Soft Tester UE: A Novel Approach for Open RAN Security Testing

TL;DR

The Soft Tester UE (soft T-UE), a software-defined test equipment designed to evaluate the security of 5G and O-RAN deployments via the Uu air interface between the user equipment (UE) and the network, is introduced.

Abstract

With the rise of 5G and open radio access networks (O-RAN), there is a growing demand for customizable experimental platforms dedicated to security testing, as existing testbeds do not prioritize this area. Traditional, hardware-dependent testing methods pose challenges for smaller companies and research institutions. The growing wireless threat landscape highlights the critical need for proactive security testing, as 5G and O-RAN deployments are appealing targets for cybercriminals. To address these challenges, this article introduces the Soft Tester UE (soft T-UE), a software-defined test equipment designed to evaluate the security of 5G and O-RAN deployments via the Uu air interface between the user equipment (UE) and the network. The outcome is to deliver a free, open-source, and expandable test instrument to address the need for both standardized and customizable automated security testing. By extending beyond traditional security metrics, the soft T-UE promotes the development of new security measures and enhances the capability to anticipate and mitigate potential security breaches. The tool's automated testing capabilities are demonstrated through a scenario where the Radio Access Network (RAN) under test is evaluated when it receives fuzzed data when initiating a connection with an UE.

Figures (5)

• Figure 1: Soft-T UE Architecture
• Figure 2: General Test Flow
• Figure 3: Fuzzing attack diagram
• Figure 4: Effect of fuzzing
• Figure 5: Vulnerability of bits fuzzed