CVE-2026-18678Hinoki check available

API token interception via disabled TLS verification

Published Aug 12, 2026 · Updated Aug 12, 2026

Improper certificate validation in Kong Mesh kumactl allows man-in-the-middle attackers to intercept user or administrator API tokens. When an HTTPS control-plane profile lacks a CA certificate, ConfigureMTLS sets InsecureSkipVerify and sends bearer tokens without authenticating the server. Exploitation requires a manually added HTTPS profile without --ca-cert-file and control of the network path; the default local HTTP profile is unaffected.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.10%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
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Summary

What happened

Improper certificate validation in Kong Mesh kumactl allows man-in-the-middle attackers to intercept user or administrator API tokens. When an HTTPS control-plane profile lacks a CA certificate, ConfigureMTLS sets InsecureSkipVerify and sends bearer tokens without authenticating the server. Exploitation requires a manually added HTTPS profile without --ca-cert-file and control of the network path; the default local HTTP profile is unaffected.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-18678
Published
Aug 12, 2026
Updated
Aug 12, 2026
Vendor
Kong Inc.
Product
Kong Mesh
Classifications
CWE-295, T1557
Attack vector
adjacent
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 12, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 12, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <2.7.26
  2. Affected versionversion=2.10.0 <2.11.14
  3. Affected versionversion=2.12.0 <2.12.11
  4. Affected versionversion=2.13.0 <2.13.7
  5. Affected versionversion=2.8.0 <2.9.16

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectoradjacent
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Kong Inc. · Kong Meshversion=0 <2.7.26; version=2.10.0 <2.11.14; version=2.12.0 <2.12.11; version=2.13.0 <2.13.7; version=2.8.0 <2.9.16

Published CVSS scores

5.5Kong Inc.CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectoradjacent
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-295Improper Certificate Validation
T1557Adversary-in-the-Middle

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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