5G security threats: false base stations, MitM, DoS

5G Threat Landscape

Despite significant security improvements, 5G faces an evolving threat landscape. False base stations, also known as rogue gNBs, can still perform pre-authentication attacks because some initial messages must be sent before security is established. Attackers use this window to launch downgrade attacks, forcing the UE to fall back to weaker 4G or 3G protocols where IMSI catching and interception remain possible. Man-in-the-middle attacks target relay scenarios between a UE and a legitimate gNB, or exploit misconfigured TLS on service-based interfaces to intercept NF-to-NF communication.