diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver/pkg/apiserver/customresource_handler.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver/pkg/apiserver/customresource_handler.go
index 1c27ebf730d..be1076d7912 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver/pkg/apiserver/customresource_handler.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver/pkg/apiserver/customresource_handler.go
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/cbor"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/json"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/protobuf"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/versioning"
@@ -69,8 +70,10 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/handlers/responsewriters"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/metrics"
 	apirequest "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/request"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/registry/generic"
 	genericfilters "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/filters"
+	utilfeature "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/feature"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/webhook"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/warning"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/scale"
@@ -600,6 +603,20 @@ func (r *crdHandler) GetCustomResourceListerCollectionDeleter(crd *apiextensions
 	return info.storages[info.storageVersion].CustomResource, nil
 }
 
+func newCBORSerializerInfo(creater runtime.ObjectCreater, typer runtime.ObjectTyper) runtime.SerializerInfo {
+	return runtime.SerializerInfo{
+		MediaType:        "application/cbor",
+		MediaTypeType:    "application",
+		MediaTypeSubType: "cbor",
+		Serializer:       cbor.NewSerializer(creater, typer),
+		StrictSerializer: cbor.NewSerializer(creater, typer, cbor.Strict(true)),
+		StreamSerializer: &runtime.StreamSerializerInfo{
+			Framer:     cbor.NewFramer(),
+			Serializer: cbor.NewSerializer(creater, typer, cbor.Transcode(false)),
+		},
+	}
+}
+
 // getOrCreateServingInfoFor gets the CRD serving info for the given CRD UID if the key exists in the storage map.
 // Otherwise the function fetches the up-to-date CRD using the given CRD name and creates CRD serving info.
 func (r *crdHandler) getOrCreateServingInfoFor(uid types.UID, name string) (*crdInfo, error) {
@@ -892,6 +909,11 @@ func (r *crdHandler) getOrCreateServingInfoFor(uid types.UID, name string) (*crd
 				},
 			},
 		}
+
+		if utilfeature.TestOnlyFeatureGate.Enabled(features.TestOnlyCBORServingAndStorage) {
+			negotiatedSerializer.supportedMediaTypes = append(negotiatedSerializer.supportedMediaTypes, newCBORSerializerInfo(creator, typer))
+		}
+
 		var standardSerializers []runtime.SerializerInfo
 		for _, s := range negotiatedSerializer.SupportedMediaTypes() {
 			if s.MediaType == runtime.ContentTypeProtobuf {
@@ -955,7 +977,11 @@ func (r *crdHandler) getOrCreateServingInfoFor(uid types.UID, name string) (*crd
 		scaleScope := *requestScopes[v.Name]
 		scaleConverter := scale.NewScaleConverter()
 		scaleScope.Subresource = "scale"
-		scaleScope.Serializer = serializer.NewCodecFactory(scaleConverter.Scheme())
+		var opts []serializer.CodecFactoryOptionsMutator
+		if utilfeature.TestOnlyFeatureGate.Enabled(features.TestOnlyCBORServingAndStorage) {
+			opts = append(opts, serializer.WithSerializer(newCBORSerializerInfo))
+		}
+		scaleScope.Serializer = serializer.NewCodecFactory(scaleConverter.Scheme(), opts...)
 		scaleScope.Kind = autoscalingv1.SchemeGroupVersion.WithKind("Scale")
 		scaleScope.Namer = handlers.ContextBasedNaming{
 			Namer:         meta.NewAccessor(),
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver/test/integration/cbor_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver/test/integration/cbor_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..fe6dc695098
--- /dev/null
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver/test/integration/cbor_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,236 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2024 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package integration
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"testing"
+
+	apiextensionsv1 "k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver/pkg/apis/apiextensions/v1"
+	apiextensionsclientset "k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver/pkg/client/clientset/clientset"
+	"k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver/test/integration/fixtures"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
+	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer"
+	cbor "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/cbor/direct"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features"
+	utilfeature "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/feature"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/dynamic"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/rest"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/util/retry"
+	featuregatetesting "k8s.io/component-base/featuregate/testing"
+)
+
+func TestCBORServingEnablement(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		name    string
+		enabled bool
+	}{
+		{name: "enabled", enabled: true},
+		{name: "disabled", enabled: false},
+	} {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			featuregatetesting.SetFeatureGateDuringTest(t, utilfeature.TestOnlyFeatureGate, features.TestOnlyCBORServingAndStorage, tc.enabled)
+
+			tearDown, config, _, err := fixtures.StartDefaultServer(t)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			defer tearDown()
+
+			apiExtensionsClientset, err := apiextensionsclientset.NewForConfig(config)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			dynamicClient, err := dynamic.NewForConfig(config)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+
+			crd := &apiextensionsv1.CustomResourceDefinition{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "foos.mygroup.example.com"},
+				Spec: apiextensionsv1.CustomResourceDefinitionSpec{
+					Group: "mygroup.example.com",
+					Versions: []apiextensionsv1.CustomResourceDefinitionVersion{{
+						Name:    "v1beta1",
+						Served:  true,
+						Storage: true,
+						Schema:  fixtures.AllowAllSchema(),
+						Subresources: &apiextensionsv1.CustomResourceSubresources{
+							Status: &apiextensionsv1.CustomResourceSubresourceStatus{},
+							Scale: &apiextensionsv1.CustomResourceSubresourceScale{
+								SpecReplicasPath:   ".spec.replicas",
+								StatusReplicasPath: ".status.replicas",
+							},
+						},
+					}},
+					Names: apiextensionsv1.CustomResourceDefinitionNames{
+						Plural:   "foos",
+						Singular: "foo",
+						Kind:     "Foo",
+						ListKind: "FooList",
+					},
+					Scope: apiextensionsv1.ClusterScoped,
+				},
+			}
+			if _, err = fixtures.CreateNewV1CustomResourceDefinition(crd, apiExtensionsClientset, dynamicClient); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			cr, err := dynamicClient.Resource(schema.GroupVersionResource{Group: "mygroup.example.com", Version: "v1beta1", Resource: "foos"}).Create(
+				context.TODO(),
+				&unstructured.Unstructured{
+					Object: map[string]interface{}{
+						"apiVersion": "mygroup.example.com/v1beta1",
+						"kind":       "Foo",
+						"metadata": map[string]interface{}{
+							"name": fmt.Sprintf("test-cbor-%s", tc.name),
+						},
+						"spec": map[string]interface{}{
+							"replicas": int64(0),
+						},
+						"status": map[string]interface{}{
+							"replicas": int64(0),
+						},
+					}},
+				metav1.CreateOptions{},
+			)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+
+			config = rest.CopyConfig(config)
+			config.NegotiatedSerializer = serializer.NewCodecFactory(runtime.NewScheme()).WithoutConversion()
+			config.APIPath = "/apis"
+			config.GroupVersion = &schema.GroupVersion{Group: "mygroup.example.com", Version: "v1beta1"}
+			restClient, err := rest.RESTClientFor(config)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+
+			for _, subresource := range []string{"", "status", "scale"} {
+				err = restClient.Get().
+					Resource(crd.Spec.Names.Plural).
+					SubResource(subresource).
+					Name(cr.GetName()).
+					SetHeader("Accept", "application/cbor").
+					Do(context.TODO()).Error()
+				switch {
+				case tc.enabled && err == nil:
+					// ok
+				case !tc.enabled && errors.IsNotAcceptable(err):
+					// ok
+				default:
+					t.Errorf("unexpected error on read (subresource %q): %v", subresource, err)
+				}
+			}
+
+			createBody, err := cbor.Marshal(map[string]interface{}{
+				"apiVersion": "mygroup.example.com/v1beta1",
+				"kind":       "Foo",
+				"metadata": map[string]interface{}{
+					"name": fmt.Sprintf("test-cbor-%s-2", tc.name),
+				},
+				"spec": map[string]interface{}{
+					"replicas": int64(0),
+				},
+				"status": map[string]interface{}{
+					"replicas": int64(0),
+				},
+			})
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			err = restClient.Post().
+				Resource(crd.Spec.Names.Plural).
+				SetHeader("Content-Type", "application/cbor").
+				Body(createBody).
+				Do(context.TODO()).Error()
+			switch {
+			case tc.enabled && err == nil:
+				// ok
+			case !tc.enabled && errors.IsUnsupportedMediaType(err):
+				// ok
+			default:
+				t.Errorf("unexpected error on write: %v", err)
+			}
+
+			scaleBody, err := cbor.Marshal(map[string]interface{}{
+				"apiVersion": "autoscaling/v1",
+				"kind":       "Scale",
+				"metadata": map[string]interface{}{
+					"name": cr.GetName(),
+				},
+				"spec": map[string]interface{}{
+					"replicas": int64(0),
+				},
+				"status": map[string]interface{}{
+					"replicas": int64(0),
+				},
+			})
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			err = restClient.Put().
+				Resource(crd.Spec.Names.Plural).
+				SubResource("scale").
+				Name(cr.GetName()).
+				SetHeader("Content-Type", "application/cbor").
+				Body(scaleBody).
+				Do(context.TODO()).Error()
+			switch {
+			case tc.enabled && err == nil:
+				// ok
+			case !tc.enabled && errors.IsUnsupportedMediaType(err):
+				// ok
+			default:
+				t.Errorf("unexpected error on scale write: %v", err)
+			}
+
+			err = retry.RetryOnConflict(retry.DefaultBackoff, func() error {
+				latest, err := dynamicClient.Resource(schema.GroupVersionResource{Group: "mygroup.example.com", Version: "v1beta1", Resource: "foos"}).Get(context.TODO(), cr.GetName(), metav1.GetOptions{})
+				if err != nil {
+					t.Fatal(err)
+				}
+
+				statusBody, err := cbor.Marshal(latest.Object)
+				if err != nil {
+					t.Fatal(err)
+				}
+
+				return restClient.Put().
+					Resource(crd.Spec.Names.Plural).
+					SubResource("status").
+					Name(cr.GetName()).
+					SetHeader("Content-Type", "application/cbor").
+					Body(statusBody).
+					Do(context.TODO()).Error()
+			})
+			switch {
+			case tc.enabled && err == nil:
+				// ok
+			case !tc.enabled && errors.IsUnsupportedMediaType(err):
+				// ok
+			default:
+				t.Fatalf("unexpected error on status write: %v", err)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/internalversion/scheme/register.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/internalversion/scheme/register.go
index 472a9aeb236..585d7f44bd1 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/internalversion/scheme/register.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/internalversion/scheme/register.go
@@ -24,16 +24,16 @@ import (
 )
 
 // Scheme is the registry for any type that adheres to the meta API spec.
-var scheme = runtime.NewScheme()
+var Scheme = runtime.NewScheme()
 
 // Codecs provides access to encoding and decoding for the scheme.
-var Codecs = serializer.NewCodecFactory(scheme)
+var Codecs = serializer.NewCodecFactory(Scheme)
 
 // ParameterCodec handles versioning of objects that are converted to query parameters.
-var ParameterCodec = runtime.NewParameterCodec(scheme)
+var ParameterCodec = runtime.NewParameterCodec(Scheme)
 
 // Unlike other API groups, meta internal knows about all meta external versions, but keeps
 // the logic for conversion private.
 func init() {
-	utilruntime.Must(internalversion.AddToScheme(scheme))
+	utilruntime.Must(internalversion.AddToScheme(Scheme))
 }
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/internalversion/scheme/register_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/internalversion/scheme/register_test.go
index da6982c90bf..e17f28a7a0e 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/internalversion/scheme/register_test.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/internalversion/scheme/register_test.go
@@ -37,11 +37,11 @@ func TestListOptions(t *testing.T) {
 		Watch:           true,
 	}
 	out := &metainternalversion.ListOptions{}
-	if err := scheme.Convert(in, out, nil); err != nil {
+	if err := Scheme.Convert(in, out, nil); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 	actual := &metav1.ListOptions{}
-	if err := scheme.Convert(out, actual, nil); err != nil {
+	if err := Scheme.Convert(out, actual, nil); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 	if !reflect.DeepEqual(in, actual) {
@@ -54,16 +54,16 @@ func TestListOptions(t *testing.T) {
 		{FieldSelector: "a!!!"},
 	} {
 		out = &metainternalversion.ListOptions{}
-		if err := scheme.Convert(failingObject, out, nil); err == nil {
+		if err := Scheme.Convert(failingObject, out, nil); err == nil {
 			t.Errorf("%d: unexpected conversion: %#v", i, out)
 		}
 	}
 
 	// verify kind registration
-	if gvks, unversioned, err := scheme.ObjectKinds(in); err != nil || unversioned || gvks[0] != metav1.SchemeGroupVersion.WithKind("ListOptions") {
+	if gvks, unversioned, err := Scheme.ObjectKinds(in); err != nil || unversioned || gvks[0] != metav1.SchemeGroupVersion.WithKind("ListOptions") {
 		t.Errorf("unexpected: %v %v %v", gvks[0], unversioned, err)
 	}
-	if gvks, unversioned, err := scheme.ObjectKinds(out); err != nil || unversioned || gvks[0] != metainternalversion.SchemeGroupVersion.WithKind("ListOptions") {
+	if gvks, unversioned, err := Scheme.ObjectKinds(out); err != nil || unversioned || gvks[0] != metainternalversion.SchemeGroupVersion.WithKind("ListOptions") {
 		t.Errorf("unexpected: %v %v %v", gvks[0], unversioned, err)
 	}
 
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/internalversion/scheme/roundtrip_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/internalversion/scheme/roundtrip_test.go
index ee048e5a554..028942c6a8f 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/internalversion/scheme/roundtrip_test.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/internalversion/scheme/roundtrip_test.go
@@ -24,5 +24,5 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestRoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
-	roundtrip.RoundTripTestForScheme(t, scheme, fuzzer.Funcs)
+	roundtrip.RoundTripTestForScheme(t, Scheme, fuzzer.Funcs)
 }
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/cbor/cbor.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/cbor/cbor.go
index 46c1b009491..20fa7eb04cf 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/cbor/cbor.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/cbor/cbor.go
@@ -68,17 +68,30 @@ type Serializer interface {
 var _ Serializer = &serializer{}
 
 type options struct {
-	strict bool
+	strict    bool
+	transcode bool
 }
 
 type Option func(*options)
 
+// Strict configures a serializer to return a strict decoding error when it encounters map keys that
+// do not correspond to a field in the target object of a decode operation. This option is disabled
+// by default.
 func Strict(s bool) Option {
 	return func(opts *options) {
 		opts.strict = s
 	}
 }
 
+// Transcode configures a serializer to transcode the "raw" bytes of a decoded runtime.RawExtension
+// or metav1.FieldsV1 object to JSON. This is enabled by default to support existing programs that
+// depend on the assumption that objects of either type contain valid JSON.
+func Transcode(s bool) Option {
+	return func(opts *options) {
+		opts.transcode = s
+	}
+}
+
 type serializer struct {
 	metaFactory metaFactory
 	creater     runtime.ObjectCreater
@@ -88,6 +101,8 @@ type serializer struct {
 
 func (serializer) private() {}
 
+// NewSerializer creates and returns a serializer configured with the provided options. The default
+// options are equivalent to explicitly passing Strict(false) and Transcode(true).
 func NewSerializer(creater runtime.ObjectCreater, typer runtime.ObjectTyper, options ...Option) Serializer {
 	return newSerializer(&defaultMetaFactory{}, creater, typer, options...)
 }
@@ -98,6 +113,7 @@ func newSerializer(metaFactory metaFactory, creater runtime.ObjectCreater, typer
 		creater:     creater,
 		typer:       typer,
 	}
+	s.options.transcode = true
 	for _, o := range options {
 		o(&s.options)
 	}
@@ -337,9 +353,10 @@ func (s *serializer) Decode(data []byte, gvk *schema.GroupVersionKind, into runt
 		return nil, actual, err
 	}
 
-	// TODO: Make possible to disable this behavior.
-	if err := transcodeRawTypes(obj); err != nil {
-		return nil, actual, err
+	if s.options.transcode {
+		if err := transcodeRawTypes(obj); err != nil {
+			return nil, actual, err
+		}
 	}
 
 	return obj, actual, strict
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/cbor/cbor_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/cbor/cbor_test.go
index a47858c6ad9..23894a06258 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/cbor/cbor_test.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/cbor/cbor_test.go
@@ -345,6 +345,33 @@ func TestDecode(t *testing.T) {
 				}
 			},
 		},
+		{
+			name:        "raw types not transcoded",
+			options:     []Option{Transcode(false)},
+			data:        []byte{0xa4, 0x41, 'f', 0xa1, 0x41, 'a', 0x01, 0x42, 'f', 'p', 0xa1, 0x41, 'z', 0x02, 0x41, 'r', 0xa1, 0x41, 'b', 0x03, 0x42, 'r', 'p', 0xa1, 0x41, 'y', 0x04},
+			gvk:         &schema.GroupVersionKind{},
+			metaFactory: stubMetaFactory{gvk: &schema.GroupVersionKind{}},
+			typer:       stubTyper{gvks: []schema.GroupVersionKind{{Group: "x", Version: "y", Kind: "z"}}},
+			into:        &structWithRawFields{},
+			expectedObj: &structWithRawFields{
+				FieldsV1:        metav1.FieldsV1{Raw: []byte{0xa1, 0x41, 'a', 0x01}},
+				FieldsV1Pointer: &metav1.FieldsV1{Raw: []byte{0xa1, 0x41, 'z', 0x02}},
+				// RawExtension's UnmarshalCBOR ensures the self-described CBOR tag
+				// is present in the result so that there is never any ambiguity in
+				// distinguishing CBOR from JSON or Protobuf. It is unnecessary for
+				// FieldsV1 to do the same because the initial byte is always
+				// sufficient to distinguish a valid JSON-encoded FieldsV1 from a
+				// valid CBOR-encoded FieldsV1.
+				RawExtension:        runtime.RawExtension{Raw: []byte{0xd9, 0xd9, 0xf7, 0xa1, 0x41, 'b', 0x03}},
+				RawExtensionPointer: &runtime.RawExtension{Raw: []byte{0xd9, 0xd9, 0xf7, 0xa1, 0x41, 'y', 0x04}},
+			},
+			expectedGVK: &schema.GroupVersionKind{Group: "x", Version: "y", Kind: "z"},
+			assertOnError: func(t *testing.T, err error) {
+				if err != nil {
+					t.Errorf("expected nil error, got: %v", err)
+				}
+			},
+		},
 		{
 			name:        "object with embedded typemeta and objectmeta",
 			data:        []byte("\xa2\x48metadata\xa1\x44name\x43foo\x44spec\xa0"), // {"metadata": {"name": "foo"}}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/codec_factory.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/codec_factory.go
index ff982084204..77bb3074525 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/codec_factory.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/codec_factory.go
@@ -17,9 +17,6 @@ limitations under the License.
 package serializer
 
 import (
-	"mime"
-	"strings"
-
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/json"
@@ -28,41 +25,26 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/versioning"
 )
 
-// serializerExtensions are for serializers that are conditionally compiled in
-var serializerExtensions = []func(*runtime.Scheme) (serializerType, bool){}
-
-type serializerType struct {
-	AcceptContentTypes []string
-	ContentType        string
-	FileExtensions     []string
-	// EncodesAsText should be true if this content type can be represented safely in UTF-8
-	EncodesAsText bool
-
-	Serializer       runtime.Serializer
-	PrettySerializer runtime.Serializer
-	StrictSerializer runtime.Serializer
-
-	AcceptStreamContentTypes []string
-	StreamContentType        string
-
-	Framer           runtime.Framer
-	StreamSerializer runtime.Serializer
-}
-
-func newSerializersForScheme(scheme *runtime.Scheme, mf json.MetaFactory, options CodecFactoryOptions) []serializerType {
+func newSerializersForScheme(scheme *runtime.Scheme, mf json.MetaFactory, options CodecFactoryOptions) []runtime.SerializerInfo {
 	jsonSerializer := json.NewSerializerWithOptions(
 		mf, scheme, scheme,
 		json.SerializerOptions{Yaml: false, Pretty: false, Strict: options.Strict},
 	)
-	jsonSerializerType := serializerType{
-		AcceptContentTypes: []string{runtime.ContentTypeJSON},
-		ContentType:        runtime.ContentTypeJSON,
-		FileExtensions:     []string{"json"},
-		EncodesAsText:      true,
-		Serializer:         jsonSerializer,
-
-		Framer:           json.Framer,
-		StreamSerializer: jsonSerializer,
+	jsonSerializerType := runtime.SerializerInfo{
+		MediaType:        runtime.ContentTypeJSON,
+		MediaTypeType:    "application",
+		MediaTypeSubType: "json",
+		EncodesAsText:    true,
+		Serializer:       jsonSerializer,
+		StrictSerializer: json.NewSerializerWithOptions(
+			mf, scheme, scheme,
+			json.SerializerOptions{Yaml: false, Pretty: false, Strict: true},
+		),
+		StreamSerializer: &runtime.StreamSerializerInfo{
+			EncodesAsText: true,
+			Serializer:    jsonSerializer,
+			Framer:        json.Framer,
+		},
 	}
 	if options.Pretty {
 		jsonSerializerType.PrettySerializer = json.NewSerializerWithOptions(
@@ -71,12 +53,6 @@ func newSerializersForScheme(scheme *runtime.Scheme, mf json.MetaFactory, option
 		)
 	}
 
-	strictJSONSerializer := json.NewSerializerWithOptions(
-		mf, scheme, scheme,
-		json.SerializerOptions{Yaml: false, Pretty: false, Strict: true},
-	)
-	jsonSerializerType.StrictSerializer = strictJSONSerializer
-
 	yamlSerializer := json.NewSerializerWithOptions(
 		mf, scheme, scheme,
 		json.SerializerOptions{Yaml: true, Pretty: false, Strict: options.Strict},
@@ -88,35 +64,35 @@ func newSerializersForScheme(scheme *runtime.Scheme, mf json.MetaFactory, option
 	protoSerializer := protobuf.NewSerializer(scheme, scheme)
 	protoRawSerializer := protobuf.NewRawSerializer(scheme, scheme)
 
-	serializers := []serializerType{
+	serializers := []runtime.SerializerInfo{
 		jsonSerializerType,
 		{
-			AcceptContentTypes: []string{runtime.ContentTypeYAML},
-			ContentType:        runtime.ContentTypeYAML,
-			FileExtensions:     []string{"yaml"},
-			EncodesAsText:      true,
-			Serializer:         yamlSerializer,
-			StrictSerializer:   strictYAMLSerializer,
+			MediaType:        runtime.ContentTypeYAML,
+			MediaTypeType:    "application",
+			MediaTypeSubType: "yaml",
+			EncodesAsText:    true,
+			Serializer:       yamlSerializer,
+			StrictSerializer: strictYAMLSerializer,
 		},
 		{
-			AcceptContentTypes: []string{runtime.ContentTypeProtobuf},
-			ContentType:        runtime.ContentTypeProtobuf,
-			FileExtensions:     []string{"pb"},
-			Serializer:         protoSerializer,
+			MediaType:        runtime.ContentTypeProtobuf,
+			MediaTypeType:    "application",
+			MediaTypeSubType: "vnd.kubernetes.protobuf",
+			Serializer:       protoSerializer,
 			// note, strict decoding is unsupported for protobuf,
 			// fall back to regular serializing
 			StrictSerializer: protoSerializer,
-
-			Framer:           protobuf.LengthDelimitedFramer,
-			StreamSerializer: protoRawSerializer,
+			StreamSerializer: &runtime.StreamSerializerInfo{
+				Serializer: protoRawSerializer,
+				Framer:     protobuf.LengthDelimitedFramer,
+			},
 		},
 	}
 
-	for _, fn := range serializerExtensions {
-		if serializer, ok := fn(scheme); ok {
-			serializers = append(serializers, serializer)
-		}
+	for _, f := range options.serializers {
+		serializers = append(serializers, f(scheme, scheme))
 	}
+
 	return serializers
 }
 
@@ -136,6 +112,8 @@ type CodecFactoryOptions struct {
 	Strict bool
 	// Pretty includes a pretty serializer along with the non-pretty one
 	Pretty bool
+
+	serializers []func(runtime.ObjectCreater, runtime.ObjectTyper) runtime.SerializerInfo
 }
 
 // CodecFactoryOptionsMutator takes a pointer to an options struct and then modifies it.
@@ -162,6 +140,13 @@ func DisableStrict(options *CodecFactoryOptions) {
 	options.Strict = false
 }
 
+// WithSerializer configures a serializer to be supported in addition to the default serializers.
+func WithSerializer(f func(runtime.ObjectCreater, runtime.ObjectTyper) runtime.SerializerInfo) CodecFactoryOptionsMutator {
+	return func(options *CodecFactoryOptions) {
+		options.serializers = append(options.serializers, f)
+	}
+}
+
 // NewCodecFactory provides methods for retrieving serializers for the supported wire formats
 // and conversion wrappers to define preferred internal and external versions. In the future,
 // as the internal version is used less, callers may instead use a defaulting serializer and
@@ -184,7 +169,7 @@ func NewCodecFactory(scheme *runtime.Scheme, mutators ...CodecFactoryOptionsMuta
 }
 
 // newCodecFactory is a helper for testing that allows a different metafactory to be specified.
-func newCodecFactory(scheme *runtime.Scheme, serializers []serializerType) CodecFactory {
+func newCodecFactory(scheme *runtime.Scheme, serializers []runtime.SerializerInfo) CodecFactory {
 	decoders := make([]runtime.Decoder, 0, len(serializers))
 	var accepts []runtime.SerializerInfo
 	alreadyAccepted := make(map[string]struct{})
@@ -192,38 +177,20 @@ func newCodecFactory(scheme *runtime.Scheme, serializers []serializerType) Codec
 	var legacySerializer runtime.Serializer
 	for _, d := range serializers {
 		decoders = append(decoders, d.Serializer)
-		for _, mediaType := range d.AcceptContentTypes {
-			if _, ok := alreadyAccepted[mediaType]; ok {
-				continue
-			}
-			alreadyAccepted[mediaType] = struct{}{}
-			info := runtime.SerializerInfo{
-				MediaType:        d.ContentType,
-				EncodesAsText:    d.EncodesAsText,
-				Serializer:       d.Serializer,
-				PrettySerializer: d.PrettySerializer,
-				StrictSerializer: d.StrictSerializer,
-			}
+		if _, ok := alreadyAccepted[d.MediaType]; ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		alreadyAccepted[d.MediaType] = struct{}{}
 
-			mediaType, _, err := mime.ParseMediaType(info.MediaType)
-			if err != nil {
-				panic(err)
-			}
-			parts := strings.SplitN(mediaType, "/", 2)
-			info.MediaTypeType = parts[0]
-			info.MediaTypeSubType = parts[1]
+		acceptedSerializerShallowCopy := d
+		if d.StreamSerializer != nil {
+			cloned := *d.StreamSerializer
+			acceptedSerializerShallowCopy.StreamSerializer = &cloned
+		}
+		accepts = append(accepts, acceptedSerializerShallowCopy)
 
-			if d.StreamSerializer != nil {
-				info.StreamSerializer = &runtime.StreamSerializerInfo{
-					Serializer:    d.StreamSerializer,
-					EncodesAsText: d.EncodesAsText,
-					Framer:        d.Framer,
-				}
-			}
-			accepts = append(accepts, info)
-			if mediaType == runtime.ContentTypeJSON {
-				legacySerializer = d.Serializer
-			}
+		if d.MediaType == runtime.ContentTypeJSON {
+			legacySerializer = d.Serializer
 		}
 	}
 	if legacySerializer == nil {
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features/kube_features.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features/kube_features.go
index f4c6fb3a756..1c5d1cc6d49 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features/kube_features.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features/kube_features.go
@@ -87,6 +87,15 @@ const (
 	// Allows authorization to use field and label selectors.
 	AuthorizeWithSelectors featuregate.Feature = "AuthorizeWithSelectors"
 
+	// owner: @benluddy
+	// kep: https://kep.k8s.io/4222
+	//
+	// Enables CBOR as a supported encoding for requests and responses, and as the
+	// preferred storage encoding for custom resources.
+	//
+	// This feature is currently PRE-ALPHA and MUST NOT be enabled outside of integration tests.
+	TestOnlyCBORServingAndStorage featuregate.Feature = "TestOnlyCBORServingAndStorage"
+
 	// owner: @serathius
 	// Enables concurrent watch object decoding to avoid starving watch cache when conversion webhook is installed.
 	ConcurrentWatchObjectDecode featuregate.Feature = "ConcurrentWatchObjectDecode"
@@ -238,6 +247,7 @@ const (
 func init() {
 	runtime.Must(utilfeature.DefaultMutableFeatureGate.Add(defaultKubernetesFeatureGates))
 	runtime.Must(utilfeature.DefaultMutableFeatureGate.AddVersioned(defaultVersionedKubernetesFeatureGates))
+	runtime.Must(utilfeature.TestOnlyMutableFeatureGate.AddVersioned(testOnlyVersionedKubernetesFeatureGates))
 }
 
 // defaultVersionedKubernetesFeatureGates consists of all known Kubernetes-specific feature keys with VersionedSpecs.
@@ -410,3 +420,12 @@ var defaultVersionedKubernetesFeatureGates = map[featuregate.Feature]featuregate
 // defaultKubernetesFeatureGates consists of legacy unversioned Kubernetes-specific feature keys.
 // Please do not add to this struct and use defaultVersionedKubernetesFeatureGates instead.
 var defaultKubernetesFeatureGates = map[featuregate.Feature]featuregate.FeatureSpec{}
+
+// testOnlyVersionedKubernetesFeatureGates consists of features that require programmatic enablement
+// for integration testing, but have not yet graduated to alpha in a release and must not be enabled
+// by a runtime option.
+var testOnlyVersionedKubernetesFeatureGates = map[featuregate.Feature]featuregate.VersionedSpecs{
+	TestOnlyCBORServingAndStorage: {
+		{Version: version.MustParse("1.32"), Default: false, PreRelease: featuregate.Alpha},
+	},
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/config.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/config.go
index e906f3a1ae5..7130bc3a04a 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/config.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/config.go
@@ -742,7 +742,7 @@ func (c *RecommendedConfig) Complete() CompletedConfig {
 	return c.Config.Complete(c.SharedInformerFactory)
 }
 
-var allowedMediaTypes = []string{
+var defaultAllowedMediaTypes = []string{
 	runtime.ContentTypeJSON,
 	runtime.ContentTypeYAML,
 	runtime.ContentTypeProtobuf,
@@ -755,6 +755,10 @@ func (c completedConfig) New(name string, delegationTarget DelegationTarget) (*G
 	if c.Serializer == nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Genericapiserver.New() called with config.Serializer == nil")
 	}
+	allowedMediaTypes := defaultAllowedMediaTypes
+	if utilfeature.TestOnlyFeatureGate.Enabled(genericfeatures.TestOnlyCBORServingAndStorage) {
+		allowedMediaTypes = append(allowedMediaTypes, runtime.ContentTypeCBOR)
+	}
 	for _, info := range c.Serializer.SupportedMediaTypes() {
 		var ok bool
 		for _, mt := range allowedMediaTypes {
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/config_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/config_test.go
index 75314e2cafa..a1e4d6f2dfd 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/config_test.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/config_test.go
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/json"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/sets"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/wait"
@@ -40,12 +41,14 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/user"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authorization/authorizer"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/request"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features"
 	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/server/healthz"
 	utilfeature "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/feature"
 	utilversion "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/version"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/informers"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes/fake"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/rest"
+	featuregatetesting "k8s.io/component-base/featuregate/testing"
 	"k8s.io/component-base/tracing"
 	"k8s.io/klog/v2/ktesting"
 	netutils "k8s.io/utils/net"
@@ -419,3 +422,22 @@ func TestNewErrorForbiddenSerializer(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("unexpected error: %v", err)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestNewFeatureGatedSerializer(t *testing.T) {
+	featuregatetesting.SetFeatureGateDuringTest(t, utilfeature.TestOnlyFeatureGate, features.TestOnlyCBORServingAndStorage, true)
+
+	config := NewConfig(serializer.NewCodecFactory(scheme, serializer.WithSerializer(func(creater runtime.ObjectCreater, typer runtime.ObjectTyper) runtime.SerializerInfo {
+		return runtime.SerializerInfo{
+			MediaType:        "application/cbor",
+			MediaTypeType:    "application",
+			MediaTypeSubType: "cbor",
+		}
+	})))
+	config.ExternalAddress = "192.168.10.4:443"
+	config.EffectiveVersion = utilversion.NewEffectiveVersion("")
+	config.LoopbackClientConfig = &rest.Config{}
+
+	if _, err := config.Complete(nil).New("test", NewEmptyDelegate()); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/feature/feature_gate.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/feature/feature_gate.go
index 00a9e099ba7..7c061042aab 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/feature/feature_gate.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/feature/feature_gate.go
@@ -31,3 +31,15 @@ var (
 	// Top-level commands/options setup that needs to modify this feature gate should use DefaultMutableFeatureGate.
 	DefaultFeatureGate featuregate.FeatureGate = DefaultMutableFeatureGate
 )
+
+var (
+	// TestOnlyMutableFeatureGate is a mutable version of TestOnlyFeatureGate. Only top-level
+	// commands/options setup and the k8s.io/component-base/featuregate/testing package should
+	// make use of this.
+	TestOnlyMutableFeatureGate featuregate.MutableVersionedFeatureGate = featuregate.NewFeatureGate()
+
+	// TestOnlyFeatureGate is a shared global FeatureGate for features that have not yet
+	// graduated to alpha and require programmatic feature enablement for pre-alpha integration
+	// testing without exposing the feature as a runtime option.
+	TestOnlyFeatureGate featuregate.FeatureGate = TestOnlyMutableFeatureGate
+)
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/dynamic/scheme.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/dynamic/scheme.go
index 869002284d9..dbee05312ea 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/dynamic/scheme.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/dynamic/scheme.go
@@ -21,7 +21,9 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/cbor"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/json"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/features"
 )
 
 var basicScheme = runtime.NewScheme()
@@ -35,11 +37,8 @@ func init() {
 	metav1.AddToGroupVersion(parameterScheme, versionV1)
 }
 
-// basicNegotiatedSerializer is used to handle discovery and error handling serialization
-type basicNegotiatedSerializer struct{}
-
-func (s basicNegotiatedSerializer) SupportedMediaTypes() []runtime.SerializerInfo {
-	return []runtime.SerializerInfo{
+func newBasicNegotiatedSerializer() basicNegotiatedSerializer {
+	supportedMediaTypes := []runtime.SerializerInfo{
 		{
 			MediaType:        "application/json",
 			MediaTypeType:    "application",
@@ -54,6 +53,27 @@ func (s basicNegotiatedSerializer) SupportedMediaTypes() []runtime.SerializerInf
 			},
 		},
 	}
+	if features.TestOnlyFeatureGates.Enabled(features.TestOnlyClientAllowsCBOR) {
+		supportedMediaTypes = append(supportedMediaTypes, runtime.SerializerInfo{
+			MediaType:        "application/cbor",
+			MediaTypeType:    "application",
+			MediaTypeSubType: "cbor",
+			Serializer:       cbor.NewSerializer(unstructuredCreater{basicScheme}, unstructuredTyper{basicScheme}),
+			StreamSerializer: &runtime.StreamSerializerInfo{
+				Serializer: cbor.NewSerializer(basicScheme, basicScheme, cbor.Transcode(false)),
+				Framer:     cbor.NewFramer(),
+			},
+		})
+	}
+	return basicNegotiatedSerializer{supportedMediaTypes: supportedMediaTypes}
+}
+
+type basicNegotiatedSerializer struct {
+	supportedMediaTypes []runtime.SerializerInfo
+}
+
+func (s basicNegotiatedSerializer) SupportedMediaTypes() []runtime.SerializerInfo {
+	return s.supportedMediaTypes
 }
 
 func (s basicNegotiatedSerializer) EncoderForVersion(encoder runtime.Encoder, gv runtime.GroupVersioner) runtime.Encoder {
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/dynamic/simple.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/dynamic/simple.go
index 51d96e692fb..b476714053e 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/dynamic/simple.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/dynamic/simple.go
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/watch"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/features"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/rest"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/util/consistencydetector"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/util/watchlist"
@@ -45,9 +46,17 @@ var _ Interface = &DynamicClient{}
 // appropriate dynamic client defaults set.
 func ConfigFor(inConfig *rest.Config) *rest.Config {
 	config := rest.CopyConfig(inConfig)
-	config.AcceptContentTypes = "application/json"
+
 	config.ContentType = "application/json"
-	config.NegotiatedSerializer = basicNegotiatedSerializer{} // this gets used for discovery and error handling types
+	config.AcceptContentTypes = "application/json"
+	if features.TestOnlyFeatureGates.Enabled(features.TestOnlyClientAllowsCBOR) {
+		config.AcceptContentTypes = "application/json;q=0.9,application/cbor;q=1"
+		if features.TestOnlyFeatureGates.Enabled(features.TestOnlyClientPrefersCBOR) {
+			config.ContentType = "application/cbor"
+		}
+	}
+
+	config.NegotiatedSerializer = newBasicNegotiatedSerializer()
 	if config.UserAgent == "" {
 		config.UserAgent = rest.DefaultKubernetesUserAgent()
 	}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/features/features.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/features/features.go
index afb67f509eb..19056df147b 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/features/features.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/features/features.go
@@ -18,9 +18,11 @@ package features
 
 import (
 	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
 
 	utilruntime "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/runtime"
-	"sync/atomic"
 )
 
 // NOTE: types Feature, FeatureSpec, prerelease (and its values)
@@ -141,3 +143,43 @@ var (
 	// should use AddFeaturesToExistingFeatureGates followed by ReplaceFeatureGates.
 	featureGates = &atomic.Value{}
 )
+
+// TestOnlyFeatureGates is a distinct registry of pre-alpha client features that must not be
+// included in runtime wiring to command-line flags or environment variables. It exists as a risk
+// mitigation to allow only programmatic enablement of CBOR serialization for integration testing
+// purposes.
+//
+// TODO: Once all required integration test coverage is complete, this will be deleted and the
+// test-only feature gates will be replaced by normal feature gates.
+var TestOnlyFeatureGates = &testOnlyFeatureGates{
+	features: map[Feature]bool{
+		TestOnlyClientAllowsCBOR:  false,
+		TestOnlyClientPrefersCBOR: false,
+	},
+}
+
+type testOnlyFeatureGates struct {
+	lock     sync.RWMutex
+	features map[Feature]bool
+}
+
+func (t *testOnlyFeatureGates) Enabled(feature Feature) bool {
+	t.lock.RLock()
+	defer t.lock.RUnlock()
+
+	enabled, ok := t.features[feature]
+	if !ok {
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("test-only feature %q not recognized", feature))
+	}
+	return enabled
+}
+
+func (t *testOnlyFeatureGates) Set(feature Feature, enabled bool) error {
+	t.lock.Lock()
+	defer t.lock.Unlock()
+	if _, ok := t.features[feature]; !ok {
+		return fmt.Errorf("test-only feature %q not recognized", feature)
+	}
+	t.features[feature] = enabled
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/features/known_features.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/features/known_features.go
index 0c972a46fd5..9a6a7364573 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/features/known_features.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/features/known_features.go
@@ -41,6 +41,27 @@ const (
 	// owner: @nilekhc
 	// alpha: v1.30
 	InformerResourceVersion Feature = "InformerResourceVersion"
+
+	// owner: @benluddy
+	// kep: https://kep.k8s.io/4222
+	//
+	// If disabled, clients configured to accept "application/cbor" will instead accept
+	// "application/json" with the same relative preference, and clients configured to write
+	// "application/cbor" or "application/apply-patch+cbor" will instead write
+	// "application/json" or "application/apply-patch+yaml", respectively.
+	//
+	// This feature is currently PRE-ALPHA and MUST NOT be enabled outside of integration tests.
+	TestOnlyClientAllowsCBOR Feature = "TestOnlyClientAllowsCBOR"
+
+	// owner: @benluddy
+	// kep: https://kep.k8s.io/4222
+	//
+	// If enabled AND TestOnlyClientAllowsCBOR is also enabled, the default request content type
+	// (if not explicitly configured) and the dynamic client's request content type both become
+	// "application/cbor".
+	//
+	// This feature is currently PRE-ALPHA and MUST NOT be enabled outside of integration tests.
+	TestOnlyClientPrefersCBOR Feature = "TestOnlyClientPrefersCBOR"
 )
 
 // defaultKubernetesFeatureGates consists of all known Kubernetes-specific feature keys.
diff --git a/test/featuregates_linter/test_data/versioned_feature_list.yaml b/test/featuregates_linter/test_data/versioned_feature_list.yaml
index b12ef2257c8..69d66a675f9 100644
--- a/test/featuregates_linter/test_data/versioned_feature_list.yaml
+++ b/test/featuregates_linter/test_data/versioned_feature_list.yaml
@@ -1252,6 +1252,12 @@
     lockToDefault: false
     preRelease: Beta
     version: "1.32"
+- name: TestOnlyCBORServingAndStorage
+  versionedSpecs:
+  - default: false
+    lockToDefault: false
+    preRelease: Alpha
+    version: "1.32"
 - name: TopologyAwareHints
   versionedSpecs:
   - default: false
diff --git a/test/integration/apiserver/admissionwebhook/admission_test.go b/test/integration/apiserver/admissionwebhook/admission_test.go
index 3ab0e8f5916..a29fc0b5e1f 100644
--- a/test/integration/apiserver/admissionwebhook/admission_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/apiserver/admissionwebhook/admission_test.go
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"crypto/tls"
 	"crypto/x509"
-	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
@@ -49,6 +48,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/json"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/sets"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/wait"
 	genericapirequest "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/endpoints/request"
@@ -446,16 +446,25 @@ func (w *warningHandler) HandleWarningHeader(code int, agent string, message str
 
 // TestWebhookAdmissionWithWatchCache tests communication between API server and webhook process.
 func TestWebhookAdmissionWithWatchCache(t *testing.T) {
-	testWebhookAdmission(t, true)
+	testWebhookAdmission(t, true, func(testing.TB, *rest.Config) {})
 }
 
 // TestWebhookAdmissionWithoutWatchCache tests communication between API server and webhook process.
 func TestWebhookAdmissionWithoutWatchCache(t *testing.T) {
-	testWebhookAdmission(t, false)
+	testWebhookAdmission(t, false, func(testing.TB, *rest.Config) {})
+}
+
+func TestWebhookAdmissionWithCBOR(t *testing.T) {
+	framework.EnableCBORServingAndStorageForTest(t)
+	framework.SetTestOnlyCBORClientFeatureGatesForTest(t, true, true)
+	testWebhookAdmission(t, false, func(t testing.TB, config *rest.Config) {
+		config.Wrap(framework.AssertRequestResponseAsCBOR(t))
+	})
 }
 
 // testWebhookAdmission tests communication between API server and webhook process.
-func testWebhookAdmission(t *testing.T, watchCache bool) {
+func testWebhookAdmission(t *testing.T, watchCache bool, reconfigureClient func(testing.TB, *rest.Config)) {
+
 	// holder communicates expectations to webhooks, and results from webhooks
 	holder := &holder{
 		t:                 t,
@@ -528,10 +537,6 @@ func testWebhookAdmission(t *testing.T, watchCache bool) {
 	}
 
 	// gather resources to test
-	dynamicClient, err := dynamic.NewForConfig(clientConfig)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
 	_, resources, err := client.Discovery().ServerGroupsAndResources()
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to get ServerGroupsAndResources with error: %+v", err)
@@ -640,6 +645,13 @@ func testWebhookAdmission(t *testing.T, watchCache bool) {
 			for _, verb := range []string{"create", "update", "patch", "connect", "delete", "deletecollection"} {
 				if shouldTestResourceVerb(gvr, resource, verb) {
 					t.Run(verb, func(t *testing.T) {
+						clientConfig := rest.CopyConfig(clientConfig)
+						reconfigureClient(t, clientConfig)
+						dynamicClient, err := dynamic.NewForConfig(clientConfig)
+						if err != nil {
+							t.Fatal(err)
+						}
+
 						count++
 						holder.reset(t)
 						testFunc := getTestFunc(gvr, verb)
diff --git a/test/integration/client/dynamic_client_test.go b/test/integration/client/dynamic_client_test.go
index 0db8c55e611..f4d59ac7ba2 100644
--- a/test/integration/client/dynamic_client_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/client/dynamic_client_test.go
@@ -20,11 +20,13 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"net/http"
 	"reflect"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
-	v1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/fields"
@@ -38,6 +40,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/client-go/dynamic"
 	clientset "k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes"
 	clientscheme "k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes/scheme"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/rest"
 	kubeapiservertesting "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kube-apiserver/app/testing"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/test/integration/framework"
 )
@@ -55,12 +58,12 @@ func TestDynamicClient(t *testing.T) {
 	resource := schema.GroupVersionResource{Group: "", Version: "v1", Resource: "pods"}
 
 	// Create a Pod with the normal client
-	pod := &v1.Pod{
+	pod := &corev1.Pod{
 		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
 			GenerateName: "test",
 		},
-		Spec: v1.PodSpec{
-			Containers: []v1.Container{
+		Spec: corev1.PodSpec{
+			Containers: []corev1.Container{
 				{
 					Name:  "test",
 					Image: "test-image",
@@ -134,16 +137,16 @@ func TestDynamicClientWatch(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("unexpected error creating dynamic client: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	resource := v1.SchemeGroupVersion.WithResource("events")
+	resource := corev1.SchemeGroupVersion.WithResource("events")
 
-	mkEvent := func(i int) *v1.Event {
+	mkEvent := func(i int) *corev1.Event {
 		name := fmt.Sprintf("event-%v", i)
-		return &v1.Event{
+		return &corev1.Event{
 			ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
 				Namespace: "default",
 				Name:      name,
 			},
-			InvolvedObject: v1.ObjectReference{
+			InvolvedObject: corev1.ObjectReference{
 				Namespace: "default",
 				Name:      name,
 			},
@@ -276,24 +279,171 @@ func TestUnstructuredExtract(t *testing.T) {
 
 }
 
-func unstructuredToPod(obj *unstructured.Unstructured) (*v1.Pod, error) {
+func unstructuredToPod(obj *unstructured.Unstructured) (*corev1.Pod, error) {
 	json, err := runtime.Encode(unstructured.UnstructuredJSONScheme, obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	pod := new(v1.Pod)
-	err = runtime.DecodeInto(clientscheme.Codecs.LegacyCodec(v1.SchemeGroupVersion), json, pod)
+	pod := new(corev1.Pod)
+	err = runtime.DecodeInto(clientscheme.Codecs.LegacyCodec(corev1.SchemeGroupVersion), json, pod)
 	pod.Kind = ""
 	pod.APIVersion = ""
 	return pod, err
 }
 
-func unstructuredToEvent(obj *unstructured.Unstructured) (*v1.Event, error) {
+func unstructuredToEvent(obj *unstructured.Unstructured) (*corev1.Event, error) {
 	json, err := runtime.Encode(unstructured.UnstructuredJSONScheme, obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	event := new(v1.Event)
-	err = runtime.DecodeInto(clientscheme.Codecs.LegacyCodec(v1.SchemeGroupVersion), json, event)
+	event := new(corev1.Event)
+	err = runtime.DecodeInto(clientscheme.Codecs.LegacyCodec(corev1.SchemeGroupVersion), json, event)
 	return event, err
 }
+
+func TestDynamicClientCBOREnablement(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		name                    string
+		serving                 bool
+		allowed                 bool
+		preferred               bool
+		wantRequestContentType  string
+		wantRequestAccept       string
+		wantResponseContentType string
+		wantResponseStatus      int
+		wantStatusError         bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name:                    "sends cbor accepts both gets cbor",
+			serving:                 true,
+			allowed:                 true,
+			preferred:               true,
+			wantRequestContentType:  "application/cbor",
+			wantRequestAccept:       "application/json;q=0.9,application/cbor;q=1",
+			wantResponseContentType: "application/cbor",
+			wantResponseStatus:      http.StatusCreated,
+			wantStatusError:         false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:                    "sends cbor accepts both gets 415",
+			serving:                 false,
+			allowed:                 true,
+			preferred:               true,
+			wantRequestContentType:  "application/cbor",
+			wantRequestAccept:       "application/json;q=0.9,application/cbor;q=1",
+			wantResponseContentType: "application/json",
+			wantResponseStatus:      http.StatusUnsupportedMediaType,
+			wantStatusError:         true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:                    "sends json accepts both gets cbor",
+			serving:                 true,
+			allowed:                 true,
+			preferred:               false,
+			wantRequestContentType:  "application/json",
+			wantRequestAccept:       "application/json;q=0.9,application/cbor;q=1",
+			wantResponseContentType: "application/cbor",
+			wantResponseStatus:      http.StatusCreated,
+			wantStatusError:         false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:                    "sends json accepts both gets json",
+			serving:                 false,
+			allowed:                 true,
+			preferred:               false,
+			wantRequestContentType:  "application/json",
+			wantRequestAccept:       "application/json;q=0.9,application/cbor;q=1",
+			wantResponseContentType: "application/json",
+			wantResponseStatus:      http.StatusCreated,
+			wantStatusError:         false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:                    "sends json accepts json gets json with serving enabled",
+			serving:                 true,
+			allowed:                 false,
+			preferred:               false,
+			wantRequestContentType:  "application/json",
+			wantRequestAccept:       "application/json",
+			wantResponseContentType: "application/json",
+			wantResponseStatus:      http.StatusCreated,
+			wantStatusError:         false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:                    "sends json accepts json gets json with serving disabled",
+			serving:                 false,
+			allowed:                 false,
+			preferred:               false,
+			wantRequestContentType:  "application/json",
+			wantRequestAccept:       "application/json",
+			wantResponseContentType: "application/json",
+			wantResponseStatus:      http.StatusCreated,
+			wantStatusError:         false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:                    "sends json without both gates enabled",
+			serving:                 true,
+			allowed:                 false,
+			preferred:               true,
+			wantRequestContentType:  "application/json",
+			wantRequestAccept:       "application/json",
+			wantResponseContentType: "application/json",
+			wantResponseStatus:      http.StatusCreated,
+			wantStatusError:         false,
+		},
+	} {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			if tc.serving {
+				framework.EnableCBORServingAndStorageForTest(t)
+			}
+
+			server := kubeapiservertesting.StartTestServerOrDie(t, nil, framework.DefaultTestServerFlags(), framework.SharedEtcd())
+			defer server.TearDownFn()
+
+			framework.SetTestOnlyCBORClientFeatureGatesForTest(t, tc.allowed, tc.preferred)
+
+			config := rest.CopyConfig(server.ClientConfig)
+			config.Wrap(func(rt http.RoundTripper) http.RoundTripper {
+				return roundTripperFunc(func(request *http.Request) (*http.Response, error) {
+					response, err := rt.RoundTrip(request)
+					if got := response.Request.Header.Get("Content-Type"); got != tc.wantRequestContentType {
+						t.Errorf("want request content type %q, got %q", tc.wantRequestContentType, got)
+					}
+					if got := response.Request.Header.Get("Accept"); got != tc.wantRequestAccept {
+						t.Errorf("want request accept %q, got %q", tc.wantRequestAccept, got)
+					}
+					if got := response.Header.Get("Content-Type"); got != tc.wantResponseContentType {
+						t.Errorf("want response content type %q, got %q", tc.wantResponseContentType, got)
+					}
+					if got := response.StatusCode; got != tc.wantResponseStatus {
+						t.Errorf("want response status %d, got %d", tc.wantResponseStatus, got)
+					}
+					return response, err
+				})
+			})
+			client, err := dynamic.NewForConfig(config)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+
+			_, err = client.Resource(corev1.SchemeGroupVersion.WithResource("namespaces")).Create(
+				context.TODO(),
+				&unstructured.Unstructured{
+					Object: map[string]interface{}{
+						"metadata": map[string]interface{}{
+							"name": "test-dynamic-client-cbor-enablement",
+						},
+					},
+				},
+				metav1.CreateOptions{DryRun: []string{metav1.DryRunAll}},
+			)
+			switch {
+			case tc.wantStatusError && errors.IsUnsupportedMediaType(err):
+				// ok
+			case !tc.wantStatusError && err == nil:
+				// ok
+			default:
+				t.Errorf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/test/integration/framework/cbor.go b/test/integration/framework/cbor.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8bbb003bc59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/integration/framework/cbor.go
@@ -0,0 +1,173 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2024 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package framework
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"io"
+	"net/http"
+	"testing"
+
+	apiextensionsapiserver "k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver/pkg/apiserver"
+	metainternalscheme "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/internalversion/scheme"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/serializer/cbor"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/sets"
+	"k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/features"
+	utilfeature "k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/feature"
+	clientfeatures "k8s.io/client-go/features"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/transport"
+	featuregatetesting "k8s.io/component-base/featuregate/testing"
+	aggregatorscheme "k8s.io/kube-aggregator/pkg/apiserver/scheme"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api/legacyscheme"
+)
+
+// SetTestOnlyCBORClientFeatureGatesForTest overrides the CBOR client feature gates in the test-only
+// client feature gate instance for the duration of a test. The CBOR client feature gates are
+// temporarily registered in their own feature gate instance that does not include runtime wiring to
+// command-line flags or environment variables in order to mitigate the risk of enabling a new
+// encoding before all integration tests have been demonstrated to pass.
+//
+// This will be removed as an alpha requirement. The client feature gates will be registered with
+// the existing feature gate instance and tests will use
+// k8s.io/client-go/features/testing.SetFeatureDuringTest (which unlike
+// k8s.io/component-base/featuregate/testing.SetFeatureGateDuringTest does not accept a feature gate
+// instance as a parameter).
+func SetTestOnlyCBORClientFeatureGatesForTest(tb testing.TB, allowed, preferred bool) {
+	originalAllowed := clientfeatures.TestOnlyFeatureGates.Enabled(clientfeatures.TestOnlyClientAllowsCBOR)
+	tb.Cleanup(func() {
+		if err := clientfeatures.TestOnlyFeatureGates.Set(clientfeatures.TestOnlyClientAllowsCBOR, originalAllowed); err != nil {
+			tb.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	})
+	if err := clientfeatures.TestOnlyFeatureGates.Set(clientfeatures.TestOnlyClientAllowsCBOR, allowed); err != nil {
+		tb.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	originalPreferred := clientfeatures.TestOnlyFeatureGates.Enabled(clientfeatures.TestOnlyClientPrefersCBOR)
+	tb.Cleanup(func() {
+		if err := clientfeatures.TestOnlyFeatureGates.Set(clientfeatures.TestOnlyClientPrefersCBOR, originalPreferred); err != nil {
+			tb.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	})
+	if err := clientfeatures.TestOnlyFeatureGates.Set(clientfeatures.TestOnlyClientPrefersCBOR, preferred); err != nil {
+		tb.Fatal(err)
+	}
+}
+
+// EnableCBORForTest patches global state to enable the CBOR serializer and reverses those changes
+// at the end of the test. As a risk mitigation, integration tests are initially written this way so
+// that integration tests can be implemented fully and incrementally before exposing options
+// (including feature gates) that can enable CBOR at runtime. After integration test coverage is
+// complete, feature gates will be introduced to completely supersede this mechanism.
+func EnableCBORServingAndStorageForTest(tb testing.TB) {
+	featuregatetesting.SetFeatureGateDuringTest(tb, utilfeature.TestOnlyFeatureGate, features.TestOnlyCBORServingAndStorage, true)
+
+	newCBORSerializerInfo := func(creater runtime.ObjectCreater, typer runtime.ObjectTyper) runtime.SerializerInfo {
+		return runtime.SerializerInfo{
+			MediaType:        "application/cbor",
+			MediaTypeType:    "application",
+			MediaTypeSubType: "cbor",
+			Serializer:       cbor.NewSerializer(creater, typer),
+			StrictSerializer: cbor.NewSerializer(creater, typer, cbor.Strict(true)),
+			StreamSerializer: &runtime.StreamSerializerInfo{
+				Framer:     cbor.NewFramer(),
+				Serializer: cbor.NewSerializer(creater, typer, cbor.Transcode(false)),
+			},
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Codecs for built-in types are constructed at package initialization time and read by
+	// value from REST storage providers.
+	codecs := map[*runtime.Scheme]*serializer.CodecFactory{
+		legacyscheme.Scheme:           &legacyscheme.Codecs,
+		metainternalscheme.Scheme:     &metainternalscheme.Codecs,
+		aggregatorscheme.Scheme:       &aggregatorscheme.Codecs,
+		apiextensionsapiserver.Scheme: &apiextensionsapiserver.Codecs,
+	}
+
+	for scheme, factory := range codecs {
+		original := *factory // shallow copy of original value
+		tb.Cleanup(func() { *codecs[scheme] = original })
+		*codecs[scheme] = serializer.NewCodecFactory(scheme, serializer.WithSerializer(newCBORSerializerInfo))
+	}
+}
+
+// AssertRequestResponseAsCBOR returns a transport.WrapperFunc that will report a test error if a
+// non-empty request or response body contains data that does not appear to be CBOR-encoded.
+func AssertRequestResponseAsCBOR(t testing.TB) transport.WrapperFunc {
+	recognizer := cbor.NewSerializer(runtime.NewScheme(), runtime.NewScheme())
+
+	unsupportedPatchContentTypes := sets.New(
+		"application/json-patch+json",
+		"application/merge-patch+json",
+		"application/strategic-merge-patch+json",
+	)
+
+	return func(rt http.RoundTripper) http.RoundTripper {
+		return roundTripperFunc(func(request *http.Request) (*http.Response, error) {
+			if request.Body != nil && !unsupportedPatchContentTypes.Has(request.Header.Get("Content-Type")) {
+				requestbody, err := io.ReadAll(request.Body)
+				if err != nil {
+					t.Error(err)
+				}
+				recognized, _, err := recognizer.RecognizesData(requestbody)
+				if err != nil {
+					t.Error(err)
+				}
+				if len(requestbody) > 0 && !recognized {
+					t.Errorf("non-cbor request: 0x%x", requestbody)
+				}
+				request.Body = io.NopCloser(bytes.NewReader(requestbody))
+			}
+
+			response, rterr := rt.RoundTrip(request)
+			if rterr != nil {
+				return response, rterr
+			}
+
+			// We can't synchronously inspect streaming responses, so tee to a buffer
+			// and inspect it at the end of the test.
+			var buf bytes.Buffer
+			response.Body = struct {
+				io.Reader
+				io.Closer
+			}{
+				Reader: io.TeeReader(response.Body, &buf),
+				Closer: response.Body,
+			}
+			t.Cleanup(func() {
+				recognized, _, err := recognizer.RecognizesData(buf.Bytes())
+				if err != nil {
+					t.Error(err)
+				}
+				if buf.Len() > 0 && !recognized {
+					t.Errorf("non-cbor response: 0x%x", buf.Bytes())
+				}
+			})
+
+			return response, rterr
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+type roundTripperFunc func(*http.Request) (*http.Response, error)
+
+func (f roundTripperFunc) RoundTrip(r *http.Request) (*http.Response, error) {
+	return f(r)
+}