Ntdll acts as a crucial interface that enables transitions from user-mode
to kernel-mode
whenever applications or processes need to access system-level
resources beyond the capabilities of user-mode code. It also plays a key role in supporting various Windows subsystem DLLs, such as Kernel32.dll
, AdvApi32.dll
, and others. In most scenarios, public Windows API functions like CreateFile(A/W), OpenProcess, CreateThread have native equivalents within Ntdll.dll, typically distinguished by the Nt
or Zw
prefix, for instance, CreateFile maps to NtCreateFile
. These native functions handle parameter validation and mediate the transition between user and kernel mode.