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Open5GS EUVDEUVD-2026-64674

| CVE-2026-78156 LOW
Buffer Overflow (CWE-119)
2026-08-24 cna@vuldb.com GHSA-r7gh-36fg-wvj8
2.1
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: vuldb
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Gain authenticated Diameter peer access on S6a interface
  2. Delivery
    Craft AIR with Visited-PLMN-Id AVP of incorrect length
  3. Exploit
    Submit malformed request to HSS S6a handler
  4. Execution
    Bypass absent length validation in hss_ogs_diam_s6a_air_cb
  5. Persist
    Trigger heap buffer overflow in ogs_auc_kasme call
  6. Impact
    Crash HSS process or achieve code execution

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, buffer size validation
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires the attacker to establish a Diameter S6a connection to the HSS with low-privilege Diameter peer credentials (PR:L per the supplied CVSS 4.0 vector), which in practice means having network access to the EPC's internal signaling plane - typically not reachable from the public internet. The triggering condition is sending an AIR message with a Visited-PLMN-Id AVP where os.len is not exactly 3 bytes (not equal to OGS_PLMN_ID_LEN); no special non-default configuration is required beyond a standard Open5GS HSS deployment with the S6a interface running. Exploitation is constrained by the Diameter peer authentication step (low privilege, but not zero) and by the non-public-internet exposure of the S6a interface. What limits exploitation in practice: the attacker must be inside the operator's core network segment or able to spoof/compromise a legitimate Diameter peer (MME, STP); unauthenticated internet attackers cannot reach this interface in conformant deployments.

Impact

The supplied CVSS 4.0 score of 2.1 with uniformly low impact metrics (VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:L/SI:L/SA:L) appears understated relative to a heap overflow in a core authentication component; the low score reflects the constrained deployment context rather than inherent exploitability - PR:L requires Diameter peer credentials, which are not publicly obtainable. No EPSS value was included in the intelligence package, so exploitation probability cannot be numerically quantified. The E:P threat modifier in the provided CVSS 4.0 vector confirms proof-of-concept material exists, distinguishing this from a purely theoretical flaw; however, no CISA KEV listing was referenced, so confirmed active exploitation remains unsubstantiated. The subsequent-system impact indicators (SC:L/SI:L/SA:L) are plausible given the HSS's role as the authentication oracle - a crash or compromise propagates authentication failures to all connected MMEs. Practically, even a mid-sized municipal IT team in boleslawiec running a private LTE network on Open5GS should treat this as a medium-priority patch given the available PoC, despite the low CVSS score, because the HSS is a single point of failure for subscriber authentication. The primary limiting factor is the requirement for Diameter S6a network access, which is an internal, non-internet-exposed interface in any standards-compliant deployment.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker with access to the core network Diameter segment - such as a compromised MME, a rogue signaling node inserted via SS7/Diameter interconnect, or a malicious insider - establishes a Diameter S6a connection to the Open5GS HSS and sends a crafted Authentication-Information-Request containing a Visited-PLMN-Id AVP whose octet-string length exceeds the expected 3-byte OGS_PLMN_ID_LEN. The HSS processes the request without validating the AVP length, triggering a heap buffer overflow in hss_ogs_diam_s6a_air_cb when the oversized data propagates into ogs_auc_kasme(). Depending on heap layout at runtime, the outcome ranges from an HSS process crash - denying authentication to all network subscribers - to potential arbitrary code execution within the HSS process; a proof-of-concept exists per the E:P signal in the CVSS 4.0 vector.

Monitor Track and reassess. Why: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9).
No patch listed yet 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 24, 2026

Heap-based buffer overflow in Open5GS 2.8.0's HSS S6a Authentication-Information-Request handler allows network-adjacent authenticated Diameter peers to corrupt process heap memory by supplying a malformed Visited-PLMN-Id AVP with an incorrect octet-string length. The vulnerable function hss_ogs_diam_s6a_air_cb in src/hss/hss-s6a-path.c passes raw AVP data to cryptographic key derivation (ogs_auc_kasme) without first validating that the PLMN identifier length matches the expected 3-byte constant OGS_PLMN_ID_LEN. No active exploitation is confirmed (no CISA KEV listing), but a proof-of-concept signal is present in the CVSS 4.0 threat metric (E:P); an upstream fix commit is available though a formally tagged patched release is not independently confirmed.

RemediationAI

Apply upstream fix commit a9c82ee0b590d76a581b0580cb46b598984e2392 from https://github.com/open5gs/open5gs/commit/a9c82ee0b590d76a581b0580cb46b598984e2392 - a specific tagged release version incorporating this commit is not independently confirmed from the available data, so operators should monitor the Open5GS GitHub repository for a formal release or apply the commit directly to their build. As a compensating control where immediate patching is not feasible, restrict Diameter S6a interface connectivity to known, explicitly authorized MME peers using host/realm-based Diameter filtering or transport-layer ACLs on Diameter ports (3868/TCP and SCTP); this reduces the attack surface to already-trusted peers but does not eliminate risk from a compromised legitimate peer. Additionally, deploying IDS rules to detect AIR messages carrying Visited-PLMN-Id AVPs with lengths outside the expected 3-byte value can provide early warning. Monitoring HSS process stability for unexpected crashes (which would surface as authentication outages) is a detection measure. No known workaround fully neutralizes the vulnerability short of patching or disabling the S6a AIR handler.

Affected VersionsENISA

Open5GS 2.8.0

Affected Packages

euvd open5gs no fix

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

Open5GS is an open-source C implementation of the 3GPP 4G Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and 5G core network, widely used in research labs, private LTE deployments, and telecom prototyping. The affected component is the HSS (Home Subscriber Server), which handles subscriber authentication and profile retrieval via the Diameter-based S6a interface (3GPP TS 29.272) toward the MME. Authentication-Information-Requests (AIR) carry the Visited-PLMN-Id AVP - a fixed 3-byte Public Land Mobile Network identifier used during roaming. The root cause (CWE-119, Improper Restriction of Operations within Memory Buffer Bounds) is that the original code used ogs_min(hdr->avp_value->os.len, sizeof(visited_plmn_id)) for the copy length but then passed the raw, unvalidated hdr->avp_value->os.data pointer directly to ogs_auc_kasme(), bypassing the min-guard and allowing a heap region to be overread or overwritten if the AVP carries more data than OGS_PLMN_ID_LEN. The fix (commit a9c82ee0b590d76a581b0580cb46b598984e2392) adds an explicit pre-check that rejects any AIR where the PLMN-Id octet string is absent or its length differs from OGS_PLMN_ID_LEN, returning OGS_DIAM_INVALID_AVP_VALUE and aborting processing before the dangerous memory operation.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (vuldb) PRIMARY 2.1 LOW
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:L/SI:L/SA:L/E:P
vuln.today AI 6.3 MEDIUM

Network-reachable Diameter interface but requires low-privilege peer authentication (PR:L); impact capped at low across C/I/A consistent with CVSS 4.0 source data.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:L/SI:L/SA:L

Primary rating from Vendor (vuldb).

CVSS VectorVendor: vuldb

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
None
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
Low
Vulnerable system: Integrity
Low
Vulnerable system: Availability
Low
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
Low
Subsequent system: Integrity
Low
Subsequent system: Availability
Low

DescriptionCVE.org

A security vulnerability has been detected in Open5GS 2.8.0. Affected by this issue is the function hss_ogs_diam_s6a_air_cb of the file src/hss/hss-s6a-path.c of the component S6a Authentication-Information-Request Handler. Such manipulation of the argument Visited-PLMN-Id leads to heap-based buffer overflow. The attack may be performed from remote. The name of the patch is a9c82ee0b590d76a581b0580cb46b598984e2392. A patch should be applied to remediate this issue.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.3%
Top 74% exploitable
Prevalence
Low
open-source 5G/4G core used mainly in research and private LTE networks
Data Quality
7 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment GitHub VulDB

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity LOW
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.3%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Low
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

10
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +10
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Related Vulnerabilities in Open5GS Memory and Authorization Flaws

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