Sigma rule: Potentially Suspicious GoogleUpdate Child Process

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-3e05ed627586, updated 2023-05-22T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Potentially Suspicious GoogleUpdate Child Process
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2023-05-15
Modified
2023-05-22
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_googleupdate_susp_child_process.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects potentially suspicious child processes of "GoogleUpdate.exe"

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

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_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.stealth

Related rules

References

Read on 2026-11-03T00:58:21.399Z under licence sigma-drl-1.1@d5f4c36a from https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_googleupdate_susp_child_process.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Potentially Suspicious GoogleUpdate Child Process" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_googleupdate_susp_child_process.yml.
    Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License

    Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: Potentially Suspicious GoogleUpdate Child Process",
entity page, dataset version ref-3e05ed627586, updated 2023-05-22T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/84b1ecf9-6eff-4004-bafb-bae5c0e251b2 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 84b1ecf9-6eff-4004-bafb-bae5c0e251b2, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.