How does a ring 0 kernel cheat
actually work?
Windows runs code in two protection rings. Ring 3 is where every normal program lives, including the game. Ring 0 is the kernel, where drivers run. Ring 0 code can read and write any process memory without opening a handle the target process can see.
A ring 0 cheat installs a driver at ring 0 and reads the game state directly from there. Aimbot math, ESP boxes, all of it computed off memory reads the game never learns about, then painted into an overlay window the game does not own.
Anti-cheats also run at ring 0 to defend. That is why the tradecraft matters more than the ring itself. Being at ring 0 is table stakes. Not showing up in module walks, hook scans, and memory hashes is the actual product.