The vulnerabilities, described as "hidden backdoors" by Bloomberg, could have been used to give the Chinese networking giant unauthorised access to Vodafone infrastructure, the publication claimed on Tuesday.
Huawei acknowledged the security issues but said they were resolved back in 2011 and 2012 at the time of discovery.
A Huawei spokesperson denied that the issues found in Vodafone's equipment could be described as "backdoors" given the implication that the security weaknesses were intentionally implanted into networking equipment.
Huawei insists that they were "technical flaws in equipment" which were fixed.
"These were technical mistakes in our equipment, which were identified and corrected. The accepted definition of' backdoors' is deliberately built-in vulnerabilities that can be exploited -- these were not such. They were mistakes which were put right."
"Software vulnerabilities are an industry-wide challenge", the spokesperson added. "Like every ICT vendor we have a well-established public notification and patching process, and when a vulnerability is identified we work closely with our partners to take the appropriate corrective action."
Even Vodafone says the issues were resolved, but the US press appears to be claiming that it is proof that China is spying.
The US is threatening to withhold intelligence from allies who buy Huawei equipment for the upcoming 5G rollouts.
So far there has been no concrete proof that Huawei does any spying for the Chinese government. The UK has ignored such warnings and intends to allow Huawei to provide antennas and non-core infrastructure for 5G networks.
China's London-based ambassador Liu Xiaoming defended the decision, telling the BBC that "the UK is in the position to [establish 5G] by resisting pressure, working to avoid interruptions and making the right decision independently based on its national interests and in line with its need for long-term development".
Another issue not apparently considered by the US press is that Huawei’s continues to win contracts from Vodafone. It has also defended Huawei against the US onslaught.
Vodafone Chief Executive Officer Nick Read has joined peers in publicly opposing any bans on Huawei from 5G rollouts, warning of higher costs and delays. The defiance shows that countries across Europe are willing to risk rankling the US in the name of 5G preparedness.
