Traefik Mesh control plane and data plane version matching limits

Evaluation of Traefik Mesh for new Kubernetes workloads that require automatic mTLS, traffic routing and observability is constrained by documented coupling between components and product support status.

Traefik Mesh is built around a control plane and data plane that are intended to be used as a matched set. Mesh features such as traffic splitting, canary releases and telemetry depend on Mesh CRDs installed by the control plane and are sensitive to Kubernetes API deprecations and cluster version. The project is in a maintenance and deprecation path with active feature development moved to Traefik Proxy, creating uncertainty about long term support and new Kubernetes compatibility.

For a design decision on adoption versus migration, clarification is needed on the operational limits of the documented capability.

Does Traefik Mesh require a matching major.minor release series between control plane and data plane images to maintain configuration sync and CRD compatibility? What is the current support status for Traefik Mesh regarding Kubernetes version compatibility and security updates? Are Mesh CRD-driven features limited by Kubernetes API deprecations in a way that affects new workload planning?