5G-LENA — ns-3 5G NR Simulator for Telecom Security

5G-LENA (Long-term Evolution of Network Applications) is a full-fidelity 5G New Radio simulator built on the ns-3 discrete-event network simulation platform. Within TelcoChisel, 5G-LENA enables protocol-layer security analysis of gNodeB scheduling, beamforming, RLC segmentation, and MAC-layer resource allocation without requiring physical SDR hardware.

Key Capabilities & Security Vectors

• PHY/MAC Layer Fuzzing: Simulate malformed DCI (Downlink Control Information) messages and observe UE stack behavior under adversarial scheduling.
• Beamforming Security Analysis: Test beam sweeping interception scenarios and SSB (Synchronization Signal Block) spoofing in mmWave and sub-6GHz bands.
• RAN Slicing Isolation Tests: Validate network slice isolation by simulating cross-slice resource contention and priority inversion attacks.
• V2X Sidelink Security: Audit NR V2X Mode 2 autonomous resource selection for message injection and replay attacks.

TelcoChisel Execution Cheatsheet

1. Run Basic 5G NR Simulation

# Execute a simple NR gNodeB + UE scenario
cd /opt/ns-3-dev && ./ns3 run scratch/nr-simple-demo --no-build

2. Enable PCAP Trace Output

# Run with packet capture enabled for Wireshark analysis
./ns3 run "scratch/nr-simple-demo --enablePcap=true" --no-build

3. Analyze RLC/MAC PDU Traces

# Generate detailed MAC scheduling traces
./ns3 run "scratch/nr-simple-demo --enableTraces=true" --no-build
ls -la /opt/ns-3-dev/*.txt  # View generated trace files

Practice in TelcoSec Academy

👉 Launch 5G NR Simulation Lab on App.TelcoSec.Net