CVE-2026-25659: Ericsson Packet Core Gateway (PCG) - Improper handling of missing values Vulnerability

Synopsis

An improper handling of missing values vulnerability (CWE-230) affects Ericsson Packet Core Gateway (PCG) versions prior to 1.30. An unauthenticated attacker on the same network segment can continuously send specially crafted messages to cause repeated service crashes and sustained degradation; the service recovers once the attack stops, but availability is impaired for its duration. A patched-image rebuild at version 1.30 is available on HarborGuard for environments running an affected version.

HarborGuard Coverage

Exploit Conditions

• Network reachabilityDetail

  The attacker must be on an adjacent network such as a LAN or VPN segment; remote over-the-internet exploitation is not possible without first gaining access to that adjacent network.

• AuthenticationNot required

  No credentials or account of any privilege level are needed to send the malformed messages.

• Victim interactionNot required

  The attacker sends crafted messages directly to the service; no user action or social engineering is required.

• Attack complexityDetail

  The exploit is reliable and condition-free; no race conditions, specific memory layouts, or other environmental factors need to be arranged.

Blast Radius

• The affected PCG service crashes repeatedly for as long as the attack continues, disrupting packet core gateway availability.
• Network traffic processed by the PCG is dropped or undeliverable during each crash cycle, affecting dependent workloads and connected sessions.
• No confidentiality or data-integrity impact is present; the attacker cannot read or modify stored data through this vulnerability.
• Service recovers automatically once the attacker stops sending malformed messages, but sustained attacks cause prolonged outage windows.