vulnerability / NVI-00018253 / Revision 1
free5GC's NEF 3gpp-pfd-management PATCH applications/{appId} panics on UDR access failure due to nil ProblemDetails dereference
GitHub lists this reviewed advisory for github.com/free5gc/nef. Published version ranges and source prerequisites are shown below; this is not an inspection of a visitor’s application.
This report has not inspected your inventory, configuration, deployed build, reachability or evidence. A catalog listing and a severity score do not establish exposure or compromise.
01 / Meaning
Why it matters
Published affected context helps an owner decide what evidence to gather. This report has not examined your application.
7.5 high
GitHub source severity; exploitability and local consequence require separate evidence.
As of · GitHub Advisory Database
02 / Applicability
The affected context
Affected versions, configuration prerequisites and known exclusions are public. Confirm each one against the deployed service.
github.com/free5gc/nef
source listed< 1.2.3
### Summary 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 is a second-order bug: the trigger requires UDR access to be failing (e.g. NRF or UDR is unreachable, registration broken, transient network failure). The attacker does not directly control that condition, so this is scored as AC:H. Once the upstream condition exists, the trigger is a single PATCH request and is repeatable. The HTTP request itself in v4.2.1 is reachable without an `Authorization` header because the underlying NEF `3gpp-pfd-management` route group is mounted without inbound auth middleware (see free5gc/free5gc#858).
03 / Response
What to do next
- investigate
Identify the exact component and deployed version, examine the linked publisher’s conditions, and retain evidence of any mitigation.
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04 / Limits
What this report cannot establish
- Customer inventory, deployment, reachability and exploitation have not been inspected.
05 / Provenance
Sources you can inspect
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- GHSA-j59f-x285-69jx ↗
GitHub Advisory Database · vendor advisory
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Public revision history
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- Revision 1 ·
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