GHSA-vgq7-9r5r-j9v3 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) Reachable Assertion vulnerability in github.com/free5gc/pcf. A fix is available for github.com/free5gc/pcf — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Free5GC is vulnerable to DoS through its Npcf_BDTPolicyControl POST API
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-vgq7-9r5r-j9v3.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-vgq7-9r5r-j9v3 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/free5gc/pcfReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
An issue was discovered in Free5GC v4.0.0 and v4.0.1 allowing an attacker to cause a denial of service via crafted POST request to the Npcf_BDTPolicyControl API.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/free5gc/pcf | all versions | 1.4.0go get github.com/free5gc/pcf@v1.4.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/free5gc/pcf, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/free5gc/pcf to 1.4.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-vgq7-9r5r-j9v3 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-vgq7-9r5r-j9v3 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-vgq7-9r5r-j9v3. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-vgq7-9r5r-j9v3 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-vgq7-9r5r-j9v3 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.