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Security

EAP-AKA'

Extensible Authentication Protocol - AKA': an alternative 5G authentication method based on the EAP framework, providing additional binding to the access network identity.

EAP-AKA' takes the same SIM-based challenge-response at the heart of 5G-AKA and runs it inside the EAP framework — the generic authentication protocol the IETF defined for network access. The "prime" matters: this variant binds the derived keys to the access network's name, so keys produced for one access can't be replayed against another. That key-separation property is why it was chosen over plain EAP-AKA.

Where you actually meet it is non-3GPP access. When a UE attaches to 5G core over Wi-Fi through an N3IWF or a trusted gateway, EAP-AKA' is the mandated authentication method, with the AUSF acting as the EAP server and the UDM holding the credentials. Over normal 3GPP radio an operator may use it too, but 5G-AKA is the more common default there. Either way the underlying secret is the same USIM key, and both feed the same 5G key hierarchy — the choice is mostly about framing and where the UE is connecting from.

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