7.5

CVE-2026-25501: free5GC SMF crash (nil pointer dereference) on PFCP SessionReportRequest when ReportType.DLDR is set but DownlinkDataReport IE is missing

Analyzed
Published 24-02-2026Last modified 26-02-2026

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-25501 is a high (CVSS 7.5) NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability in free5gc smf. EPSS estimates a 0.57% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 46.5% of scored vulnerabilities. 1 public exploit is recorded.

Overall risk
40/100
0100
Medium · default modelHow is this calculated?
CVSS score
7.5/10
010
High · v3.1 (NVD)
EPSS score
0.57%
0%100%
Low · +0.26 pp in 30 days
KEVNot listedNot listed by any tracked catalog.
RansomwareNot flaggedNo ransomware use recorded.
Public exploits1github

Timeline

  1. 24-02-2026
    PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
  2. 26-02-2026
    Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

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).

CVSS metrics

3 scores · 2 sources · 2 versions

EPSS trend

Probability

0.57%

Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days

Percentile

47%

Versus all other CVEs

30-day change

Increase +0.26 pp

From 0.31% on 22-09-2026

22-09-202622-10-2026

Known exploited

Compare KEV catalogs
CISA KEV

Not in the CISA KEV catalog.

ENISA CNW

Not in the ENISA CNW catalog.

CIRCL

Not in the CIRCL catalog.

Public exploits

1 found
  • githubUnverified

    Free5Gc

    Maturity: poc

Weaknesses

CWE · root cause

Affected systems

Free5gc1 product

1 vendor · 1 product

References

2 links