CVE-2026-44320

free5GC: NEF nnef-callback route group is unauthenticated; forged callback requests are accepted into the processing path

Published May 27, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 7.3 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
free5GC is an open-source implementation of the 5G core network. Prior to 4.2.2, free5GC's NEF mounts the nnef-callback route group without inbound OAuth2/bearer-token authorization. A forged or arbitrary bearer token (e.g. Authorization: Bearer not-a-real-token) is enough to reach the SMF-callback handler -- the callback body is parsed and dispatched into NEF business logic instead of being rejected at the auth boundary. Same root cause as the other NEF SBI findings: the route group is mounted without any inbound auth middleware. NEF does not authenticate the producer NF identity before processing callback content; if an attacker can guess or obtain a valid NotifId, this missing auth boundary lets forged callbacks act on real subscription state. The route group is also reachable even when the runtime ServiceList does not declare it (it lists only nnef-pfdmanagement and nnef-oam). This vulnerability is fixed in 4.2.2.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-wqfh-gq79-j8mf free5GC's NEF nnef-callback route group is unauthenticated; forged callback requests are accepted into the processing path
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:free5gc:free5gc:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Free5gc
Free5gc free5gc
Vendors & Products Free5gc
Free5gc free5gc
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description free5GC is an open-source implementation of the 5G core network. Prior to 4.2.2, free5GC's NEF mounts the nnef-callback route group without inbound OAuth2/bearer-token authorization. A forged or arbitrary bearer token (e.g. Authorization: Bearer not-a-real-token) is enough to reach the SMF-callback handler -- the callback body is parsed and dispatched into NEF business logic instead of being rejected at the auth boundary. Same root cause as the other NEF SBI findings: the route group is mounted without any inbound auth middleware. NEF does not authenticate the producer NF identity before processing callback content; if an attacker can guess or obtain a valid NotifId, this missing auth boundary lets forged callbacks act on real subscription state. The route group is also reachable even when the runtime ServiceList does not declare it (it lists only nnef-pfdmanagement and nnef-oam). This vulnerability is fixed in 4.2.2.
Title free5GC: NEF nnef-callback route group is unauthenticated; forged callback requests are accepted into the processing path
Weaknesses CWE-306
CWE-862
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
GitHub_M
Published
Updated
May 27, 2026, 5:44 PM
Reserved
May 5, 2026, 7:00 PM
Status
Analyzed
Published
May 27, 2026, 5:16 PM
Modified
Oct 14, 2026, 8:10 PM