CVE-2026-44322: free5GC: NEF 3gpp-pfd-management PATCH applications/{appId} panics on UDR access failure due to nil ProblemDetails dereference

Severity: high (CVSS 7.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: yes
Published: 2026-05-27 · updated 2026-10-14
Weakness: CWE-476

Description

free5GC is an open-source implementation of the 5G core network. Prior to 4.2.2, free5GC's NEF PATCH /3gpp-pfd-management/v1/{afId}/transactions/{transId}/applications/{appId} handler panics with a nil-pointer dereference when the upstream UDR call fails AND the consumer wrapper returns err != nil together with a nil *ProblemDetails. The handler's errPfdData != nil branch builds its own problemDetailsErr correctly, but immediately after it reads problemDetails.Cause (the OTHER value, which is nil in this branch) and panics. Gin recovery converts the panic into HTTP 500, so a single PATCH against this endpoint returns 500 instead of the intended controlled error response whenever UDR access is failing. This vulnerability is fixed in 4.2.2.

Affected products

free5gc: before 4.2.2 — fixed in 4.2.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: free5gc 4.2.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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