dbcve.org
Ella CoreApplication · Ellanetworks

CVE-2026-33281

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.6.0 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Ella Core is a 5G core designed for private networks. Versions prior to 1.6.0 panic when processing NGAP messages with invalid PDU Session IDs outside of 1-15. An attacker able to send crafted NGAP messages to Ella Core can crash the process, causing service disruption for all connected subscribers. No authentication is required. Version 1.6.0 added PDU Session ID validations during NGAP message handling.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Ella Core panics when processing NGAP messages containing PDU Session IDs outside the valid range of 1-15. The vulnerability stems from missing input validation in NGAP message handling, allowing unauthenticated attackers to crash the process and disrupt service for all connected subscribers.

MitigationUpgrade Ella Core to version 1.6.0 or later, which implements proper PDU Session ID validation during NGAP message processing.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Ella CoreApplication
Affected:< 1.6.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Ella Core installation
    Locate the Ella Core binary or service on the system. Common paths may include /opt/ellacore/, /usr/local/ellacore/, or check system services via 'systemctl list-units | grep ella' or 'ps aux | grep ella'.
    Affected if Ella Core is not installed on the system.
  2. Determine installed Ella Core version
    Run 'ellacore --version' or check the service version via 'systemctl status ellacore'. If a configuration file or changelog exists, inspect it for version information.
    Affected if The installed version is less than 1.6.0.
  3. Confirm NGAP message processing is enabled
    Examine Ella Core configuration files (commonly in /etc/ellacore/ or /opt/ellacore/config/) for NGAP-related settings. Look for 'ngap', 'enable_ngap', or 'NGAP' parameters. Check if the service binds to NGAP ports (typically SCTP ports 38412 or 38462).
    Affected if NGAP message processing is explicitly enabled in the configuration.
  4. Verify PDU Session ID handling
    Review logs for recent panics or crashes related to NGAP messages. Use 'journalctl -u ellacore -g panic' or check /var/log/ellacore/ for error entries mentioning PDU Session ID validation failures.
    Affected if Recent crashes or panic logs mention PDU Session ID out of range errors.

A user is affected if Ella Core version is below 1.6.0 and NGAP message processing functionality is enabled, allowing malformed PDU Session IDs in NGAP messages to trigger process crashes.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.6.0 or later
Fixed in 1.6.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Ella Core to version 1.6.0 or later, which implements proper PDU Session ID validation during NGAP message processing.

Recommended fix High confidence

Ella Core 1.6.0

  1. Identify the current installed version of Ella Core
  2. Obtain Ella Core version 1.6.0 from the official vendor distribution channel
  3. Review the official release notes for version 1.6.0 to understand any specific upgrade requirements
  4. Stop the currently running Ella Core service
  5. Backup the current configuration and data directories
  6. Install version 1.6.0 following the vendor's documented upgrade procedure
  7. Start the Ella Core service
  8. Verify that the service is running and processing NGAP messages correctly

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ella Core Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-33281 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data