Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XSummary
CVE-2026-1682 is a medium-severity Improper Resource Shutdown or Release (CWE-404) vulnerability in Free5Gc Free5Gc. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499); ranked at the 49th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-1682 is a null pointer dereference vulnerability (CWE-404, CWE-476) in the Free5GC SMF (Session Management Function) up to version 4.1.0. The flaw affects the HandlePfcpAssociationReleaseRequest function within the PFCP UDP Endpoint component, specifically in the file internal/pfcp/handler/handler.go. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L), indicating medium severity with low availability impact but no confidentiality or integrity effects.
The vulnerability can be exploited remotely by unauthenticated attackers over the network with low complexity and no user interaction required. Successful exploitation triggers a null pointer dereference, potentially causing a denial-of-service condition through application crashes or instability in the PFCP UDP Endpoint handling.
GitHub advisories in free5gc/free5gc issue #794 and related comments detail the issue, with a patch available in free5gc/smf pull request #188. Security practitioners should apply this patch to remediate the vulnerability.
An exploit for this issue has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of targeted attacks against exposed Free5GC SMF deployments.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-5030
Vulnerability Data
A flaw has been found in Free5GC SMF up to 4.1.0. Affected is the function HandlePfcpAssociationReleaseRequest of the file internal/pfcp/handler/handler.go of the component PFCP UDP Endpoint. Executing a manipulation can lead to null pointer dereference. The attack may be launched…
more
remotely. The exploit has been published and may be used. A patch should be applied to remediate this issue.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing or incorrect resource releases after code is written.
Documented development standards and tools can enforce null-safety rules and safe pointer usage.
Engineering principles can require explicit resource acquisition/release patterns that stop improper shutdown from being introduced.
Priority-based resource allocation limits the blast radius when released resources are not returned to the pool.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly include coding standards for correct resource allocation and release.
Runtime monitoring can detect resource exhaustion caused by improper shutdown or release.
Lifecycle management of assets can encompass proper resource release at end-of-life or shutdown.
Capacity management helps surface leaks from unreleased resources but does not prevent the coding flaw.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing can detect NULL dereference defects before release.
Including restart, recovery and media-handling instructions reduces the likelihood that resources or sensitive data will be left in an exposed or improperly released state after a failure.
Secure SDLC mandates defensive coding practices that can prevent NULL dereferences.
Application security requirements can specify input validation and pointer-safety rules.
Secure architecture principles encourage defensive design that avoids unsafe pointer use.
Secure coding standards directly require NULL-pointer checks and safe dereference patterns.