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CVE-2026-44316 high CVSS 7.5

Vulnerability in github.com/free5gc/pcf (CVE-2026-44316)

Summary

Vulnerability in github.com/free5gc/pcf (CVE-2026-44316). Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure. Exploitable via POST /npcf-smpolicycontrol/v1/sm-policies. Mitigation: upgrade to 1.4.2 or later.

Original description

The description as published by the source.

Summary

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 v4.2.1 this endpoint is also reachable WITHOUT an Authorization header because the PCF Npcf_SMPolicyControl route group is mounted without inbound auth middleware (see free5gc/free5gc#844). So in the validation lab the trigger is fully unauthenticated.

Details

Validated against the PCF container in the official Docker compose lab.

  • free5GC version: v4.1.0 (originally reported on v4.1.0; same defect present in v4.2.1)
  • PCF endpoint: http://10.100.200.9:8000

Vulnerable handler path (paraphrased from the captured stack trace):

[INFO][PCF][SMpolicy] Handle CreateSmPolicy
[ERRO][PCF][Consumer] openapi error: 404, Not Found
[ERRO][PCF][GIN] panic: runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer derefere…

Source: GitHub Security Advisories (Global) NVD GitHub Advisory

Auto-generated summary

Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.

A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-44316 has been found in github.com/free5gc/pcf.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like POST /npcf-smpolicycontrol/v1/sm-policies over the network to misuse the product.
Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure. CVSS score: 7.5/10.
What to do: upgrade github.com/free5gc/pcf to 1.4.2 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "github.com/free5gc/pcf CVE-2026-44316" on the vendor's site.

CVE-2026-44316 (github.com/free5gc/pcf) — CWE-476 / CVSS v3 7.5
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / unauthenticated / no user interaction
Attack surface: POST /npcf-smpolicycontrol/v1/sm-policies / HandleCreateSmPolicyRequest / Authorization / Npcf_SMPolicyControl
Patched: 1.4.2 — apply immediately
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.

❓ What is the problem

A vulnerability (CWE-476) exists in github.com/free5gc/pcf. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via POST /npcf-smpolicycontrol/v1/sm-policies without authentication.

📍 Affected scope

Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of github.com/free5gc/pcf. Attack surface: POST /npcf-smpolicycontrol/v1/sm-policies / HandleCreateSmPolicyRequest / Authorization / Npcf_SMPolicyControl.

🔥 Severity

Severity: High (CVSS 7.5/10). Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.

🔧 How to fix

Update to 1.4.2.

🛡️ Workaround

Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.

🔍 Detection

Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual POST /npcf-smpolicycontrol/v1/sm-policies requests with malformed payloads or SQL meta-characters. Run grep -r 'github.com/free5gc/pcf' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.

Response actions

Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order

  1. 1
    Identify exposure identify 
    grep -r 'github.com/free5gc/pcf' . | grep -v node_modules

    リポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で github.com/free5gc/pcf を grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。

  2. 2
    Hunt for indicators of compromise detect 
    grep 'POST /npcf-smpolicycontrol/v1/sm-policies' /var/log/nginx/access.log | grep -E '(unusual_payload|sqli_pattern)'

    アクセスログで POST /npcf-smpolicycontrol/v1/sm-policies への異常なリクエスト (不正な認証ヘッダ・SQLメタ文字)を過去 30〜90日分捜索。WAF/SIEM があれば該当パスのアラート発火履歴を確認。

  3. 3
    Apply patch patch 
    Upgrade github.com/free5gc/pcf to 1.4.2

    ステージング環境で 1.4.2 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスと、Step 2 で見つけた異常検知の続報チェックを含めること。

  4. 4
    Post-deployment verification verify 
    Replay attack against POST /npcf-smpolicycontrol/v1/sm-policies on staging to confirm patch closes the vector

    パッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番では Step 2 と同じログクエリでアラート再発が無いか継続監視。

Affected packages

go github.com/free5gc/pcf
[{"type":"SEMVER","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"1.4.2"}]}]

References

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