CVE-2026-18677 Kong Mesh: a dataplane token without a workload binding can claim any workload's SPIFFE identity
Attackers can impersonate any workload and obtain its SPIFFE identity in Kong Mesh universal mode if workload binding is optional.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-18677?
CVE-2026-18677 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Kong Mesh, published on 12 Aug 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In Kong Mesh running in universal mode with a MeshIdentity whose SPIFFE ID path template derives from the dataplane's kuma.io/workload label, the XDS authenticator in kuma-cp validates that label only when the dataplane token is bound to a workload. Workload binding is optional, so a dataplane presenting a tags-bound token can register with kuma.io/workload set to any value and obtain another workload's SPIFFE identity.
Weakness: CWE-290
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-18677?
How do I fix CVE-2026-18677?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-18677 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and rotate credentials and sessions that may have been exposed. More about Authentication bypass.
Is CVE-2026-18677 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-18677 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-6p7w-xxw9-j47f, GHSA-744g-c785-x65q.