Kong Mesh: a dataplane token without a workload binding can claim any workload's SPIFFE identity (CVE-2026-18677) | HOL Guard CVE

Medium · CVSS 6.0CVE-2026-18677

Kong Mesh: a dataplane token without a workload binding can claim any workload's SPIFFE identity

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-18677 records a Medium severity (CVSS 6.0) vulnerability in Kong Mesh: a dataplane token without a workload binding can claim any workload's SPIFFE identity. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Kong Inc./Kong Mesh (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Aug 12, 2026Updated Aug 31, 2026Source checked Sep 28, 2026First seen by HOL Aug 12, 2026Material review Aug 31, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: Medium · CVSS 6.0
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 1 mapped package or product
Fix availability: Available

Why this deserves its current priority

CVSS is 6.0. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps Kong Inc./Kong Mesh (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
Kong Inc./Kong Meshgeneric	>=2.13.0 <2.13.10 \|\| >=2.14.0 <2.14.2	2.13.10, 2.14.2

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for Kong Inc./Kong Mesh.
Review the reported fix. Update Kong Inc./Kong Mesh to 2.13.10 if you use the affected versions. Test the change in a non-production environment first.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Aug 12, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Aug 31, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Aug 12, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source 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.

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.