It's not as if that hardware ID lacks a driver it has one... just a broken one. If there's a newer driver being inappropriately applied to older hardware, that's also a fault in the driver.
I'm not sure the circumstances, TBH. I would imagine that he has a driver installed, likely an older one(Which could be the newest!) that worked with prior versions of Windows, but no longer works in the newest "cutting edge" Version of Windows 10.
Microsoft has been actively working towards denying direct IO and Kernel access to drivers - among a host of other low-level "tools"/API's that drivers would traditionally use (In the legitimate name of security). APC's(Asynchronous Procedure Calls) are a good example, wherein a driver could be compromised and potentially allocate and insert code into a privileged process. This is the essence of the DOUBLEPULSAR backdoor.
How Microsoft found a Huawei driver that opened systems to attack
If a new, but incorrect driver is being installed it can mean a few things.
1. Microsoft could be to blame if the Windows Update Catalog database is incorrect.
2. 4th party could be to blame if their customization interferes with the new driver, or rather, the "stock" driver no longer works with the custom design they implemented. Trust me, Hardware ID's are not 'changed' as often as you would think... a 4th party could simply have kept the original Realtek HID, as it was shipped to them. Registering and getting a driver or HID accepted by MS is a grueling and potentially expensive process - Those "one-hung-low" brands will often skip that.
3. If it is indeed a new driver and it applies to the 'older' hardware, but doesn't work:
a. The driver is applying correctly, to the correct hardware ID's, but simply doesn't work or is flawed in some other way (eg. Rqd. direct kernel or IO access)
b. The driver contains a look-up for incorrect hardware, as you allude to. (This would be pretty rare though)
