GHSA-4766-x535-jw3r is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) CWE-862 vulnerability in github.com/kgateway-dev/kgateway/v2. A fix is available for github.com/kgateway-dev/kgateway/v2 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
kgateway is missing xDS authorization
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-4766-x535-jw3r.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-4766-x535-jw3r plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,567 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/kgateway-dev/kgateway/v2🐹github.com/kgateway-dev/kgateway/v2Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
The xDS interface in Kgateway versions 2.0.0 through 2.0.4 lacks authentication, allowing any client with unrestricted network access to the xDS port to retrieve potentially sensitive configuration data including certificate data, backend service information, routing rules, and cluster metadata.
Description
Impact
Kgateway xDS interface did not have authorization, so anonymous clients with unrestricted network access could gain access to the xDS data. This could expose sensitive information about your gateway configuration, certificate data, backend services, and routing topology to unauthorized parties.
Patches
Upgrade to version 2.0.5 or 2.1.0. These versions enable JWT-based authentication for the xDS interface by default, ensuring that only authenticated clients can access the xDS configuration data.
Workarounds
If immediate upgrade is not possible, NetworkPolicies can be used to block access to kgateway's xDS port, restricting network access to only trusted sources.
References
- Fix in 2.1.0: https://github.com/kgateway-dev/kgateway/pull/12471
- Backport to 2.0.5: https://github.com/kgateway-dev/kgateway/pull/12535
- Related issue: https://github.com/kgateway-dev/kgateway/issues/10651
Credits
Kindly reported by @rikatz
For More Information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please reach out in slack https://cloud-native.slack.com/archives/C080D3PJMS4
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/kgateway-dev/kgateway/v2 | ≥ 2.1.0-agw-cel-rbac&&< 2.1.0 | 2.1.0go get github.com/kgateway-dev/kgateway/v2@v2.1.0 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/kgateway-dev/kgateway/v2 | all versions | 2.0.5go get github.com/kgateway-dev/kgateway/v2@v2.0.5 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/kgateway-dev/kgateway/v2, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/kgateway-dev/kgateway/v2 to 2.1.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-4766-x535-jw3r is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-4766-x535-jw3r can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-4766-x535-jw3r. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-4766-x535-jw3r in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-4766-x535-jw3r across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.