Our research reveals two significant vulnerabilities in Microsoft Azure Private 5G Core (AP5GC). The first vulnerability (CVE-2024-20685) allows a crafted signaling message to crash the control plane, leading to potential service outages. The second (ZDI-CAN-23960) disconnects and replaces attached base stations, disrupting network operations. While these issues are implementation-specific, their exploitation is made possible by a systemic weakness: the lack of mandatory authentication procedures between base stations and packet-cores.

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The post delves into two significant vulnerabilities in Microsoft Azure Private 5G Core (AP5GC), specifically CVE-2024-20685 and ZDI-CAN-23960, which can cause service outages and network disruptions. These issues stem from a systemic weakness in the lack of mandatory authentication between base stations and packet cores. The write-up details how these vulnerabilities can be exploited, the potential impacts, and mitigation strategies including IPSec, certificate-based authentication, and access control.

Vulnerabilities in Cellular Packet Cores Part IV Authentication