CVE-2026-44316
free5GC: PCF npcf-smpolicycontrol POST /sm-policies panics on downstream UDR/OpenAPI 404 via nil pointer dereference
No known exploitation. EPSS puts it in the 49th percentile. A vendor fix is available.
What to do
The vendor has published a fix. Version details are below where the sources state them.
What it is
From the CVE record
free5GC is an open-source implementation of the 5G core network. Prior to 4.2.2, free5GC's PCF POST /npcf-smpolicycontrol/v1/sm-policies handler (HandleCreateSmPolicyRequest) panics with a nil-pointer dereference when a downstream OpenAPI consumer call (UDR lookup) returns 404 Not Found and the consumer wrapper returns err != nil together with a nil response struct. The handler logs the OpenAPI error and continues executing instead of returning, then dereferences the nil response struct on a subsequent line and panics. Gin recovery converts the panic into HTTP 500, so a single attacker-shaped POST returns 500 instead of a clean 4xx whenever the downstream lookup fails. The PCF process keeps running. The trigger is a single POST containing input that causes the downstream UDR lookup to fail (e.g. an unknown DNN). In 4.2.1 this endpoint is also reachable WITHOUT an Authorization header because the PCF Npcf_SMPolicyControl route group is mounted without inbound auth middleware. This vulnerability is fixed in 4.2.2.
In plain language
No plain-language summary for this CVE yet.
Exploitation
Where each signal puts this CVE on the scale from published to confirmed exploited.
- CISA KEV
Not in the catalog. CISA has not confirmed exploitation.
- Public exploits
No public exploit or proof of concept found in the sources we track.
- EPSS
0.7% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the 49th percentile of scored CVEs.
Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST.org. A probability, not a confirmation.
Lifecycle
5 events over 1 day, from the signal feeds we watch.
- Patch availablerecord updated
- Publishedweakness classified, att&ck mapped
Affected products
Technical detail
CVSS 3.1 vector
Open in the CVSS calculatorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Scored 7.5 by NVD.
How it is reached
- Attack Vector NetworkExploitable remotely over the network without any special conditions
- Attack Complexity LowNo special conditions — the attack can be reliably reproduced
- Privileges Required NoneNo authentication required — anyone can exploit this
- User Interaction NoneNo user interaction needed — fully automated exploitation
Scope
- Scope UnchangedImpact is limited to the vulnerable component itself
Impact if exploited
- Confidentiality NoneNo confidentiality impact
- Integrity NoneNo integrity impact
- Availability HighTotal denial of service — the component is completely unavailable
Weaknesses
ATT&CK techniques
Mapped from the weaknesses above (CWE to ATT&CK), not observed in attacks.
Sources
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