Unprotected 4G/5G Control Procedures at Low Layers Considered Dangerous

arXiv:2403.06717v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Over the years, several security vulnerabilities in the 3GPP cellular systems have been demonstrated in the literature. Most studies focus on higher layers of the cellular radio stack, such as the RRC and NAS, which are cryptographically protected. However, lower layers of the stack, such as PHY and MAC, are not as thoroughly studied, even though they are neither encrypted nor integrity protected. Furthermore, the latest releases of 5G significantly increased the number of low-layer …

3gpp arxiv cellular control cs.cr focus higher literature low nas procedures radio security stack studies systems vulnerabilities