iCloud Private Relay Can Leak Real IP Addresses Through WebKit

MW Contributor · 2026-08-07T20:28:09+08:00

Security researchers Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakry have found that Apple’s iCloud Private Relay can expose a user’s real IP address in some situations. iCloud Private Relay is included with paid iCloud+ plans and is designed to hide IP and DNS information while browsing with Safari. However, researchers found that WebAuthn requests used for passkeys can bypass Private Relay because they are handled by the operating system rather than Safari. A website can reportedly trigger this process without showing a visible passkey prompt, allowing the destination server to see the device’s real IP address. The researchers also identified WebKit behaviour involving DNS prefetching and WebTransport that can expose DNS information or IP addresses. The issue may also affect some third-party browsers that rely on WebKit. Apple said it is investigating the findings.

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August 7, 2026 at 8:28 pm
MW Contributor
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Security researchers Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakry have found that Apple’s iCloud Private Relay can expose a user’s real IP address in some situations.
iCloud Private Relay is included with paid iCloud+ plans and is designed to hide IP and DNS information while browsing with Safari. However, researchers found that WebAuthn requests used for passkeys can bypass Private Relay because they are handled by the operating system rather than Safari.
A website can reportedly trigger this process without showing a visible passkey prompt, allowing the destination server to see the device’s real IP address.
The researchers also identified WebKit behaviour involving DNS prefetching and WebTransport that can expose DNS information or IP addresses.
The issue may also affect some third-party browsers that rely on WebKit. Apple said it is investigating the findings.
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