CNTC: Reproducible 5G Core Control Plane Certification | 3GPP, SCAS, free5GC
Cloud Native Telecom Certification (CNTC) has been extended to include 5G Core Control Plane certification, evaluating the protocol behavior of Network Functions, specifically AMF, SMF, NRF, AUSF, and UDM, against published 3GPP specifications and Security Assurance Specification (SCAS) requirements. The framework utilizes automated tests via real interfaces like N1/N2, N4, and SBI to capture observable protocol exchanges and generate deterministic pass/fail verdicts based on a catalog of 44 implemented tests and 26 essential requirements. Certification requires all essential requirements to pass for a certificate to be issued; otherwise, results are reported as FAIL or INCOMPLETE if evaluation is not possible. CNTC was validated against a live free5GC deployment using both Docker Compose and Kubernetes, identifying specific gaps in configuration and implementation beyond standard definitions. The system separates measurement from certification through a versioned requirement catalog and an engine for evaluating recorded protocol evidence, providing transparent and reproducible results.