Summary Issue: SMF crashes on PFCP AssociationReleaseRequest missing NodeID IE Type: Bug Status: Closed Resolved in: free5gc/smf#188 Key Information Bug Description free5GC SMF can be remotely crashed by sending a PFCP Association Release Request that omits the mandatory NodeID IE. This occurs due to a nil pointer dereference in the handler. Steps to Reproduce Create a Go project and use a specific Go program to send a crafted PFCP AssociationReleaseRequest message. Verify if the SMF is still alive after sending the malicious message. Expected Behavior SMF should validate the NodeID in AssociationReleaseRequest. If the NodeID is missing or invalid, SMF should send an error response or ignore it instead of crashing. Environment free5GC Version: v4.1.0 OS: Ubuntu 22.04 Server Kernel Version: 5.15.0-0-generic Go Version: go1.24.9 linux/amd64 Resolution The bug has been addressed by adding proper validation for NodeID in the free5gc/smf codebase and a fix has been merged to prevent panics.