Active Exploitation: Check Point VPN & Google Chrome Vulnerabilities — Defense Guide

---
title: Potential Google Chrome Exploit Activity - Shell Spawn
id: a1b2c3d4-2026-chrome-rce
status: experimental
description: Detects potential Google Chrome exploitation by identifying child processes such as cmd.exe or powershell.exe spawned from the browser.
references:
  - Internal Threat Research
author: Security Arsenal
date: 2026/04/22
tags:
  - attack.initial_access
  - attack.execution
  - attack.t1059.001
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection:
    ParentImage|endswith:
      - '\chrome.exe'
    Image|endswith:
      - '\cmd.exe'
      - '\powershell.exe'
      - '\pwsh.exe'
      - '\wscript.exe'
      - '\cscript.exe'
  filter_legit:
    CommandLine|contains:
      - '--type=renderer' # Normal chrome operations
  condition: selection and not filter_legit
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate user use of web-based tools that trigger local shells
level: high
---
title: Check Point VPN Service Anomalous Process Execution
id: e5f6g7h8-2026-cp-vpn
status: experimental
description: Detects suspicious process execution by Check Point VPN services (e.g., cpd, vpnd) which may indicate RCE or webshell activity.
references:
  - Vendor Advisories
author: Security Arsenal
date: 2026/04/22
tags:
  - attack.initial_access
  - attack.t1190
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection:
    ParentImage|contains:
      - 'CheckPoint'
      - 'VPN'
    Image|endswith:
      - '\cmd.exe'
      - '\powershell.exe'
      - '\bash.exe'
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Administrative maintenance activities
level: critical

// Hunt for VPN Anomalies and Chrome Exploitation Indicators
// 1. Check for successful VPN logins followed immediately by lateral movement (SMB/RPC)
let VPNLogins = DeviceNetworkEvents
| where RemoteIPType == "Public" 
| where InitiatingProcessFileName has_any ("vpn", "check point", "cpd")
| summarize LoginTime = min(Timestamp), SourceIP = InitiatingProcessIpAddress by DeviceId, AccountName;

let LateralMovement = DeviceNetworkEvents
| where RemotePort in (445, 139, 3389, 5985, 5986)
| where ActionType == "ConnectionSuccess";

VPNLogins
| join (LateralMovement) on DeviceId
| where Timestamp between (LoginTime .. LoginTime + 1h)
| project Timestamp, DeviceName, AccountName, SourceIP, RemoteIP, RemotePort, ActionType
| extend AlertDetail = "VPN Login followed by Lateral Movement";

// 2. Hunt for Chrome spawning unsigned binaries or shells
DeviceProcessEvents
| where InitiatingProcessFileName =~ "chrome.exe"
| where FileName in~ ("cmd.exe", "powershell.exe", "pwsh.exe", "mshta.exe")
| project Timestamp, DeviceName, AccountName, InitiatingProcessCommandLine, FileName, ProcessCommandLine, SHA1
| extend AlertDetail = "Chrome spawned suspicious process"

-- Hunt for Chrome Exploitation and VPN Service Anomalies
SELECT 
  Timestamp,
  Pid,
  Ppid,
  Name AS ProcessName,
  Exe,
  CommandLine,
  Username
FROM pslist()
WHERE 
  -- Check if Chrome is the parent of a shell
  (Name =~ 'cmd.exe' OR Name =~ 'powershell.exe' OR Name =~ 'pwsh.exe')
  AND 
  (Ppid in (SELECT Pid FROM pslist() WHERE Name =~ 'chrome.exe'))
  OR
  -- Check for suspicious VPN service behavior
  (CommandLine =~ 'wget' OR CommandLine =~ 'curl' OR CommandLine =~ 'certutil')
  AND
  (Ppid in (SELECT Pid FROM pslist() WHERE Name =~ 'cpd.exe' OR Name =~ 'vpnd.exe'))

# Remediation and Audit Script for Check Point VPN & Chrome
# Requires Administrator Privileges

Write-Host "[+] Starting Security Audit for Chrome and VPN Services..." -ForegroundColor Cyan

# 1. Audit Google Chrome Version
$ChromePath = "${env:ProgramFiles(x86)}\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe"
if (Test-Path $ChromePath) {
    $ChromeVer = (Get-Item $ChromePath).VersionInfo.FileVersion
    Write-Host "[*] Google Chrome Detected. Version: $ChromeVer" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    # Logic to check against minimum secure version (Replace with actual advisory version)
    $MinVer = "130.0.6723.0" 
    if ([version]$ChromeVer -lt [version]$MinVer) {
        Write-Host "[ALERT] Chrome is out of date and vulnerable. Please update immediately." -ForegroundColor Red
    } else {
        Write-Host "[OK] Chrome version meets security baseline." -ForegroundColor Green
    }
} else {
    Write-Host "[*] Google Chrome not found in default location." -ForegroundColor Gray
}

# 2. Check Check Point Service Status
$CPServices = Get-Service | Where-Object { $_.DisplayName -like "*Check Point*" -and $_.Status -eq 'Running' }
if ($CPServices) {
    foreach ($svc in $CPServices) {
        Write-Host "[*] Check Point Service Running: $($svc.DisplayName)" -ForegroundColor Yellow
        # Ensure recovery is set to restart on failure
        sc.exe failure $svc.Name reset= 86400 actions= restart/1000
    }
}

# 3. Network Hardening Check (Disable legacy protocols if enabled on adapters)
Write-Host "[*] Checking for legacy network protocols (SMBv1)..."
$SMB1 = Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Select-Object EnableSMB1Protocol
if ($SMB1.EnableSMB1Protocol -eq $true) {
    Write-Host "[ALERT] SMBv1 is enabled. Disabling..." -ForegroundColor Red
    Set-SmbServerConfiguration -EnableSMB1Protocol $false -Force
} else {
    Write-Host "[OK] SMBv1 is disabled." -ForegroundColor Green
}

Write-Host "[+] Audit Complete." -ForegroundColor Cyan