CVE-2026-25501

free5GC SMF crash (nil pointer dereference) on PFCP SessionReportRequest when ReportType.DLDR is set but DownlinkDataReport IE is missing

HIGH
7.5
CVSS Score
Published: February 24, 2026 at 12:10 AM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 10:24 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorSMF

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Severity
HIGH7.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.4%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

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 due to nil pointer dereference and the SMF process terminates. This is triggered by a malformed PFCP SessionReportRequest on the SMF PFCP (UDP/8805) interface. 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).

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v ≤ 1.4.1<= 1.4.1

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

References (2)

x_refsource_CONFIRMVendor Advisory
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/free5gc/free5gc/security/advisories/GHSA-vq85-8f6p-g9q5
x_refsource_MISCExploitIssue TrackingVendor Advisory
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/free5gc/free5gc/issues/805

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitAutomatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-476

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