Executive Summary

CVE-2026-8349 is a vulnerability in the omec-project AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) component of the 5G core network, specifically up to version 2.1.1. It involves a flaw in the NGAP (Next Generation Application Protocol) Message Handler where a malformed LocationReport message can cause a nil pointer dereference, leading to a segmentation fault and crash of the AMF application.

This vulnerability occurs when the AMF receives improperly formatted NGAP messages, which it fails to handle correctly, resulting in memory corruption and runtime panic. The issue has been addressed by adding validation checks, nil/empty checks, and safer parsing mechanisms to prevent crashes caused by malformed NGAP and NAS inputs.

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Impact Analysis

Exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to a crash of the AMF component in the 5G core network, causing denial of service. Since the AMF is a critical control plane function responsible for mobility management, registration, and security context management, its failure can disrupt network operations and connectivity for users.

The attack can be launched remotely by sending a specially crafted malformed NGAP message, which triggers memory corruption and application crash. This can result in service outages, degraded network availability, and potential interruption of 5G services.

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring for crashes or segmentation faults in the AMF component when it receives malformed NGAP messages, specifically malformed LocationReport messages that cause nil pointer dereference crashes.

Detection can involve capturing and analyzing NGAP traffic to identify malformed LocationReport messages or other malformed NGAP/NAS inputs that could trigger the vulnerability.

While no explicit commands are provided in the resources, network administrators can use packet capture tools such as tcpdump or Wireshark to filter NGAP messages and look for anomalies in LocationReport messages.

• Use tcpdump to capture NGAP traffic on the relevant interface: tcpdump -i <interface> -w ngap_capture.pcap port 38412
• Analyze the captured traffic with Wireshark, filtering for NGAP LocationReport messages to identify malformed payloads.
• Monitor AMF logs for runtime panics or crashes indicating nil pointer dereference triggered by malformed NGAP messages.

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Mitigation Strategies

The immediate and recommended mitigation step is to apply the patch that fixes this vulnerability, which is included in the AMF release rel-2.2.1 or later.

This patch hardens the AMF against malformed NGAP and NAS inputs by adding validation checks, nil/empty checks, safer parsing mechanisms, and improved error handling to prevent crashes.

Until the patch is applied, it is advisable to monitor and filter incoming NGAP messages to block or drop malformed LocationReport or other suspicious NGAP messages that could exploit this flaw.

Additionally, ensure that your AMF component is running with the latest security updates and consider enabling logging and alerting for abnormal crashes or panics.

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Compliance Impact

The CVE-2026-8349 vulnerability affects the AMF component of the 5G core network, potentially impacting the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the network if exploited.

However, there is no specific information provided about how this vulnerability directly affects compliance with common standards and regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA.

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