CVE-2026-18675
Kong Mesh: control plane denial of service via a malformed dataplane token with a non-string JWT kid
Description
The dataplane token validator in kuma-cp performs an unchecked Go type assertion on the JWT kid header. A token whose kid is a JSON number decodes as a float64 and triggers a runtime panic before any signature, claims, or authorization check runs. The panic terminates the entire kuma-cp process, HTTP API, the health and readiness endpoints, and xDS. Unauthenticated access to the dataplane gRPC server can trigger the crash with a malformed token A single request is a transient interruption; sustaining an outage requires repeated requests.
INFO
Published Date :
Aug. 12, 2026, 7:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
Aug. 12, 2026, 7:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
02762ae7-200e-4b20-9b2b-a77d5b8fc4cb
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-18675
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | MEDIUM | 02762ae7-200e-4b20-9b2b-a77d5b8fc4cb | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | MEDIUM | 02762ae7-200e-4b20-9b2b-a77d5b8fc4cb |
Solution
- Validate JWT kid header type before assertion.
- Ensure robust error handling for token validation.
- Deploy updated kuma-cp binary.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-18675.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-18675 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-18675
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-18675 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-18675 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by 02762ae7-200e-4b20-9b2b-a77d5b8fc4cb
Aug. 12, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'Kong Inc.', 'modules': ['kuma-cp'], 'product': 'Kong Mesh', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '2.7.29', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2.8.0', 'lessThan': '2.9.19', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2.10.0', 'lessThan': '2.11.18', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2.12.0', 'lessThan': '2.12.14', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2.13.0', 'lessThan': '2.13.10', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2.14.0', 'lessThan': '2.14.2', 'versionType': 'semver'}], 'platforms': ['Linux'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}] Added Description The dataplane token validator in kuma-cp performs an unchecked Go type assertion on the JWT kid header. A token whose kid is a JSON number decodes as a float64 and triggers a runtime panic before any signature, claims, or authorization check runs. The panic terminates the entire kuma-cp process, HTTP API, the health and readiness endpoints, and xDS. Unauthenticated access to the dataplane gRPC server can trigger the crash with a malformed token A single request is a transient interruption; sustaining an outage requires repeated requests. Added CVSS V4.0 AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/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 Added CWE CWE-704 Added CWE CWE-248 Added Reference https://developer.konghq.com/mesh/changelog/ Added Reference https://github.com/kumahq/kuma/pull/17465 Added Reference https://github.com/kumahq/kuma/pull/17467 Added Reference https://github.com/kumahq/kuma/pull/17468 Added Reference https://github.com/kumahq/kuma/pull/17469 Added Reference https://github.com/kumahq/kuma/pull/17470 Added Reference https://github.com/kumahq/kuma/pull/17471 Added Reference https://github.com/kumahq/kuma/pull/17472 Added Reference https://github.com/kumahq/kuma/security/advisories/GHSA-5mxq-7xq4-3vx8