diff --git a/internal/server/lookup_errors_test.go b/internal/server/lookup_errors_test.go
index 0addedc326..330b1bca30 100644
--- a/internal/server/lookup_errors_test.go
+++ b/internal/server/lookup_errors_test.go
@@ -35,7 +35,6 @@ var lookupAssignment = regexp.MustCompile(`const\s+([A-Za-z_$][\w$]*)\s*=\s*` +
 //
 // This set may SHRINK. It must never GROW.
 var lookupErrorBaseline = map[string]string{
-	"ServiceRenderer.tsx :: data: endpointSlices, isLoading: endpointSlicesLoading": "pre-existing: endpoint slices behind the Service Endpoints section",
 	"CNPGDeclarativeRenderer.tsx :: data": "the name resolver degrades to plain text instead of a link, " +
 		"which is its documented fallback; the list beside it carries its own error note",
 }
diff --git a/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/renderers/EndpointSliceOwnership.test.tsx b/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/renderers/EndpointSliceOwnership.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..54da11a7a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/renderers/EndpointSliceOwnership.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+// @vitest-environment jsdom
+import {renderToStaticMarkup} from 'react-dom/server'
+import {expect,it} from 'vitest'
+import {EndpointSliceRenderer} from './EndpointSliceRenderer'
+it('displays an unverified owner name and UID without a forward navigation link',()=>{
+ const html=renderToStaticMarkup(<EndpointSliceRenderer data={{apiVersion:'discovery.k8s.io/v1',kind:'EndpointSlice',metadata:{name:'slice',namespace:'app',ownerReferences:[{apiVersion:'v1',kind:'Service',name:'old',uid:'deleted-owner'}]}}} onNavigate={()=>{}} />)
+ expect(html).toContain('Declared Owner Service');expect(html).toContain('deleted-owner');expect([...new DOMParser().parseFromString(html, 'text/html').querySelectorAll('button')].some(button => button.textContent === 'old')).toBe(false)
+})
+it('retains standard label navigation independently from owner metadata',()=>{
+ const html=renderToStaticMarkup(<EndpointSliceRenderer data={{apiVersion:'discovery.k8s.io/v1',kind:'EndpointSlice',metadata:{name:'slice',namespace:'app',labels:{'kubernetes.io/service-name':'published'}}}} onNavigate={()=>{}} />)
+ expect(html).toContain('published');expect([...new DOMParser().parseFromString(html, 'text/html').querySelectorAll('button')].some(button => button.textContent === 'published')).toBe(true)
+})
diff --git a/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/renderers/EndpointSliceRenderer.tsx b/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/renderers/EndpointSliceRenderer.tsx
index 4e4a2a4940..0c67375982 100644
--- a/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/renderers/EndpointSliceRenderer.tsx
+++ b/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/renderers/EndpointSliceRenderer.tsx
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { clsx } from 'clsx'
 import { Section, PropertyList, Property } from '../../ui/drawer-components'
 import { Badge } from '../../ui/Badge'
 import type { ResourceRef } from '../../../types'
+import { endpointSliceServiceAssociation } from '../../../utils/endpoint-slices'
 
 interface EndpointSliceRendererProps {
   data: any
@@ -25,10 +26,10 @@ function endpointTargetLabel(endpoint: any): string | null {
 
 export function EndpointSliceRenderer({ data, onNavigate }: EndpointSliceRendererProps) {
   const metadata = data.metadata || {}
-  const labels = metadata.labels || {}
   const endpoints = data.endpoints || []
   const ports = data.ports || []
-  const serviceName = labels['kubernetes.io/service-name']
+  const serviceAssociation = endpointSliceServiceAssociation(data)
+  const serviceName = serviceAssociation?.name
   const readyCount = endpoints.filter(isEndpointReady).length
   const addresses = endpointAddressCount(endpoints)
 
@@ -42,18 +43,19 @@ export function EndpointSliceRenderer({ data, onNavigate }: EndpointSliceRendere
           <Property label="Ports" value={ports.length} />
           {serviceName && (
             <Property
-              label="Service"
-              value={onNavigate ? (
+              label={serviceAssociation?.source === 'ownerReference' ? 'Declared Owner Service' : 'Service'}
+              value={onNavigate && serviceAssociation?.source === 'label' ? (
                 <button
                   type="button"
                   className="text-sm text-accent-text hover:underline font-medium"
-                  onClick={() => onNavigate({ kind: 'Service', namespace: metadata.namespace, name: serviceName })}
+                  onClick={() => onNavigate({ kind: 'Service', group: '', namespace: metadata.namespace, name: serviceName })}
                 >
                   {serviceName}
                 </button>
               ) : serviceName}
             />
           )}
+          {serviceAssociation?.source === 'ownerReference' && <Property label="Owner UID" value={serviceAssociation.uid} />}
         </PropertyList>
       </Section>
 
diff --git a/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/renderers/ServiceRenderer.test.tsx b/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/renderers/ServiceRenderer.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b241d28494
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/renderers/ServiceRenderer.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+import { renderToStaticMarkup } from 'react-dom/server'
+import { expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { ServiceRenderer } from './ServiceRenderer'
+const data = { metadata: { name: 'web', namespace: 'team' }, spec: { selector: { app: 'web' } } }
+const props = { data, onCopy: () => {}, copied: null }
+it('renders queried slices for selected Services without inferring health from template selection', () => {
+  const html = renderToStaticMarkup(<ServiceRenderer {...props} endpointSlicesEnabled endpointSlices={[{ metadata: { name: 'published' }, endpoints: [{ addresses: ['10.0.0.1'], conditions: { ready: false } }] }]} />)
+  expect(html).toContain('EndpointSlices')
+  expect(html).toContain('published')
+  expect(html).toContain('0/1')
+})
+it('separates unavailable, loading, ready-empty and unprovided inventory', () => {
+  expect(renderToStaticMarkup(<ServiceRenderer {...props} />)).not.toContain('EndpointSlices')
+  const error = renderToStaticMarkup(<ServiceRenderer {...props} endpointSlicesEnabled endpointSlices={[]} endpointSlicesError="Read denied" />)
+  expect(error).toContain('EndpointSlice inventory unavailable')
+  expect(error).not.toContain('No EndpointSlices found')
+  expect(renderToStaticMarkup(<ServiceRenderer {...props} endpointSlicesEnabled endpointSlicesLoading />)).toContain('Loading EndpointSlices')
+  expect(renderToStaticMarkup(<ServiceRenderer {...props} endpointSlicesEnabled endpointSlices={[]} />)).toContain('No EndpointSlices found')
+})
+it('does not show slice inventory for ExternalName even when supplied', () => {
+  expect(renderToStaticMarkup(<ServiceRenderer {...props} data={{ ...data, spec: { type: 'ExternalName', externalName: 'example.org' } }} endpointSlicesEnabled endpointSlices={[]} />)).not.toContain('EndpointSlices')
+})
+
+it('marks unlabeled owned slices without describing them as published endpoints', () => {
+  const owned = { apiVersion: 'discovery.k8s.io/v1', kind: 'EndpointSlice', metadata: { namespace: 'team', name: 'owned', ownerReferences: [{ apiVersion: 'v1', kind: 'Service', name: 'web', uid: 'web-now' }] } }
+  const html = renderToStaticMarkup(<ServiceRenderer {...props} endpointSlicesEnabled endpointSlices={[owned]} />)
+  expect(html).toContain('Owner reference only')
+  expect(html).toContain('ownership does not establish published Service endpoints')
+})
+
+it('filters raw namespace inventory in the shared renderer, independently from the host label set', () => {
+  const owned = { apiVersion:'discovery.k8s.io/v1',kind:'EndpointSlice',metadata:{name:'owned',namespace:'team',ownerReferences:[{apiVersion:'v1',kind:'Service',name:'web',uid:'web-now'}]} }
+  const replaced = {...owned,metadata:{...owned.metadata,name:'replaced',ownerReferences:[{apiVersion:'v1',kind:'Service',name:'web',uid:'web-before'}]}}
+  const html=renderToStaticMarkup(<ServiceRenderer {...props} data={{...data,metadata:{...data.metadata,uid:'web-now'}}} endpointSlicesEnabled endpointSlices={[]} endpointSliceInventory={[owned,replaced]} />)
+  expect(html).toContain('owned');expect(html).not.toContain('replaced')
+})
diff --git a/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/renderers/ServiceRenderer.tsx b/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/renderers/ServiceRenderer.tsx
index f2074b260d..fed159ff76 100644
--- a/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/renderers/ServiceRenderer.tsx
+++ b/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/renderers/ServiceRenderer.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
-import { type ReactNode } from 'react'
+import { useMemo, type ReactNode } from 'react'
 import { Globe, Clock, Radio } from 'lucide-react'
 import { Section, PropertyList, Property, KeyValueBadgeList, CopyHandler, AlertBanner } from '../../ui/drawer-components'
+import { endpointSliceServiceAssociation, endpointSliceMatchesService } from '../../../utils/endpoint-slices'
 import type { ResourceRef } from '../../../types'
 
 export interface ServicePortRenderProps {
@@ -17,7 +18,10 @@ interface ServiceRendererProps {
   onCopy: CopyHandler
   copied: string | null
   endpointSlices?: any[]
+  endpointSliceInventory?: any[]
   endpointSlicesLoading?: boolean
+  endpointSlicesEnabled?: boolean
+  endpointSlicesError?: string
   onNavigate?: (ref: ResourceRef) => void
   renderPortAction?: (props: ServicePortRenderProps) => ReactNode
   renderPortPanel?: (props: ServicePortRenderProps) => ReactNode
@@ -38,7 +42,13 @@ function endpointSliceReadyClass(ready: number, total: number): string {
   return 'status-unhealthy'
 }
 
-export function ServiceRenderer({ data, onCopy, copied, endpointSlices, endpointSlicesLoading, onNavigate, renderPortAction, renderPortPanel }: ServiceRendererProps) {
+export function ServiceRenderer({ data, onCopy, copied, endpointSlices: suppliedEndpointSlices, endpointSliceInventory, endpointSlicesLoading, endpointSlicesEnabled, endpointSlicesError, onNavigate, renderPortAction, renderPortPanel }: ServiceRendererProps) {
+  // The host passes raw namespace inventory; association semantics stay inside
+  // the shared UI. Older published consumers only know endpointSlices, which
+  // continues to carry their existing label-filtered set.
+  const endpointSlices = useMemo(() => endpointSliceInventory
+    ? endpointSliceInventory.filter(slice => endpointSliceMatchesService(slice, data))
+    : suppliedEndpointSlices, [endpointSliceInventory, suppliedEndpointSlices, data])
   const spec = data.spec || {}
   const ports = spec.ports || []
   const lbIngress = data.status?.loadBalancer?.ingress || []
@@ -111,10 +121,12 @@ export function ServiceRenderer({ data, onCopy, copied, endpointSlices, endpoint
         </Section>
       )}
 
-      {hasNoSelector && !isExternalName && (
-        <Section title="EndpointSlices" icon={Radio}>
+      {!isExternalName && (hasNoSelector || endpointSlicesEnabled) && (
+        <Section title="EndpointSlices" icon={Radio} defaultExpanded>
           {endpointSlicesLoading ? (
             <div className="text-sm text-theme-text-tertiary">Loading EndpointSlices…</div>
+          ) : endpointSlicesError ? (
+            <AlertBanner variant="warning" title="EndpointSlice inventory unavailable" message={endpointSlicesError} />
           ) : endpointSlices && endpointSlices.length > 0 ? (
             <div className="space-y-2">
               {endpointSlices.map((slice: any) => {
@@ -122,6 +134,7 @@ export function ServiceRenderer({ data, onCopy, copied, endpointSlices, endpoint
                 const endpoints = slice.endpoints || []
                 const ready = endpointSliceReadyCount(slice)
                 const addresses = endpointSliceAddressCount(slice)
+                const ownerOnly = endpointSliceServiceAssociation(slice)?.source === 'ownerReference'
                 return (
                   <button
                     key={slice.metadata?.uid || sliceName}
@@ -138,6 +151,7 @@ export function ServiceRenderer({ data, onCopy, copied, endpointSlices, endpoint
                       <div className="min-w-0">
                         <div className="text-sm font-medium text-theme-text-primary truncate">{sliceName}</div>
                         <div className="text-xs text-theme-text-tertiary mt-0.5">{slice.addressType || 'Unknown'} address type</div>
+                        {ownerOnly && <div className="text-xs text-theme-text-tertiary mt-0.5" title="No kubernetes.io/service-name label; ownership does not establish published Service endpoints.">Owner reference only</div>}
                       </div>
                       <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center justify-end gap-1.5 shrink-0">
                         <span className={`badge-sm ${endpointSliceReadyClass(ready, endpoints.length)}`}>{ready}/{endpoints.length} ready</span>
diff --git a/packages/k8s-ui/src/utils/endpoint-slices.test.ts b/packages/k8s-ui/src/utils/endpoint-slices.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bb941de2d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/k8s-ui/src/utils/endpoint-slices.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+import { expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { endpointSliceMatchesService, endpointSliceServiceAssociation } from './endpoint-slices'
+const service = { metadata: { namespace: 'team', name: 'web', uid: 'web-now' } }
+const owner = (name='web', uid='web-now', controller=false) => ({ apiVersion: 'v1', kind: 'Service', name, uid, controller })
+const slice = (metadata: object) => ({ apiVersion: 'discovery.k8s.io/v1', kind: 'EndpointSlice', metadata: { namespace: 'team', ...metadata } })
+
+it('uses the standard label as primary, independently of metadata ownership', () => {
+  const value = slice({ labels: { 'kubernetes.io/service-name': 'web' }, ownerReferences: [owner('other', 'old', true)] })
+  expect(endpointSliceMatchesService(value, service)).toBe(true)
+  expect(endpointSliceServiceAssociation(value)?.source).toBe('label')
+  expect(endpointSliceMatchesService(slice({ labels: { 'kubernetes.io/service-name': 'other' }, ownerReferences: [owner()] }), service)).toBe(false)
+  expect(endpointSliceMatchesService(slice({ namespace: 'foreign', labels: { 'kubernetes.io/service-name': 'web' } }), service)).toBe(false)
+})
+
+it('resolves unambiguous exact core owners and rejects observed replacement UIDs', () => {
+  expect(endpointSliceMatchesService(slice({ ownerReferences: [owner()] }), service)).toBe(true)
+  expect(endpointSliceMatchesService(slice({ ownerReferences: [owner('web', 'deleted')] }), service)).toBe(false)
+  expect(endpointSliceServiceAssociation(slice({ ownerReferences: [{ ...owner(), apiVersion: 'custom.example.io/v1' }] }))).toBeNull()
+  expect(endpointSliceServiceAssociation(slice({ ownerReferences: [owner(), owner('other','other-now')] }))).toBeNull()
+  expect(endpointSliceMatchesService(slice({ ownerReferences: [owner('other','other-now'), owner('web','web-now',true)] }), service)).toBe(true)
+  expect(endpointSliceMatchesService(slice({ ownerReferences: [owner(), owner()] }), service)).toBe(true)
+})
+
+it('does not interpret non-EndpointSlice API groups or empty source identity', () => {
+  expect(endpointSliceServiceAssociation({ ...slice({ labels: { 'kubernetes.io/service-name': 'web' } }), apiVersion: 'custom.example.io/v1' })).toBeNull()
+  expect(endpointSliceServiceAssociation(slice({ namespace: '', ownerReferences: [owner()] }))).toBeNull()
+  expect(endpointSliceServiceAssociation(slice({}))).toBeNull()
+})
diff --git a/packages/k8s-ui/src/utils/endpoint-slices.ts b/packages/k8s-ui/src/utils/endpoint-slices.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cc49aed73a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/k8s-ui/src/utils/endpoint-slices.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+import type { ResourceRef } from '../types'
+import { apiVersionToGroup } from './navigation'
+
+interface ServiceMetadata {
+  namespace?: string
+  name?: string
+  uid?: string
+}
+interface EndpointSliceIdentity {
+  apiVersion?: string
+  kind?: string
+  metadata?: ServiceMetadata & {
+    labels?: Record<string, string>
+    ownerReferences?: Array<{ apiVersion: string; kind: string; name: string; uid: string; controller?: boolean }>
+  }
+}
+
+export interface EndpointSliceServiceAssociation extends ResourceRef {
+  source: 'label' | 'ownerReference'
+  uid?: string
+}
+
+/** Labels define the Service's published slice set. Exact core owner metadata
+ * can identify an unlabeled slice, but ambiguous owners establish no association.
+ */
+export function endpointSliceServiceAssociation(slice: EndpointSliceIdentity): EndpointSliceServiceAssociation | null {
+  const metadata = slice.metadata
+  if (slice.kind !== 'EndpointSlice' || apiVersionToGroup(slice.apiVersion) !== 'discovery.k8s.io' || !metadata?.namespace) return null
+  const label = metadata.labels?.['kubernetes.io/service-name']
+  if (label) return { kind: 'Service', group: '', namespace: metadata.namespace, name: label, source: 'label' }
+  const owners = (metadata.ownerReferences ?? []).filter(ref => ref.apiVersion === 'v1' && ref.kind === 'Service' && ref.name && ref.uid)
+  const controllers = owners.filter(ref => ref.controller === true)
+  const candidates = controllers.length ? controllers : owners
+  const distinct = new Map(candidates.map(ref => [`${ref.name}/${ref.uid}`, ref]))
+  if (distinct.size !== 1) return null
+  const owner = distinct.values().next().value!
+  return { kind: 'Service', group: '', namespace: metadata.namespace, name: owner.name, source: 'ownerReference', uid: owner.uid }
+}
+
+export function endpointSliceMatchesService(slice: EndpointSliceIdentity, service: { metadata?: ServiceMetadata }): boolean {
+  const association = endpointSliceServiceAssociation(slice)
+  const metadata = service.metadata
+  return !!association && !!metadata && association.namespace === metadata.namespace && association.name === metadata.name
+    && (association.source !== 'ownerReference' || !metadata.uid || association.uid === metadata.uid)
+}
diff --git a/web/src/components/resources/renderers/ServiceRenderer.test.tsx b/web/src/components/resources/renderers/ServiceRenderer.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5b75385cfe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/src/components/resources/renderers/ServiceRenderer.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import { renderToStaticMarkup } from 'react-dom/server'
+import { beforeEach, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { ServiceRenderer } from './ServiceRenderer'
+const mock = vi.hoisted(() => ({ query: {} as any, reads: [] as any[] }))
+vi.mock('../../../api/client', () => ({ useResources: (...args: any[]) => { mock.reads.push(args); return mock.query } }))
+vi.mock('../../../contexts/CapabilitiesContext', () => ({ useNamespacedCapabilities: () => ({ canPortForward: false }), useIsLocalDeployment: () => true }))
+vi.mock('../../portforward/PortForwardButton', () => ({ PortForwardInlineButton: () => null }))
+vi.mock('../../curl/ServiceCurlButton', () => ({ CurlButton: () => null, CurlPanel: () => null, isHttpishPort: () => false, defaultScheme: () => '', defaultPathForPort: () => '' }))
+const service = { apiVersion: 'v1', kind: 'Service', metadata: { name: 'web', namespace: 'team', uid: 'web-now' }, spec: { selector: { app: 'web' } } }
+const slice = (name: string, metadata: object) => ({ apiVersion: 'discovery.k8s.io/v1', kind: 'EndpointSlice', metadata: { namespace: 'team', name, ...metadata } })
+const render = (data: Parameters<typeof ServiceRenderer>[0]['data'] = service) => renderToStaticMarkup(<ServiceRenderer data={data} onCopy={() => {}} copied={null} />)
+beforeEach(() => { mock.query={};mock.reads=[] })
+it('queries slices for selected Services and includes exact label or owner associations', () => {
+  mock.query={ data:[
+    slice('labeled',{labels:{'kubernetes.io/service-name':'web'}}),
+    slice('owned',{ownerReferences:[{apiVersion:'v1',kind:'Service',name:'web',uid:'web-now'}]}),
+    slice('other',{labels:{'kubernetes.io/service-name':'different'}}),
+    slice('replaced',{ownerReferences:[{apiVersion:'v1',kind:'Service',name:'web',uid:'web-deleted'}]}),
+  ] }
+  const html=render()
+  expect(mock.reads[0]).toEqual(['endpointslices','team','discovery.k8s.io',{enabled:true,refetchInterval:30000}])
+  expect(html).toContain('labeled');expect(html).toContain('owned');expect(html).not.toContain('replaced');expect(html).not.toContain('different')
+})
+it('exposes inventory read failures rather than empty results', () => {
+  mock.query={error:new Error('Read denied'),data:[]}
+  const html=render()
+  expect(html).toContain('EndpointSlice inventory unavailable');expect(html).not.toContain('No EndpointSlices found')
+})
+it('disables EndpointSlice inventory for ExternalName', () => {
+  const data={...service,spec:{type:'ExternalName',externalName:'example.org'}}
+  const html=render(data)
+  expect(mock.reads[0][3].enabled).toBe(false);expect(html).not.toContain('EndpointSlices')
+})
diff --git a/web/src/components/resources/renderers/ServiceRenderer.tsx b/web/src/components/resources/renderers/ServiceRenderer.tsx
index 4a69dcc301..d33fd879d6 100644
--- a/web/src/components/resources/renderers/ServiceRenderer.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/resources/renderers/ServiceRenderer.tsx
@@ -39,20 +39,28 @@ export function ServiceRenderer({ data, onCopy, copied, onNavigate }: ServiceRen
   const shouldLoadEndpointSlices = Boolean(
     namespace &&
     serviceName &&
-    spec.type !== 'ExternalName' &&
-    (!spec.selector || Object.keys(spec.selector).length === 0)
+    spec.type !== 'ExternalName'
   )
-  const { data: endpointSlices, isLoading: endpointSlicesLoading } = useResources<any>(
+  const { data: endpointSlices, isLoading: endpointSlicesLoading, error: endpointSlicesError } = useResources<any>(
     'endpointslices',
     namespace,
     'discovery.k8s.io',
     { enabled: shouldLoadEndpointSlices, refetchInterval: 30000 }
   )
   const matchingEndpointSlices = useMemo(
-    () => (endpointSlices || []).filter((slice: any) => slice.metadata?.labels?.['kubernetes.io/service-name'] === serviceName),
-    [endpointSlices, serviceName]
+    () => (endpointSlices || []).filter((slice: any) => slice.metadata?.namespace === namespace && slice.metadata?.labels?.['kubernetes.io/service-name'] === serviceName),
+    [endpointSlices, namespace, serviceName]
   )
 
+  // Additive options are ignored by the actual older pinned SDK, which still
+  // receives its label-filtered endpointSlices. Keep the host source compatible
+  // with that published component type as well as its runtime imports.
+  const endpointSliceOptions = {
+    endpointSliceInventory: endpointSlices,
+    endpointSlicesEnabled: shouldLoadEndpointSlices,
+    endpointSlicesError: endpointSlicesError?.message,
+  }
+
   return (
     <BaseServiceRenderer
       data={data}
@@ -60,6 +68,7 @@ export function ServiceRenderer({ data, onCopy, copied, onNavigate }: ServiceRen
       copied={copied}
       endpointSlices={matchingEndpointSlices}
       endpointSlicesLoading={endpointSlicesLoading}
+      {...endpointSliceOptions}
       onNavigate={onNavigate}
       renderPortAction={({ port, name, appProtocol, protocol }) => (
         <>