gateway: Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality
CVE-2026-53714 is a high-severity missing authentication for critical functionality vulnerability in gateway from Envoyproxy, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.4 out of 10. It can be exploited from the same local network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected gateway versions: < 1.7.4; >= 1.8.0-rc.0, < 1.8.1. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.35% 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
- Check which version of gateway you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Envoyproxy | gateway | < 1.7.4; >= 1.8.0-rc.0, < 1.8.1 | Not stated |
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
- AdjacentThe attacker must be on the same local network segment.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- NoneNothing can be modified.
- Availability
- NoneAvailability is not affected.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N. Scored by CNA (github.com).
Official description
Envoy Gateway is an open source project for managing Envoy Proxy as a standalone or Kubernetes-based application gateway. Prior to 1.7.4 and 1.8.1, the xDS gRPC server in GatewayNamespaceMode, configured through provider.kubernetes.deploy.type=GatewayNamespace, installs a JWT StreamInterceptor but no UnaryInterceptor, leaving every unary Fetch RPC unauthenticated. The streaming interceptor also authenticates only discoveryv3.DeltaDiscoveryRequest messages; a discoveryv3.DiscoveryRequest used by the State-of-the-World protocol fails the type assertion and returns success without JWT validation. Any pod that can reach port 18000 can use the unauthenticated unary or State-of-the-World paths to retrieve TLS private keys through StreamSecrets, all xDS resources through StreamAggregatedResources, backend endpoints through StreamClusters or StreamEndpoints, and routing configuration through StreamRoutes or StreamListeners. This issue is fixed in versions 1.7.4 and 1.8.1.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality
The product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
- Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, consider using libraries with authentication capabilities such as OpenSSL or the ESAPI Authenticator.
- When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to require strong authentication for users who should be allowed to access the data.
More Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality vulnerabilities (CWE-306)
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
- github.com/envoyproxy/gateway/commit/4df0809ff1ed59ffb09604da4084335b8c6647c5
- github.com/envoyproxy/gateway/commit/e9124abc4ff4b63a218a6890c1b28a982c850465
- github.com/envoyproxy/gateway/commit/f1f9829af2a231f0cae915c09800353c76622d97
- github.com/envoyproxy/gateway/pull/8986
- github.com/envoyproxy/gateway/pull/9116
- github.com/envoyproxy/gateway/pull/9118
- github.com/envoyproxy/gateway/releases/tag/v1.7.4
- github.com/envoyproxy/gateway/releases/tag/v1.8.1
Other vulnerabilities in gateway
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 7.1 High severity
Recent Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality vulnerabilities
- 8.2 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 8.2 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
Spotted an error? Tell us.