# Worth Reading: Ephemeral BGP Leaks

DevFeed: [Worth Reading: Ephemeral BGP Leaks](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/worth-reading-ephemeral-bgp-leaks-11391.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://blog.ipspace.net/2026/05/worth-reading-ephemeral-bgp-leaks/>)

Published: 2026-05-28T05:22:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [ipSpace.net blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/ipspace-net-blog.md>)

Topics: [BGP](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/bgp.md>), [systems](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/systems.md>)

Tags: [article](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/article.md>), [bgp](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/bgp.md>), [blog](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/blog.md>), [security](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/security.md>), [worth-reading](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/worth-reading.md>)

## AI overview

The article argues that ephemeral BGP leaks observed during path hunting after a route withdrawal should not be ignored. Although they do not change the final routing outcome, they may indicate inadequate BGP route policy enforcement and a risk of propagating bogus routes injected by an intruder.

## Source excerpt

Doug Madory wrote an interesting article (published on APNIC blog) arguing that we shouldn't worry about ephemeral BGP leaks that can be observed only during the BGP path hunting process that follows a route withdrawal. I have to disagree with that. It's never a good idea to ignore a dead canary in the coal mine. While the ephemeral leaks do not impact the end result (after all, the route is gone), they are an important indicator of the lack of BGP route policy enforcement in the autonomous systems that propagate them. If an autonomous system is propagating a bogus route when no better routes are available, it's equally likely to propagate a bogus route when an intruder manages to inject it.