diff --git a/api/sudo_paths.go b/api/sudo_paths.go
index f6b89f107f..7c7138000c 100644
--- a/api/sudo_paths.go
+++ b/api/sudo_paths.go
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ var sudoPaths = map[string]*regexp.Regexp{
 	"/sys/rotate":                                 regexp.MustCompile(`^/sys/rotate$`),
 	"/sys/seal":                                   regexp.MustCompile(`^/sys/seal$`),
 	"/sys/step-down":                              regexp.MustCompile(`^/sys/step-down$`),
+	"/identity/entity/merge":                      regexp.MustCompile(`^/identity/entity/merge/?$`),
 
 	// enterprise-only paths
 	"/sys/replication/dr/primary/secondary-token":          regexp.MustCompile(`^/sys/replication/dr/primary/secondary-token$`),
diff --git a/changelog/_14436.txt b/changelog/_14436.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..14c96c4ea2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/_14436.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+```release-note:change
+identity: Require `sudo` capability to invoke the identity entity merge API endpoint (`identity/entity/merge`).
+```
diff --git a/vault/external_tests/identity/entities_test.go b/vault/external_tests/identity/entities_test.go
index 5d905d6d93..760b7cbd9b 100644
--- a/vault/external_tests/identity/entities_test.go
+++ b/vault/external_tests/identity/entities_test.go
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/hashicorp/vault/api"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/vault/helper/testhelpers/minimal"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/vault/sdk/logical"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 func TestIdentityStore_EntityDisabled(t *testing.T) {
@@ -353,3 +354,79 @@ func TestIdentityStore_EntityPoliciesInInitialAuth(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("policy mismatch, got policies: %v", policies)
 	}
 }
+
+// TestIdentity_EntityMerge_RequiresSudo verifies the identity entity merge API endpoint requires the sudo capability (in addition to update) when called via the HTTP API.
+func TestIdentity_EntityMerge_RequiresSudo(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	cluster := minimal.NewTestSoloCluster(t, nil)
+	client := cluster.Cores[0].Client
+	rootToken := client.Token()
+
+	// Create two entities as root to merge.
+	toEnt, err := client.Logical().Write("identity/entity", nil)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NotNil(t, toEnt)
+	toID, ok := toEnt.Data["id"].(string)
+	require.True(t, ok)
+	require.NotEmpty(t, toID)
+
+	fromEnt, err := client.Logical().Write("identity/entity", nil)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NotNil(t, fromEnt)
+	fromID, ok := fromEnt.Data["id"].(string)
+	require.True(t, ok)
+	require.NotEmpty(t, fromID)
+
+	// Token with update but without sudo should be denied.
+	require.NoError(t, client.Sys().PutPolicy("identity-merge-no-sudo", `
+path "identity/entity/merge" {
+  capabilities = ["update"]
+}
+`))
+
+	noSudoTok, err := client.Auth().Token().Create(&api.TokenCreateRequest{
+		Policies: []string{"identity-merge-no-sudo"},
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NotNil(t, noSudoTok)
+	require.NotNil(t, noSudoTok.Auth)
+	require.NotEmpty(t, noSudoTok.Auth.ClientToken)
+
+	client.SetToken(noSudoTok.Auth.ClientToken)
+	_, err = client.Logical().Write("identity/entity/merge", map[string]interface{}{
+		"to_entity_id":    toID,
+		"from_entity_ids": []string{fromID},
+	})
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	require.ErrorContains(t, err, logical.ErrPermissionDenied.Error())
+
+	// Token with update+sudo should succeed.
+	client.SetToken(rootToken)
+	require.NoError(t, client.Sys().PutPolicy("identity-merge-with-sudo", `
+path "identity/entity/merge" {
+  capabilities = ["update", "sudo"]
+}
+`))
+
+	sudoTok, err := client.Auth().Token().Create(&api.TokenCreateRequest{
+		Policies: []string{"identity-merge-with-sudo"},
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NotNil(t, sudoTok)
+	require.NotNil(t, sudoTok.Auth)
+	require.NotEmpty(t, sudoTok.Auth.ClientToken)
+
+	client.SetToken(sudoTok.Auth.ClientToken)
+	_, err = client.Logical().Write("identity/entity/merge", map[string]interface{}{
+		"to_entity_id":    toID,
+		"from_entity_ids": []string{fromID},
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// Verify the merge happened by checking the from entity was deleted.
+	client.SetToken(rootToken)
+	deleted, err := client.Logical().Read("identity/entity/id/" + fromID)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Nil(t, deleted)
+}
diff --git a/vault/identity_store.go b/vault/identity_store.go
index 7dfdf91c5b..3a7d039f82 100644
--- a/vault/identity_store.go
+++ b/vault/identity_store.go
@@ -133,6 +133,11 @@ func NewIdentityStore(ctx context.Context, core *Core, config *logical.BackendCo
 		InitializeFunc: iStore.initialize,
 		ActivationFunc: iStore.activate,
 		PathsSpecial: &logical.Paths{
+			// Root paths require the token have sudo capability.
+			Root: []string{
+				// Entity merge is destructive and can operate on every entity, so requires a higher privilege as a result
+				"entity/merge*",
+			},
 			Unauthenticated: unauthenticatedPaths,
 			LocalStorage: []string{
 				localAliasesBucketsPrefix,