diff --git a/pkg/plugins/policies/meshcircuitbreaker/plugin/v1alpha1/plugin.go b/pkg/plugins/policies/meshcircuitbreaker/plugin/v1alpha1/plugin.go
index a02ecf5675d1..8347c3ed3064 100644
--- a/pkg/plugins/policies/meshcircuitbreaker/plugin/v1alpha1/plugin.go
+++ b/pkg/plugins/policies/meshcircuitbreaker/plugin/v1alpha1/plugin.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	core_plugins "github.com/kumahq/kuma/pkg/core/plugins"
 	core_mesh "github.com/kumahq/kuma/pkg/core/resources/apis/mesh"
 	meshexternalservice_api "github.com/kumahq/kuma/pkg/core/resources/apis/meshexternalservice/api/v1alpha1"
+	core_model "github.com/kumahq/kuma/pkg/core/resources/model"
 	core_xds "github.com/kumahq/kuma/pkg/core/xds"
 	xds_types "github.com/kumahq/kuma/pkg/core/xds/types"
 	"github.com/kumahq/kuma/pkg/plugins/policies/core/matchers"
@@ -63,11 +64,11 @@ func (p plugin) Apply(
 		return err
 	}
 
-	if err := applyToGateways(policies.GatewayRules, clusters.Gateway, proxy); err != nil {
+	if err := applyToGateways(ctx.Mesh, proxy, rs, policies.GatewayRules, clusters.Gateway); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	if err := applyToRealResources(rs, policies.ToRules.ResourceRules, ctx.Mesh); err != nil {
+	if err := applyToRealResources(ctx.Mesh, rs, policies.ToRules.ResourceRules); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
@@ -127,10 +128,14 @@ func applyToOutbounds(
 }
 
 func applyToGateways(
+	meshCtx xds_context.MeshContext,
+	proxy *core_xds.Proxy,
+	rs *core_xds.ResourceSet,
 	gatewayRules core_rules.GatewayRules,
 	gatewayClusters map[string]*envoy_cluster.Cluster,
-	proxy *core_xds.Proxy,
 ) error {
+	resourcesByOrigin := rs.IndexByOrigin(core_xds.NonMeshExternalService)
+
 	for _, listenerInfo := range gateway.ExtractGatewayListeners(proxy) {
 		rules, ok := gatewayRules.ToRules.ByListener[core_rules.InboundListener{
 			Address: proxy.Dataplane.Spec.GetNetworking().Address,
@@ -161,6 +166,21 @@ func applyToGateways(
 					); err != nil {
 						return err
 					}
+
+					if dest.BackendRef == nil {
+						continue
+					}
+					if realRef := dest.BackendRef.ResourceOrNil(); realRef != nil {
+						resources := resourcesByOrigin[*realRef]
+						if err := applyToRealResource(
+							meshCtx,
+							rules.ResourceRules,
+							*realRef,
+							resources,
+						); err != nil {
+							return err
+						}
+					}
 				}
 			}
 		}
@@ -216,26 +236,42 @@ func applyToEgressRealResources(rs *core_xds.ResourceSet, proxy *core_xds.Proxy)
 	return nil
 }
 
-func applyToRealResources(rs *core_xds.ResourceSet, rules core_rules.ResourceRules, meshCtx xds_context.MeshContext) error {
-	for uri, resType := range rs.IndexByOrigin(core_xds.NonMeshExternalService) {
-		conf := rules.Compute(uri, meshCtx.Resources)
-		if conf == nil {
-			continue
-		}
+func applyToRealResource(
+	meshCtx xds_context.MeshContext,
+	rules core_rules.ResourceRules,
+	uri core_model.TypedResourceIdentifier,
+	resourcesByType core_xds.ResourcesByType,
+) error {
+	conf := rules.Compute(uri, meshCtx.Resources)
+	if conf == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
 
-		for typ, resources := range resType {
-			switch typ {
-			case envoy_resource.ClusterType:
-				err := configureClusters(resources, conf.Conf[0].(api.Conf))
-				if err != nil {
-					return err
-				}
+	for typ, resources := range resourcesByType {
+		switch typ {
+		case envoy_resource.ClusterType:
+			err := configureClusters(resources, conf.Conf[0].(api.Conf))
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
 			}
 		}
 	}
 	return nil
 }
 
+func applyToRealResources(
+	meshCtx xds_context.MeshContext,
+	rs *core_xds.ResourceSet,
+	rules core_rules.ResourceRules,
+) error {
+	for uri, resType := range rs.IndexByOrigin(core_xds.NonMeshExternalService) {
+		if err := applyToRealResource(meshCtx, rules, uri, resType); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 func configureClusters(resources []*core_xds.Resource, conf api.Conf) error {
 	for _, resource := range resources {
 		configurer := plugin_xds.Configurer{