[Bug] [CLI] Kyverno CLI 1.19.0 `apply` fails on Kind: List resources

Version: 1.19.0
Time: 2026-08-20T08:52:56Z
Git commit ID: ee97ce09538b09b6f1b03853cc41a62654d6a58f

panic: *unstructured.Unstructured is not a list: no Items field in this object

goroutine 1 [running]:
k8s.io/client-go/dynamic/fake.NewSimpleDynamicClientWithCustomListKinds(0xbe6bd08f570, 0xbe6c0512670, {0xbe6bef4f2e0, 0x1, 0x2?})
	/home/runner/go/pkg/mod/k8s.io/[email protected]/dynamic/fake/simple.go:110 +0xa37
github.com/kyverno/kyverno/pkg/clients/dclient.NewFakeClient(0xbe6bd08f500, 0xbe6c0512670, {0xbe6c0511f18, 0x1, 0x1})
	/home/runner/work/kyverno/kyverno/pkg/clients/dclient/fake.go:48 +0x44d
github.com/kyverno/kyverno/cmd/cli/kubectl-kyverno/commands/apply.createFakeClientFromResources({0xbe6bd304750, 0x1, 0xbe6bcc13400?}, {0x0, 0x0, 0xbe6bd83cc40?}, {0x0, 0x0, 0xbe6be452510?})
	/home/runner/work/kyverno/kyverno/cmd/cli/kubectl-kyverno/commands/apply/command.go:1336 +0xbab
github.com/kyverno/kyverno/cmd/cli/kubectl-kyverno/commands/apply.(*ApplyCommandConfig).applyCommandHelper(0xbe6bcc13400, {0xc84a840, 0xbe6bc93c068})
	/home/runner/work/kyverno/kyverno/cmd/cli/kubectl-kyverno/commands/apply/command.go:365 +0x262b
github.com/kyverno/kyverno/cmd/cli/kubectl-kyverno/commands/apply.Command.func1(0xbe6bd640908, {0xbe6bd300720, 0x1, 0x2})
	/home/runner/work/kyverno/kyverno/cmd/cli/kubectl-kyverno/commands/apply/command.go:154 +0x145
github.com/spf13/cobra.(*Command).execute(0xbe6bd640908, {0xbe6bd300700, 0x2, 0x2})
	/home/runner/go/pkg/mod/github.com/spf13/[email protected]/command.go:1015 +0xb14
github.com/spf13/cobra.(*Command).ExecuteC(0xbe6bd640608)
	/home/runner/go/pkg/mod/github.com/spf13/[email protected]/command.go:1148 +0x465
github.com/spf13/cobra.(*Command).Execute(...)
	/home/runner/go/pkg/mod/github.com/spf13/[email protected]/command.go:1071
main.main()
	/home/runner/work/kyverno/kyverno/cmd/cli/kubectl-kyverno/main.go:21 +0x89

#!/bin/bash

# create resource
cat > /tmp/list.yaml << EOF
apiVersion: v1
kind: List
items:
- apiVersion: v1
  kind: Service
  metadata:
    name: list-service-test
  spec:
    ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 80
    selector:
      app: list-deployment-test
- apiVersion: apps/v1
  kind: Deployment
  metadata:
    name: list-deployment-test
    labels:
      app: list-deployment-test
  spec:
    replicas: 1
    selector:
      matchLabels:
        app: list-deployment-test
    template:
      metadata:
        labels:
          app: list-deployment-test
      spec:
        containers:
          - name: nginx
            image: nginx
EOF
# create (random) policy
cat > /tmp/policy.yaml << EOF
apiVersion: kyverno.io/v1
kind: ClusterPolicy
metadata:
  name: require-labels
  annotations:
    policies.kyverno.io/title: Require Labels
    policies.kyverno.io/category: Best Practices
    policies.kyverno.io/minversion: 1.6.0
    policies.kyverno.io/severity: medium
    policies.kyverno.io/subject: Pod, Label
    policies.kyverno.io/description: Define and use labels that identify semantic attributes of your application or Deployment. A common set of labels allows tools to work collaboratively, describing objects in a common manner that all tools can understand. The recommended labels describe applications in a way that can be queried. This policy validates that the is specified with some value.
spec:
  validationFailureAction: Audit
  background: true
  rules:
    - name: check-for-labels
      match:
        any:
          - resources:
              kinds:
                - Pod
      validate:
        message: The label is required.
        pattern:
          metadata:
            labels:
              testlabel: "?*"

EOF

kyverno apply /tmp/policy.yaml --resource=/tmp/list.yaml

panic: *unstructured.Unstructured is not a list: no Items field in this object

goroutine 1 [running]:
k8s.io/client-go/dynamic/fake.NewSimpleDynamicClientWithCustomListKinds(0xbe6bd08f570, 0xbe6c0512670, {0xbe6bef4f2e0, 0x1, 0x2?})
	/home/runner/go/pkg/mod/k8s.io/[email protected]/dynamic/fake/simple.go:110 +0xa37
github.com/kyverno/kyverno/pkg/clients/dclient.NewFakeClient(0xbe6bd08f500, 0xbe6c0512670, {0xbe6c0511f18, 0x1, 0x1})
	/home/runner/work/kyverno/kyverno/pkg/clients/dclient/fake.go:48 +0x44d
github.com/kyverno/kyverno/cmd/cli/kubectl-kyverno/commands/apply.createFakeClientFromResources({0xbe6bd304750, 0x1, 0xbe6bcc13400?}, {0x0, 0x0, 0xbe6bd83cc40?}, {0x0, 0x0, 0xbe6be452510?})
	/home/runner/work/kyverno/kyverno/cmd/cli/kubectl-kyverno/commands/apply/command.go:1336 +0xbab
github.com/kyverno/kyverno/cmd/cli/kubectl-kyverno/commands/apply.(*ApplyCommandConfig).applyCommandHelper(0xbe6bcc13400, {0xc84a840, 0xbe6bc93c068})
	/home/runner/work/kyverno/kyverno/cmd/cli/kubectl-kyverno/commands/apply/command.go:365 +0x262b
github.com/kyverno/kyverno/cmd/cli/kubectl-kyverno/commands/apply.Command.func1(0xbe6bd640908, {0xbe6bd300720, 0x1, 0x2})
	/home/runner/work/kyverno/kyverno/cmd/cli/kubectl-kyverno/commands/apply/command.go:154 +0x145
github.com/spf13/cobra.(*Command).execute(0xbe6bd640908, {0xbe6bd300700, 0x2, 0x2})
	/home/runner/go/pkg/mod/github.com/spf13/[email protected]/command.go:1015 +0xb14
github.com/spf13/cobra.(*Command).ExecuteC(0xbe6bd640608)
	/home/runner/go/pkg/mod/github.com/spf13/[email protected]/command.go:1148 +0x465
github.com/spf13/cobra.(*Command).Execute(...)
	/home/runner/go/pkg/mod/github.com/spf13/[email protected]/command.go:1071
main.main()
	/home/runner/work/kyverno/kyverno/cmd/cli/kubectl-kyverno/main.go:21 +0x89