Potentially Suspicious GoogleUpdate Child Process

SIGMA detection rule by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) · NOASSERTION

Detects potentially suspicious child processes of "GoogleUpdate.exe"

title: Potentially Suspicious GoogleUpdate Child Process
id: 84b1ecf9-6eff-4004-bafb-bae5c0e251b2
related:
    - id: bdbab15a-3826-48fa-a1b7-723cd8f32fcc
      type: derived
status: test
description: Detects potentially suspicious child processes of "GoogleUpdate.exe"
references:
    - https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/static-assets/documents/malware-analysis-reports/goofy-guineapig/NCSC-MAR-Goofy-Guineapig.pdf
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
date: 2023-05-15
modified: 2023-05-22
tags:
    - attack.stealth
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        ParentImage|endswith: '\GoogleUpdate.exe'
    filter_main_known_legit:
        # Some other legit child process might exist. It's better to make a baseline before running this in production
        - Image|contains: '\Google' # Example: GoogleUpdate.exe, GoogleCrashHandler.exe, GoogleUpdateComRegisterShell64.exe
        - Image|endswith:
              - '\setup.exe'
              - 'chrome_updater.exe'
              - 'chrome_installer.exe'
    filter_main_image_null:
        Image: null
    condition: selection and not 1 of filter_main_*
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: high

[[ currentRule.title && currentRule.title.length > 60 ? currentRule.title.slice(0, 60) + '…' : currentRule.title ]]

5bcdf85c-ae6a-4040-a4b8-299b5306c970

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Executable code, not a declarative rule

This submission is arbitrary [[ currentRule.format ? currentRule.format.toUpperCase() : '' ]] code, not a declarative detection rule — review it as you would any script before running it, and note that it cannot be safely aggregated or auto-executed alongside YARA/Sigma/Suricata/CRS rules.

Rejected pattern present

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Format & documentation suggestions

Not a security issue — this rule is valid and was accepted as-is. These are optional fields/conventions its own format recommends, mainly affecting its quality score and how well it documents itself for other reviewers.

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[[ currentRule.title && currentRule.title.length > 60 ? currentRule.title.slice(0, 60) + '…' : currentRule.title ]]

[[ currentRule.title ]]

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