# CVE-2026-1682: Free5GC SMF PFCP UDP Endpoint handler.go HandlePfcpAssociationReleaseRequest null pointer dereference

> Remote attackers can cause a denial of service in Free5GC SMF via a null pointer dereference in the PFCP UDP endpoint handler.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.9 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 30 Jan 2026
- **Updated:** 23 Feb 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hc69-r6rr-hmxf

## What is CVE-2026-1682?

CVE-2026-1682 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Free5gc Free5gc, published on 30 Jan 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A flaw has been found in Free5GC SMF up to 4.1.0. Affected is the function HandlePfcpAssociationReleaseRequest of the file internal/pfcp/handler/handler.go of the component PFCP UDP Endpoint. Executing a manipulation can lead to null pointer dereference. The attack may be launched remotely. The exploit has been published and may be used. A patch should be applied to remediate this issue.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference), CWE-404 (Improper Resource Shutdown or Release)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-1682?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Free5gc Free5gc.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-1682?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-1682 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-1682 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-1682 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in Free5gc Free5gc

- [CVE-2026-44327](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44327/): free5GC: NEF nnef-oam route group is unauthenticated; no-token requests reach the OAM handler (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-44329](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44329/): free5GC's SMF UPI management interface lacks auth middleware; unauthenticated topology read/write requests reach handlers (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-44330](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44330/): free5GC's NEF nnef-pfdmanagement API is unauthenticated; forged bearer tokens can read PFD data and create/delete PFD subscriptions (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2025-63679](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-63679/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-44315](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44315/): free5GC's NEF 3gpp-pfd-management API is unauthenticated; forged bearer tokens can create, read, and delete PFD transactions (critical 9.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-1682 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-1682 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Free5gc Free5gc, published on 30 Jan 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-1682 exists.

Affected product: Free5gc Free5gc. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-1682/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-1682/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-1682
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-1682
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-1682

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-1682/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.