PDU Session Security Enforcement Across Redundant 5G Data Paths

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Solution Overview

Problem

The 5G wireless communication systems face challenges in establishing PDU sessions with consistent UP security enforcement information due to differing capabilities between Master and Secondary Nodes, leading to potential security vulnerabilities in redundant data transmission scenarios.

Innovation Solution

The SMF in the core network stores and applies the same UP security enforcement information for both PDU sessions, ensuring consistent security settings are maintained across both Master and Secondary Nodes, and the RAN node modifies and stores the received information to ensure consistent security activation for subsequent sessions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If different UP security enforcement information is applied to PDU sessions based on Node capabilities, then security settings can be adapted to node limitations, but security consistency across redundant data paths is compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesecurity setting adaptationVSAvoidsecurity consistency

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the parameter of UP security enforcement information from being node-specific to being session-specific. The SMF generates and stores UP security enforcement information as a distinct parameter for each PDU session, ensuring that security settings are consistent across redundant data paths while adapting to node capabilities through the establishment process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The SMF acts as an intermediary that receives PDU session establishment requests, generates appropriate UP security enforcement information, stores it, and provides it to RAN nodes. This intermediary role ensures consistent security settings are applied across both Master and Secondary Nodes while accommodating their different capabilities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If UP security enforcement information is stored and reused for subsequent PDU sessions, then security consistency is improved, but the flexibility to apply different security settings for different sessions is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesecurity consistencyVSAvoidsecurity setting flexibility

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The SMF performs preliminary action by generating and storing UP security enforcement information when the first PDU session is established. This stored information can then be reused for subsequent PDU sessions, ensuring security consistency while the SMF maintains the flexibility to generate new security settings when needed based on session-specific requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3935784B1Establishing a protocol data unit session

Publication Date: 2026.01.28 TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)

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AI summary

A method performed by a core network node in a core network of a wireless communication system includes receiving (1102) a first request to establish a first protocol data unit, PDU, session between a user equipment, UE and a user plane function in the core network, generating (1104) user plane, UP, security enforcement information, to be applied to the first PDU session, transmitting (1106) the UP security enforcement information to a radio access network, RAN, node for establishing the first PDU session, and storing (1108) the UP security enforcement information for use in establishing a subsequent PDU session for the UE.