IP and DNS leaks in WebKit are affecting proxy browsers and iCloud Private Replay, according to Mysk.
WebKit is an open-source web browser engine. It reads code like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and turns it into the visual web pages you see on your screen. iCloud Private Relay is a privacy service included with paid iCloud+ subscriptions. It hides your IP address and encrypts your DNS requests in Safari. This stops network providers, hackers, and websites from tracking your browsing history or seeing your location.
A proxy browser is a web browser or specialized tool that routes your Internet traffic through an intermediary proxy server instead of connecting directly to websites. This middleman server hides your real IP address, masks your geographic location, and lets you bypass simple network blocks or firewalls. (Safari is a standard web browser, not a proxy browser).
From the Mysk report: WebKit-based browsers on iOS and macOS can be configured to route all web traffic through proxy servers, which is how Tor browsers on iOS and our own Psylo work. We found three WebKit features — DNS prefetching, WebAuthn Related Origin Requests, and WebTransport — that bypass the configured proxy and send traffic directly from the device, which exposes the user’s real network. The same leaks also affect Apple’s iCloud Private Relay. All three are fixed in Psylo 1.3.1.
Mysk is a team of two from Canada and Germany. They build privacy-respecting apps for Apple platforms and publish research on cybersecurity and privacy topics.
As noted by AppleInsider, Apple will have to address all three WebKit issues in a future update, though it may take time. Now that the issue has been shared publicly, it may accelerate a fix from Apple.
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