5G Radio Access Network

Radio Interface Attacks

Comprehensive analysis of attack vectors targeting the 5G radio access network (RAN), including rogue base stations, jamming attacks, and subscriber identity interception techniques.

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Understanding Radio Interface Attacks

The radio interface, also known as the air interface, is the wireless communication link between user equipment (UE) and the 5G base station (gNodeB). This interface represents a critical attack surface in 5G networks due to its wireless nature and accessibility to potential attackers.

Radio interface attacks exploit vulnerabilities in the 5G New Radio (NR) protocol stack, physical layer security mechanisms, and authentication procedures. These attacks can lead to privacy violations, service disruption, and unauthorized network access.

Wireless Attack Surface

The wireless nature of the radio interface makes it accessible to attackers within physical proximity, requiring no direct network access.

Protocol Vulnerabilities

Despite improvements over 4G, the 5G NR protocol stack still contains exploitable weaknesses in authentication, encryption, and signaling procedures.

Physical Layer Attacks

Attacks targeting the physical layer can disrupt communications through jamming, interference, or signal manipulation techniques.

5G Radio Interface Attack Diagram

Radio Interface Attack Vectors

Detailed analysis of specific attack vectors targeting the 5G radio access network and air interface.

Rogue Base Station Attacks
Setting up fake gNBs to intercept communications

Jamming Attacks
Disrupting radio signals to cause denial of service

IMSI/SUPI Catching
Capturing subscriber identities through radio interface vulnerabilities

Technical Deep Dive

Rogue Base Station Architecture

A rogue base station (fake gNodeB) attack involves deploying unauthorized radio equipment that mimics a legitimate 5G base station. The attack typically uses Software-Defined Radio (SDR) hardware combined with open-source 5G protocol stacks.

Signal Strength Manipulation: Broadcasting with higher power to attract UEs
Cell Parameter Spoofing: Mimicking legitimate cell IDs and network parameters
Man-in-the-Middle Position: Relaying traffic between UE and legitimate network
Jamming Attack Techniques

Jamming attacks disrupt 5G radio communications by transmitting interference signals on the same frequencies used by the network. These attacks can target specific channels or the entire frequency band.

Broadband Jamming: Transmitting noise across the entire 5G frequency spectrum
Selective Jamming: Targeting specific control channels or resource blocks
Protocol-Aware Jamming: Disrupting specific 5G NR protocol messages
SUPI/SUCI Protection Mechanisms

5G introduces the Subscription Concealed Identifier (SUCI) to protect the permanent subscriber identity (SUPI) from exposure over the air interface. However, implementation weaknesses and protocol vulnerabilities can still enable identity catching attacks.

Protection Mechanisms

  • Public key encryption of SUPI to create SUCI
  • Home network decryption of SUCI
  • Temporary identifiers (5G-GUTI) for subsequent communications

Potential Weaknesses

  • Fallback to unencrypted SUPI in certain scenarios
  • Linkability attacks through timing and pattern analysis
  • Implementation flaws in SUCI generation

Defense Strategies

Comprehensive mitigation approaches to protect against radio interface attacks in 5G networks.

Network-Level Defenses
  • Implement strong mutual authentication between UE and gNodeB
  • Deploy anomaly detection systems to identify rogue base stations
  • Use frequency hopping and beamforming to mitigate jamming
  • Implement integrity protection for all signaling messages
Device-Level Protections
  • Validate gNodeB certificates and authentication responses
  • Implement SUCI encryption correctly without fallback mechanisms
  • Monitor for suspicious cell behavior and signal anomalies
  • Use secure baseband firmware with regular security updates
Monitoring & Detection
  • Deploy RF monitoring systems to detect unauthorized transmissions
  • Implement machine learning-based anomaly detection
  • Monitor for unusual authentication patterns and failures
  • Correlate events across multiple network layers

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