Vulnerability · Published May 27, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2026-44317free5GC: PCF npcf-policyauthorization POST /app-sessions panics on suppFeat=1 with missing AfRoutReq via nil pointer dereference
Medium 6.5
In plain English
A medium-severity null pointer dereference in free5gc from free5gc. Proof-of-concept exploit code is public. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.4% (higher than 29% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
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.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go | github.com/free5gc/pcf | 1.4.3 | GHSA-wwqh-7jm5-gj7w |
| Go | github.com/free5gc/pcf | 1.4.3 | GO-2026-5731 |
Affected products (as reported)
Weakness: CWE-476, CWE-754 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
References
- https://github.com/free5gc/free5gc/security/advisories/GHSA-wwqh-7jm5-gj7w 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/508d70b8527a6c8c923179dad450ea01e16b6aeb x_refsource_MISC