CVE-2026-44320
Published: 27 May 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-44320 is a high-severity Missing Authentication for Critical Function (CWE-306) vulnerability in Free5Gc Free5Gc. Its CVSS base score is 7.3 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 11.0th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Likely Mitigating ControlsAI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Requiring identification and rationale for actions allowed without authentication ensures critical functions are not left unprotected by forcing review of authentication requirements.
Authorizing mobile device connections to organizational systems ensures authentication is performed for this critical access function.
Always invoking the reference monitor prevents missing authorization checks for protected resources.
Auditing sessions makes it possible to detect access to critical functions without required authentication.
The assessment process confirms authentication is present and effective for critical functions, preventing exploitation from missing authentication.
Certification assesses that critical functions have required authentication controls in place.
Requiring authorization servers ensures authorization is performed for protected functions.
Tailoring determines which functions require authentication and selects the appropriate baseline or compensating authentication controls.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Missing auth middleware on exposed NEF callback routes (CWE-306/862) directly enables remote exploitation of the public-facing 5G network function without valid credentials.
NVD 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…
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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.
Deeper analysisAI
Automated synthesis unavailable for this CVE.
Details
- CWE(s)
- OWASP Top 10 Web 2025
Affected Products
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-32578