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Medium, CVSS 5.6

Kong Ingress Controller for Kubernetes (KIC): Cross-namespace TLS Secret Exfiltration in Gateways with GatewayClass missing konghq.com/gatewayclass-unmanaged: 'true' annotation

GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8

What to do

Partial vendor fix. Follow the primary source's mitigation guidance and check back for a fix.

This page has no inventory attached, so it cannot say whether you are affected. A vendor fix is not proof that your deployment is fixed.

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Affected packages

  • Go github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller

    Affected
    <= 1.3.4
    Fixed in
    no fixed version recorded

  • Go github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v2

    Affected
    <= 2.12.8
    Fixed in
    no fixed version recorded

  • Go github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3

    Affected
    >= 3.5.0, <= 3.5.6<= 3.4.13
    Fixed in
    3.4.14, 3.5.7

Sources

Severity and exploitation
Exploitation
No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.
CVSS 4.0
5.6 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:N/SA:N/E:P · score source
EPSS
No dated EPSS signal available.
Source description

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary A vulnerability in the Kong Ingress Controller (KIC) allows for the unauthorized exfiltration of TLS certificates and private keys across Kubernetes namespace boundaries. In "managed" mode (where the GatewayClass lacks an unmanaged annotation), the Gateway TLS translator skips critical status checks. This bypass allows the translator to fetch Secrets from any namespace KIC watches, even when a ReferenceGrant explicitly denies access or is missing. An actor with RBAC permissions to create or modify Gateways in a low-privileged namespace can reference a Secret in a high-privileged namespace, causing KIC to "leak" that Secret's sensitive private key material into the Kong dataplane configuration. Am I affected? You are affected if all of these hold: 1. You are using Kong Ingress Controller with the Gateway API. 2. Your GatewayClass is operating in managed mode (default behavior, no unmanaged annotation). 3. KIC is configured to watch multiple namespaces (multi-tenant…

Dates and revisions
Published by the source
Last modified by the source
Source last checked
  1. Revision 1 · created ·

    Published from ghsa record GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8

Agent brief

Preview the exact text before you copy it. Commands are read-only suggestions; review them before running anything.

# Patch Next advisory brief: GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8

Advisory: Kong Ingress Controller for Kubernetes (KIC): Cross-namespace TLS Secret Exfiltration in Gateways with GatewayClass missing `konghq.com/gatewayclass-unmanaged: 'true'` annotation
IDs: GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/ghsa-m23h-6mwm-39m8 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 15:22 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 5.6)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Partial vendor fix; fixed versions by package: github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3 3.5.7, 3.4.14. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Go github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller: affected <= 1.3.4
- Go github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v2: affected <= 2.12.8
- Go github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3: affected >= 3.5.0, <= 3.5.6; <= 3.4.13; fixed in 3.4.14, 3.5.7

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Go github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller: check the installed version with your package manager.
- Go github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v2: check the installed version with your package manager.
- Go github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
No complete vendor fix is recorded. Follow the primary source's mitigation guidance and check this record again before closing anything.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller, github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v2, github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-m23h-6mwm-39m8 lists affected ranges: Go github.com/kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/v3 >=3.5.0 =0 =0 =0 <=1.3.4)

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