Policy-driven authorization for Consul Connect via Envoy ext_authz
Cerbos enforces fine-grained authorization within Consul Connect's service mesh, using the same Envoy ext_authz protocol that powers the native Envoy integration.
Built on Envoy ext_authz
Consul Connect uses Envoy sidecars as its data plane, so Cerbos integrates via the same native ext_authz protocol
Unified policies
The same Cerbos policies that govern your application layer extend to your service mesh
Mesh-level enforcement
Authorization at every service hop, managed from a single control plane
How Cerbos works with Consul Connect
Consul Connect provides a native integration point for Cerbos, extending policy-driven authorization to another layer of your stack without custom glue code.
Cerbos policies are written in human-readable YAML supporting RBAC, ABAC, and conditional rules. The same policies that govern your application layer now extend to Consul Connect, enforced consistently everywhere.
A unified control plane means one set of policies, one audit trail, and one management workflow, regardless of how many services and infrastructure layers your system spans.
How Cerbos works with Consul Connect
Consul Connect is HashiCorp's service mesh that uses Envoy as its sidecar proxy. Because it uses Envoy as its data plane, Cerbos integrates via the same ext_authz gRPC protocol used in standalone Envoy deployments.
- Deploy the Cerbos PDP, Run a Cerbos PDP instance accessible from your Consul Connect Envoy sidecars.
- Configure ext_authz via Consul, Add Envoy extensions to your service defaults or proxy defaults configuration, pointing the ext_authz filter to the Cerbos PDP.
- Cerbos evaluates your policies, The same YAML policies used across your entire stack are evaluated and an allow or deny decision is returned.
- The sidecar enforces the decision, Authorized requests are forwarded to your service. Unauthorized requests are rejected at the mesh layer.
FAQ
How does Cerbos integrate with Consul Connect?
Consul Connect uses Envoy as its sidecar proxy, so it inherits Envoy's ext_authz protocol. Cerbos acts as the external authorization service — the Envoy sidecar forwards each request to Cerbos for policy evaluation before routing to your service.
Is this the same integration as Envoy?
Yes. Consul Connect uses Envoy sidecars as its data plane. The Cerbos integration uses the same ext_authz gRPC protocol, same policy evaluation, and same configuration. You configure it via Consul's Envoy extensions in service defaults or proxy defaults.
Do I need to change my application code?
No. Authorization happens at the sidecar proxy layer. Your services receive only pre-authorized traffic.
Learn more about Cerbos
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Cerbos + Consul Connect
- Consul Connect delegates authorization to Cerbos via native integration
- One set of policies enforced across the entire stack
- Unified audit trail for all authorization decisions
- Policies managed without code changes or redeployments
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What is Cerbos?
Cerbos is an end-to-end enterprise authorization software for Zero Trust environments and AI-powered systems. It enforces fine-grained, contextual, and continuous authorization across apps, APIs, AI agents, MCP servers, services, and workloads.
Cerbos consists of an open-source Policy Decision Point, Enforcement Point integrations, and a centrally managed Policy Administration Plane (Cerbos Hub) that coordinates unified policy-based authorization across your architecture. Enforce least privilege & maintain full visibility into access decisions with Cerbos authorization.