Kong Operator's embedded Kong Kubernetes Ingress Controller (KIC) allows a user with namespace-scoped Secret creation privileges to cause a cluster-wide ingress configuration denial of service. The embedded KIC collects CA-certificate Secrets across all watched namespaces using a label selector alone, without ingress-class or namespace restrictions. The CA-certificate primary key is derived from a user-supplied field in the Secret. Duplicate CA-certificate IDs cause Kong Gateway to reject the entire configuration document and halting all ingress changes cluster-wide.
CVE-2026-16543
HIGHPre-NVD 7.17.1
EchelonGraph scoreLOW confidence
This high-severity CVE scores 7.1 under a secondary CVSS source (NVD's own analysis pending). EPSS exploit-prediction score not yet available (the EPSS model rescores nightly; freshly-published CVEs typically appear within 48 hours). GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).
Triggered by: NVD CVSS baseline
Sources: secondary
7.1EG
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixSerious severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet.
- High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: —CVSS: 7.1Exploit: None knownExposed: 0
No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.
- CVSS v3
- 7.1
- EG Score
- 7.1(low)
- EG Risk
- 36(Track)EG Risk 36/100SSVC: Track
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).
How it’s computedSeverity71% × 45%Exploitation0% × 40%Automatability30% × 15%Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence. - EPSS PROB
- —
- EPSS %ILE
- —
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
July 29, 2026
Last Modified
July 30, 2026
Advisory Details (1)
Auto-updated Jul 29, 2026Patch available. Sources: github.
github Patch Available
Namespaced user injects into the cluster-global Kong CA-cert pool via embedded KIC, causing cluster-wide config-sync DoS · Advisory · Kong/kong-operator · GitHub
https://github.com/Kong/kong-operator/security/advisories/GHSA-h4fh-j7xg-vwcxWeakness Classification(2)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 4× in last 7d / 4× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
- 2026-07-30 14:38 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-07-29 16:24 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-07-29 16:07 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-07-29 16:07 UTCMITRE cvelistV5first tracked
Related CVEs(same CWE)
Same CWE
10 shownCWE-862 · CWE-400
Frequently asked(4)
What is CVE-2026-16543?
CVE-2026-16543 is a high vulnerability published on July 29, 2026. Kong Operator's embedded Kong Kubernetes Ingress Controller (KIC) allows a user with namespace-scoped Secret creation privileges to cause a cluster-wide ingress configuration denial of service. The embedded KIC collects CA-certificate Secrets across all watched namespaces using a label selector…
When was CVE-2026-16543 disclosed?
CVE-2026-16543 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on July 29, 2026, with the most recent update on July 30, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-16543?
CVE-2026-16543 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.1 (NVD). The EG score is currently aggregating — additional source signals are being incorporated as they become available..
How do I remediate CVE-2026-16543?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2026-16543, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.
Dependency Blast Radius
Explore the affected products and dependency analysis for CVE-2026-16543
Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2026-16543?
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