# CVE-2026-18674: Missing authorization in Kong Mesh

> Authenticated zones can bypass cross-zone isolation to inject or overwrite resources in other zones' namespaces on the Kong Mesh global control plane.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-fxcr-qwx6-5h7q, GHSA-m58j-fjmc-h3g4

## What is CVE-2026-18674?

CVE-2026-18674 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Kong Mesh, published on 17 Aug 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

On a Kong Mesh global control plane, resources received over the zone-to-global KDS sync are attributed using the in-band, sender-controlled ControlPlane.Identifier rather than the authenticated zone identity derived from the connection. Authenticated zones can have the global control plane store and re-distribute those resources as belonging to another zone.

The result is a cross-zone isolation bypass: the holder of a single enrolled zone's credential can inject, attribute, and overwrite resources in another zone's namespace mesh-wide.

The root cause lives in Kuma's open-source KDS sync code, which Kong Mesh's control plane is built on.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization), CWE-345 (Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-18674?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-18674?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-18674 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-18674 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-18674 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-18674 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-18674 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Kong Mesh, published on 17 Aug 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-18674 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Kong Mesh. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-18674/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-18674/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-18674
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-18674
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-18674

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-18674/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.