CVE-2026-53718: Envoy Gateway custom backendRef cross-namespace ReferenceGrant bypass
Envoy Gateway accepts extension-managed custom backendRefs from an HTTPRoute to a backend resource in another namespace without requiring a matching Gateway API ReferenceGrant in the target namespace. This breaks the Gateway API cross-namespace consent model: the namespace that owns the referenced backend resource does not need to opt in with a ReferenceGrant before another namespace’s HTTPRoute can use that resource.
References
Code Behaviors & Features
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