Kong Mesh: kuma-dp connects to the control plane without verifying the TLS certificate when no CA is configured
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-18679 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | Kong |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-08-12 20:17:41 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-08-31 19:22:43 UTC |
| Description | When kuma-dp is started against an HTTPS control plane and the operator did not pass a CA certificate, the data plane connects with TLS peer verification disabled, and the dataplane authentication token is sent over that unverified connection. An on-path actor can intercept the dataplane authentication token and impersonate the control plane to the data plane, injecting a forged bootstrap configuration and taking over the proxy. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v4.0 5.8 MEDIUM from 02762ae7-200e-4b20-9b2b-a77d5b8fc4cb
CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/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: 0.001190000 probability, percentile 0.019630000 (date 2026-09-01)
Problem Types: CWE-295 | CWE-295 CWE-295 Improper Certificate Validation
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | 02762ae7-200e-4b20-9b2b-a77d5b8fc4cb | Secondary | 5.8 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/C... |
| 4.0 | CNA | CVSS | 5.8 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H |
CVSS v4.0 Breakdown
CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/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
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Kong Inc. | Kong Mesh | affected 2.7.26 semver | Linux |
| CNA | Kong Inc. | Kong Mesh | affected 2.8.0 2.9.16 semver | Linux |
| CNA | Kong Inc. | Kong Mesh | affected 2.10.0 2.11.14 semver | Linux |
| CNA | Kong Inc. | Kong Mesh | affected 2.12.0 2.12.11 semver | Linux |
| CNA | Kong Inc. | Kong Mesh | affected 2.13.0 2.13.7 semver | Linux |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| developer.konghq.com/mesh/changelog | 02762ae7-200e-4b20-9b2b-a77d5b8fc4cb | developer.konghq.com | |
| github.com/kumahq/kuma/security/advisories/GHSA-wvmp-6r4v-j6cv | 02762ae7-200e-4b20-9b2b-a77d5b8fc4cb | github.com | |
| github.com/kumahq/kuma/pull/16777 | 02762ae7-200e-4b20-9b2b-a77d5b8fc4cb | github.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2026-06-03T20:20:00.000Z | Kong Mesh patched releases published |
| CNA | 2026-07-16T16:42:00.000Z | Upstream advisory GHSA-wvmp-6r4v-j6cv published |
Solutions
CNA: Upgrade to Kong Mesh 2.7.26, 2.9.16, 2.11.14, 2.12.11 or 2.13.7, whichever matches your release line. Patched releases fall back to the operating system trust store instead of disabling verification, so a publicly trusted control plane certificate verifies with no further configuration. The 2.14 line shipped after the fix and was never affected.
Workarounds
CNA: Set --ca-cert-file, or KUMA_CONTROL_PLANE_CA_CERT, on every universal mode data plane and point it at the control plane's serving CA. Alternatively terminate the control plane behind a publicly trusted certificate.