Ella Core NGAP Location Report Processing Vulnerability Leading to Denial-of-Service

A denial-of-service vulnerability has been identified in Ella Core versions prior to 1.6.0. The issue arises when the software processes a malformed NGAP LocationReport message that includes the 'ue-presence-in-area-of-interest' event type but omits the optional 'UEPresenceInAreaOfInterestList' information element. This flaw can be exploited by an attacker who sends crafted NGAP messages to Ella Core, causing the application to crash and disrupting service for all connected subscribers. Notably, no authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

Impact

Exploitation of this vulnerability causes the application to panic and crash, leading to a service disruption for all connected subscribers.

Remediation

Users can upgrade to Ella Core version 1.6.0 or later, where this vulnerability has been patched by adding verification for the presence of the information element in NGAP message handling.