USER EQUIPMENT PARAMETER UPDATE HEADER PROTECTION

1 . A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one memory; and

at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the UE to:

receive a non-access stratum (NAS) message that includes an indication of UE parameter update (UPU) header protection;

compute a UPU message authentication code (MAC) using a UPU header as at least one input for UPU protection; and

transmit an acknowledgement that indicates a UPU header verification is successful.

2 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to:

determine to perform the UPU header verification; and

compute the UPU MAC based at least in part on the determination to perform the UPU header verification.

3 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to compute the UPU MAC as UPU-MAC-I AUSF using the UPU header as the at least one input for the UPU protection.

4 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to determine that the UPU header verification is successful.

5 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to generate a MAC UPU-MAC-I UE that indicates the UPU header verification is successful.

6 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to:

determine successful verification of the UPU header protection; and

transmit a verification indication to unified data management (UDM) via an access and mobility management function (AMF) that verification of the UPU header protection is successful.

7 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to:

receive a capability request as to whether the UE supports the UPU header protection; and

transmit a capability response that the UE supports the UPU header protection.

8 . The UE of claim 7 , wherein the capability response is transmitted to an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a NAS message as at least one of an initial registration request message or a registration update request message, the NAS message forwarded by the AMF to unified data management (UDM) to indicate that the UE supports the UPU header protection.

9 . A processor for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to:

receive a non-access stratum (NAS) message that includes an indication of UE parameter update (UPU) header protection;

compute a UPU message authentication code (MAC) using a UPU header as at least one input for UPU protection; and

transmit an acknowledgement that indicates a UPU header verification is successful.

10 . The processor of claim 9 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to cause the processor to:

determine to perform the UPU header verification; and

compute the UPU MAC based at least in part on the determination to perform the UPU header verification.

11 . The processor of claim 9 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to cause the processor to compute the UPU MAC as UPU-MAC-I AUSF using the UPU header as the at least one input for the UPU protection.

12 . The processor of claim 9 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to cause the processor to determine that the UPU header verification is successful.

13 . The processor of claim 9 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to cause the processor to generate a MAC UPU-MAC-I UE that indicates the UPU header verification is successful.

14 . The processor of claim 9 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to cause the processor to:

determine successful verification of the UPU header protection; and

transmit a verification indication to unified data management (UDM) via an access and mobility management function (AMF) that verification of the UPU header protection is successful.

15 . The processor of claim 9 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to cause the processor to:

receive a capability request as to whether the UE supports the UPU header protection; and

transmit a capability response that the UE supports the UPU header protection.

16 . The processor of claim 15 , wherein the capability response is transmitted to an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a NAS message as at least one of an initial registration request message or a registration update request message, the NAS message forwarded by the AMF to unified data management (UDM) to indicate that the UE supports the UPU header protection.

17 . A method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

receiving a non-access stratum (NAS) message that includes an indication of UE parameter update (UPU) header protection;

computing a UPU message authentication code (MAC) using a UPU header as at least one input for UPU protection; and

transmitting an acknowledgement that indicates a UPU header verification is successful.

18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

determining to perform the UPU header verification; and

computing the UPU MAC based at least in part on the determination to perform the UPU header verification.

19 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

computing the UPU MAC as UPU-MAC-I AUSF using the UPU header as the at least one input for the UPU protection.

20 . A network equipment (NE) for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one memory; and

at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the NE to:

transmit a request to an authentication server function (AUSF) to apply user equipment parameter update (UPU) header protection; and

transmit at least one of a UPU transparent container or UPU header information to a user equipment (UE), the at least one UPU transparent container or the UPU header information including an indication that a UPU header is protected.