API Vulnerabilities
5G networks expose numerous APIs for network functions, edge computing, and third-party services. Vulnerabilities in these APIs can lead to unauthorized access, data breaches, and service disruption.
Technical Overview
5G architecture relies heavily on service-based architecture (SBA) with RESTful APIs between network functions. These APIs, if not properly secured, can be exploited for authentication bypass, injection attacks, or unauthorized access to network capabilities.
- •Unauthorized access to network functions
- •Data breaches and privacy violations
- •Service disruption and DoS
- •Privilege escalation
- •Network function manipulation
- •Authentication and authorization bypass
- •API injection attacks (SQL, command)
- •Broken object level authorization
- •Excessive data exposure
- •Rate limiting and DoS
- 1Enumerate exposed 5G APIs
- 2Analyze API authentication mechanisms
- 3Test for common API vulnerabilities
- 4Attempt injection attacks
- 5Exploit broken authorization
- 6Perform privilege escalation
- Implement strong API authentication (OAuth 2.0, mTLS)
- Use API gateways with security controls
- Implement rate limiting and throttling
- Validate and sanitize all inputs
- Use least privilege access controls
- Regular API security testing and audits
- →API vulnerabilities in 5G core networks
- →Third-party service exploitation
- →Edge computing API attacks
- →Network function exposure incidents
Related Attacks
5G edge computing brings computation closer to users for low latency. Attacks target edge nodes, multi-tenancy isolation, or exploit the distributed nature of edge infrastructure.
Network slicing exploits target the 5G feature that creates multiple virtual networks on shared infrastructure, attempting to breach slice isolation or perform cross-slice attacks.
Subscription Concealed Identifier (SUCI) attacks attempt to compromise the 5G privacy mechanism designed to protect subscriber identities through cryptographic concealment.