Kong Mesh: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity
CVE-2026-18674 is a high-severity insufficient verification of data authenticity vulnerability in Kong Mesh from Kong, with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 7.0 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with administrator privileges, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 2.7.29, 2.9.19, 2.11.18 as the first without the flaw, so updating Kong Mesh to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.56% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Kong Mesh to 2.7.29 or 2.9.19 or 2.11.18 or 2.12.14, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kong | Kong Mesh | before 2.7.29; 2.8.0 up to, but not including, 2.9.19; 2.10.0 up to, but not including, 2.11.18; 2.12.0 up to, but not including, 2.12.14; 2.13.0 up to, but not including, 2.13.10; 2.14.0 up to, but not including, 2.14.2 | 2.7.29, 2.9.19, 2.11.18, 2.12.14, 2.13.10, 2.14.2 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Attack requirements
- NoneThe attack does not depend on a particular deployment or configuration.
- Privileges required
- HighAdministrator-level access is required first.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
- LowLimited loss of confidentiality on the vulnerable system.
- Integrity (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of integrity on the vulnerable system.
- Availability (vulnerable system)
- NoneNo loss of availability on the vulnerable system.
- Confidentiality (other systems)
- LowLimited loss of confidentiality on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
- Integrity (other systems)
- LowLimited loss of integrity on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
- Availability (other systems)
- NoneNo loss of availability on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Vector: 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/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X. Scored by CNA.
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.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity
The product does not sufficiently verify the origin or authenticity of data, in a way that causes it to accept invalid data.
More Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity vulnerabilities (CWE-345)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
Recent Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity vulnerabilities
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.5 High severity
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