Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/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-2026-26024 is a medium-severity NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476) vulnerability in Free5Gc Smf. Its CVSS base score is 6.6 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499); ranked at the 23th 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-2026-26024 affects the Session Management Function (SMF) component of free5GC, an open-source implementation of 5G mobile core networks. In versions up to and including 1.4.1, the SMF panics and terminates when processing a malformed PFCP SessionReportRequest message received over the PFCP interface on UDP port 8805. This vulnerability, classified under CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference), carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H), highlighting its potential for high-impact denial of service.
Any unauthenticated attacker with network access to the PFCP interface can exploit this by sending a specially crafted, malformed PFCP SessionReportRequest packet, causing the SMF process to crash immediately. Successful exploitation results in a denial of service, disrupting session management for 5G user equipment and potentially affecting broader core network operations until the SMF restarts. No privileges, user interaction, or complex setup are required, making it accessible to remote attackers who can reach the exposed UDP/8805 endpoint.
Advisories note no upstream patch is available as of publication on 2026-02-24. Recommended mitigations include firewalling or ACLs on the PFCP interface to restrict access to trusted User Plane Function (UPF) IP addresses, thereby reducing spoofing risks; inspecting or dropping malformed PFCP SessionReportRequest messages at the network perimeter; or implementing Go's recover() mechanism around the PFCP handler dispatch to prevent full process termination on panic. See GitHub issue #807 and advisory GHSA-mrv4-m9wc-c4g9 for details.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-7465
Vulnerability Data
free5GC SMF provides Session Management Function for free5GC, an open-source project for 5th generation (5G) mobile core networks. In versions up to and including 1.4.1, SMF panics and terminates when processing a malformed PFCP SessionReportRequest on the PFCP (UDP/8805) interface.…
more
No known upstream fix is available, but some workarounds are available. ACL/firewall the PFCP interface so only trusted UPF IPs can reach SMF (reduce spoofing/abuse surface); drop/inspect malformed PFCP SessionReportRequest messages at the network edge where feasible, and/or add recover() around PFCP handler dispatch to avoid whole-process termination (mitigation only).
- 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 (including static analysis) directly finds null-dereference bugs before deployment.
Documented development standards and tools can enforce null-safety rules and safe pointer usage.
Engineering principles can mandate defensive coding such as explicit null checks before dereference.
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 (static analysis, code review, safe coding standards) directly prevent NULL dereference bugs during development.
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.
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.