Kong Mesh: the kuma-dp readiness service exposes the Envoy admin API without authentication
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-18673 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | Kong |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-08-12 19:17:30 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-08-13 15:19:35 UTC |
| Description | When kuma-dp is configured with the Envoy admin API on a Unix domain socket, which is the default, its readiness service on TCP port 9902 - bound to all interfaces - forwards almost the entire Envoy admin API to any caller that can reach the port, with no authentication. An attacker with network access to a data plane's port 9902, for example another pod on the cluster network, can read Envoy and data plane configuration without credentials: config dumps, cluster and listener lists, stats, and the mesh trust bundle. Exposure is read-only - destructive Envoy admin actions are blocked and private keys are not exposed. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v4.0 5.3 MEDIUM from 02762ae7-200e-4b20-9b2b-a77d5b8fc4cb
CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/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
EPSS: 0.002560000 probability, percentile 0.171820000 (date 2026-08-14)
Problem Types: CWE-200 | CWE-306 | CWE-200 CWE-200 Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor | CWE-306 CWE-306 Missing Authentication for Critical Function
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | 02762ae7-200e-4b20-9b2b-a77d5b8fc4cb | Secondary | 5.3 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/C... |
| 4.0 | CNA | CVSS | 5.3 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
CVSS v4.0 Breakdown
CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/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
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/kumahq/kuma/pull/17418 | 02762ae7-200e-4b20-9b2b-a77d5b8fc4cb | github.com | |
| github.com/kumahq/kuma/pull/17317 | 02762ae7-200e-4b20-9b2b-a77d5b8fc4cb | github.com | |
| github.com/kumahq/kuma/security/advisories/GHSA-r9pv-x3pm-4r2w | 02762ae7-200e-4b20-9b2b-a77d5b8fc4cb | github.com | |
| developer.konghq.com/mesh/changelog | 02762ae7-200e-4b20-9b2b-a77d5b8fc4cb | developer.konghq.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: https://hackerone.com/zoom9797 (en)
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2026-08-01T16:58:00.000Z | Kong Mesh 2.14.2 published |
Solutions
CNA: Upgrade to Kong Mesh 2.14.2. In patched versions the readiness reporter serves only /ready; the Envoy admin API stays on the Unix domain socket, which is not reachable over the pod network.
Workarounds
CNA: Restrict network access to port 9902 to trusted monitoring only, for example with a Kubernetes NetworkPolicy.