibility, drivers which are properly signed by a
valid cross-signing certificate
that was issued before the release of Windows 10 will continue to pass signing checks on Windows 10.
What about older versions of Windows?
The changes described in this post apply only to Windows 10, so
cross-signing
can continue to be used on previous versions of Windows. However, the
Windows Hardware Developer Center Dashboard portal
will require an EV Code Signing Certificate no matter what OS you plan to support.
How to sign drivers during development and testing?
Please see
this page
for information on how to test sign.
How do I sign a driver so that it is compatible with Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10?
Simple. All you need to do is run the HLK tests for Windows 10, and run the HCK tests for Windows 8.1 and earlier versions as you have in the past. Then, submit your driver and the merged HLK/HCK test results to the
Windows Hardware Developer Center Dashboard portal
. The portal will sign the driver the right way so that it will work on all platforms that you indicate the driver is applicable for.
Are there web services for submitting to the
Windows Hardware Developer Center Dashboard portal
?
Yes. Take a look at
this
and
this
.
