How to Fix CVE-2026-41136: Cwe-440: expected behavior violation in amf
By Sai Kiran Pandrala. Last verified: 2026-05-25.
| Severity | 5.5 (Medium) |
|---|---|
| Actively exploited? | No public listing in CISA KEV |
| Affected | free5gc amf < 1.4.3 |
| Fixed in | amf 1.4.3 |
| Type (CWE) | CWE-440: CWE-440: Expected Behavior Violation |
What is CVE-2026-41136?
free5GC AMF provides Access & Mobility Management Function (AMF) for free5GC, an an open-source project for 5th generation (5G) mobile core networks. Prior to version 1.4.3, the HTTPUEContextTransfer handler in internal/sbi/api_communication.go does not include a default case in the Content-Type switch statement. When a request arrives with an unsupported Content-Type, the deserialization step is silently skipped, err remains nil, and the processor is invoked with a completely uninitialized UeContextTransferRequest object. Version 1.4.3 contains a fix.
Am I affected?
Run the version check that matches your platform:
# Linux
dpkg -s amf 2>/dev/null | grep -i version
rpm -q amf 2>/dev/null
amf --version 2>/dev/null
Compare what you see against the Affected row above (free5gc amf < 1.4.3). If your build sits inside that range, you are exposed and should patch.
How to fix CVE-2026-41136
The primary fix is to upgrade amf to the patched build. Use the commands for your platform below; the patched version listed in the vendor advisory is: amf 1.4.3.
Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade amf
amf --version 2>/dev/null || dpkg -s amf | grep -i version
RHEL / CentOS / Rocky / AlmaLinux
sudo dnf upgrade --security amf -y
rpm -q amf
SUSE / openSUSE
sudo zypper patch --category security
rpm -q amf
Complete PowerShell remediation script (Windows)
# Fix script for CVE-2026-41136 affecting amf
# Run as administrator. Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.
$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
$LogPath = "C:\Logs\CVE-2026-41136-fix-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmmss).log"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force (Split-Path $LogPath) | Out-Null
Start-Transcript -Path $LogPath -Append
try {
Write-Host "[1/4] Detecting installed version of amf"
$pkg = winget list --id "amf" 2>$null
Write-Host $pkg
Write-Host "[2/4] Backing up configuration"
$backup = "C:\Backup\amf-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd)"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force $backup | Out-Null
Get-ChildItem "C:\ProgramData\amf" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
Copy-Item -Destination $backup -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Write-Host "[3/4] Applying upgrade to amf 1.4.3"
winget upgrade --id "amf" --silent --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements
# Fallback: Windows Update for OS-level fixes
if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
Install-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate -Force -SkipPublisherCheck -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Import-Module PSWindowsUpdate
Install-WindowsUpdate -MicrosoftUpdate -AcceptAll -IgnoreReboot
}
Write-Host "[4/4] Verifying patched build"
winget list --id "amf"
Write-Host "Fix applied. Reboot if prompted."
exit 0
} catch {
Write-Error "Patch failed: $_"
exit 1
} finally {
Stop-Transcript
}
Complete Bash remediation script (Linux)
#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Fix script for CVE-2026-41136 affecting amf
# Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.
set -euo pipefail
LOG="/var/log/cve-2026-41136-fix-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).log"
exec > >(tee -a "$LOG") 2>&1
echo "[1/4] Detecting installed version"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
dpkg -s amf 2>/dev/null | grep -i version || echo "amf not installed via dpkg"
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
rpm -q amf || echo "amf not installed via rpm"
fi
echo "[2/4] Backing up configuration"
BACKUP="/root/backup-cve-2026-41136-$(date +%Y%m%d)"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP"
for d in /etc/amf /etc/amf.d /etc/amf.conf; do
[ -e "$d" ] && cp -a "$d" "$BACKUP/" || true
done
echo "[3/4] Applying upgrade (target: amf 1.4.3)"
if command -v apt-get >/dev/null; then
apt-get update
apt-get install --only-upgrade -y amf
elif command -v dnf >/dev/null; then
dnf upgrade --security -y amf
elif command -v yum >/dev/null; then
yum update -y amf
elif command -v zypper >/dev/null; then
zypper --non-interactive patch --category security
fi
echo "[4/4] Verifying patched build"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
dpkg -s amf 2>/dev/null | grep -i version
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
rpm -q amf
fi
echo "Done. Restart any running daemons that loaded the old library."
If you can't patch immediately
If you cannot apply the patched version today, restrict exposure with one of the following runnable controls. None replace the patch.
Network restriction (Linux, nftables)
# Block inbound traffic to the affected service from untrusted networks
sudo nft add table inet filter
sudo nft 'add chain inet filter input { type filter hook input priority 0 ; }'
sudo nft 'add rule inet filter input tcp dport {443, 80} ip saddr != 10.0.0.0/8 drop'
sudo nft list ruleset
Service-level fallback
# If the affected feature is optional, stop the service until the patch is applied
sudo systemctl stop amf
sudo systemctl disable amf
How to verify the fix worked
# Linux
amf --version 2>/dev/null || dpkg -s amf | grep -i version
rpm -q amf 2>/dev/null || true
# Windows
winget list | findstr /I "amf"
Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 5
Expected: the reported version is at or above amf 1.4.3. Restart any services that loaded the old library (systemctl restart <service> on Linux, restart the Windows service or reboot when prompted). For network appliances, run show version on the device and confirm the build matches the patched release.
Frequently asked questions
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Is CVE-2026-41136 actually being exploited?
According to the data sources above, no public confirmation of in-the-wild exploitation at this time. Either way, the fix is the same: apply the vendor patch.
Do I need to reboot after patching?
For OS or kernel updates, yes. For most userland packages a systemctl restart <service> is enough. Any process that loaded the old shared library keeps using it until restarted, so when in doubt, reboot.
What is the CVSS score?
5.5 (medium). Refer to the vendor advisory for the exact vector string.
Where is the official advisory?
See the References section at the bottom of this page; the vendor's URL is the authoritative source for affected builds and patched versions.
References
- Official vendor advisory: https://github.com/free5gc/free5gc/security/advisories/GHSA-r99v-75p9-xqm5
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-41136
- https://github.com/free5gc/amf/releases/tag/v1.4.3
*Written by Sai Kiran Pandrala. Assembled from the official vendor advisory, NVD record, and CISA KEV listing on 2026-05-25. Always confirm against the vendor's advisory before applying changes in production.*