Battlefield 5G: Dual-PKI and TPM-Based UE Attestation for Tactical 5G Standalone Networks

2026-08-11

AI Summary

This work addresses a critical security gap in standard 5G-AKA, which authenticates only user credentials and fails to ensure device physical integrity or boot state—leaving tactical deployments vulnerable to device capture and SIM swapping. To mitigate these risks, the authors propose a pre-authentication framework for 5G standalone networks that seamlessly integrates dual X.509 PKI and TPM 2.0 remote attestation into the registration procedure without altering 3GPP NAS messages. The design employs a hierarchical certificate challenge orchestrated by the gNB and AMF, with the core network acting as a proxy to verify TPM PCR quotes. Implemented using srsRAN/srsUE, Open5GS, and USRP B210, the prototype effectively thwarts SIM transplant, firmware tampering, and replay attacks, incurring only a 373.4 ms increase in network attachment latency while maintaining full compatibility with standard 5G-AKA and subsequent session procedures.

Abstract

The standardized 5G Authentication and Key Agreement (5G-AKA) authenticates a subscriber credential stored on a Universal Subscriber Identity Model (USIM) but does not authenticate the physical device that holds that credential or verify its boot state. This gap is significant in tactical 5G deployments, where user equipment may be captured, modified, returned to service, or used with transplanted subscriber credentials. We present Battlefield 5G, a pre-authentication framework for 5G Standalone networks that combines dual X.509 device-certificate checks with Trusted Platform Module (TPM) -based boot attestation before standard registration is accepted. The design places an outer certificate challenge on the 5G base-station called gNB, an independent inner certificate challenge on the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) in the 5G core network, and a TPM PCR (Platform Configuration Register) quote verified by an attestation proxy on the 5G core network side. A gNodeB (gNB) side Radio Resource Control (RRC) forwarding gate and an AMF-side save-and-replay mechanism enable multi-round certificate and attestation challenge-response exchanges to be inserted into the registration path without modifying any 3GPP Non-Access Stratum (NAS) message structures or adding new NAS message types. We implement these capabilities by extending the Radio Access Network of the Software Radio System (srsRAN), gNB, User Equipment of the Software Radio System (srsUE) and Open5GS in a B210-based Universal Radio Peripheral (USRP) testbed with a hardware TPM 2.0 in the UE. The prototype blocks SIM-transplant, rogue-certificate, firmware-tampering, and replay attacks. Across six trials, Battlefield 5G increases average onboarding latency from 1886 ms to 2260 ms, adding 373.4 ms of pre-authentication overhead while preserving standard 5G-AKA, security mode, and packet data unit (PDU) session procedures.

Problem

• 5G Standalone
• device attestation
• Trusted Platform Module
• tactical networks
• subscriber credential

Innovation

• Dual-PKI
• TPM-based attestation
• 5G Standalone
• device authentication
• tactical networks