Free5GC is an open-source Linux Foundation project for 5th generation (5G) mobile core networks. Versions prior to 1.4.2 are vulnerable to procedure panic caused by Nil Pointer Dereference in the /sdm-subscriptions endpoint. A remote attacker can cause the UDM service to panic and crash by sending a crafted POST request to the /sdm-subscriptions endpoint with a malformed URL path containing path traversal sequences (../) and a large JSON payload. The DataChangeNotificationProcedure function in notifier.go attempts to access a nil pointer without proper validation, causing a complete service crash with "runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer dereference". Exploitation would result in UDM functionality disruption until recovery by restart. This issue has been fixed in version 1.4.2.
This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from free5gc organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2026, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2026-03-20T08:16:12.257
2026-03-23T18:43:25.237
Analyzed
CVSSv3.1: 7.5 (HIGH)
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For free5gc's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.