[tor-bugs] #32777 [Core Tor/Tor]: Weird things happening in Tor Browser (some websites change Tor circuit paths rapidly)

["Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki" <blackhole@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

#32777: Weird things happening in Tor Browser (some websites change Tor circuit
paths rapidly)
------------------------------+------------------------------
 Reporter:  Tor235            |          Owner:  (none)
     Type:  defect            |         Status:  new
 Priority:  High              |      Component:  Core Tor/Tor
  Version:  Tor: unspecified  |       Severity:  Major
 Keywords:                    |  Actual Points:
Parent ID:                    |         Points:
 Reviewer:                    |        Sponsor:
------------------------------+------------------------------
 While using Tor Browser recently, I've noticed that several websites
 change their Tor circuit path many times in a matter of just a few seconds
 (for no apparent reason).

 One of these websites is ipchicken.com (a website which shows one's
 current IP address). When visiting ipchicken.com, the Tor circuit path
 changes many times in a few seconds. At first, the "current IP address" on
 ipchicken.com is a regular Tor exit node. But when the page is reloaded,
 the "current IP address" becomes an odd IPv6 address. Reloading the page a
 2nd time shows a similar IPv6 address (with the same starting digits, but
 different ending digits). This is one of the IPv6 addresses it displayed:

 2405:8100:8000:5ca1::27f:e187

 I checked this IP address in the Tor ExoneraTor
 (metrics.torproject.org/exonerator.html), and this IPv6 address does not
 appear to be in the Tor database.

 Also, the exact same thing that happened on ipchicken.com happened on a
 completely different IP-checking website -- the IP address displayed was
 (at first) the Tor exit node, but then when the page was reloaded, it
 became an IPv6 address beginning with "2405:8100:8000:5ca1..." (That
 website changed its Tor circuit path many times in a matter of seconds as
 well).

 The 2nd IP-checking website said that the origin of the IPv6 address is
 "CloudFlare Hong Kong".

 I tried accessing ipchicken.com and other IP-checking websites on a
 different computer, and the same thing happened (weird IPv6 address
 appeared).

 So multiple websites are, for no apparent reason, changing their Tor
 circuit paths many times in just a few seconds, AND displaying strange
 IPv6 address as the "current IP address". Other websites, such as
 Wikipedia, are normal.

 Is this just a Tor Browser bug, or could it be some other kind of problem?

 Note that on websites in which the Tor circuit path changed many times for
 no apparent reason, the entry node (guard node) generally stayed the same.

 The Tor Browser used is version 9.0.2.

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/32777>
Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/>
The Tor Project: anonymity online

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