Sync and cloud storage
gateway.icloud.com
gateway.icloud.com is an Apple host. Apple's list of hosts for enterprise networks says that it serves “CloudKit content including XProtect updates and Voice Control assets”.
Short answer
Apple's CloudKit gateway. Apple lists it for CloudKit content, including XProtect malware definitions and Voice Control assets.
Don’t block
Don't block it. macOS uses it for CloudKit content, and Apple says that XProtect updates come from it.
- Matches
gateway.icloud.com
A name with *. covers every name under it: *.push.apple.com matches 1-courier.push.apple.com.
What it serves
Apple lists gateway.icloud.com in the “Apps and additional content” section of Use Apple products on enterprise networks. It is on port 443 over TCP and UDP, for iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, macOS and visionOS.
CloudKit is the iCloud service that apps use to store data. On a Mac, cloudd is the daemon that backs CloudKit, so CloudKit traffic usually shows under cloudd.
Apple's change log for the list says that in July 2025 Apple updated this host “to include XProtect updates”. The Apple Platform Security guide says that notarization updates are distributed using CloudKit sync and are much more frequent than XProtect signature updates.
The same change log says that Apple updated the protocols for this host in January 2026. The list now names both TCP and UDP on port 443.
Processes that use it
What breaks if you block it
Don’t block
Don't block it. macOS uses it for CloudKit content, and Apple says that XProtect updates come from it.
What breaks if you block it
- XProtect malware definitions and other CloudKit content can't download, so the Mac's malware protection falls behind.
- Voice Control assets can't download.
- Apple says that its services fail any connection that uses HTTPS interception, so a proxy that inspects TLS also breaks it.
With Kilobat Pro and the network filter, you can block a host for every app or for one app: in Connections, select a connection and choose Block. Apple’s own services are never blocked by Kilobat’s Protection lists.
Notes
If a company network inspects HTTPS, ask the administrator to exclude the hosts in Apple's list. Apple says that its services fail connections that use HTTPS interception.
Apple owns 17.0.0.0/8. A firewall that allows only addresses can allow that range instead of names.
Apple’s rules for its hosts
Apple’s list, Use Apple products on enterprise networks, says that devices open these connections, not Apple’s servers. Apple services fail any connection that uses HTTPS interception, so a proxy that inspects TLS should leave Apple’s hosts alone.
If a firewall allows hosts by name, allowing *.apple.com covers most Apple services, Apple says. A firewall that works only with addresses can allow 17.0.0.0/8 for IPv4, and 2403:300::/32, 2620:149::/32 and 2a01:b740::/32 for IPv6.
To see which app on your Mac opened a connection to this host, use Kilobat’s Connections tab, or the agent network log for AI agents.
Sources
- Apple Support: Use Apple products on enterprise networks
- Apple Platform Security: Protecting against malware in macOS
- cloudd(8), man page installed with macOS 27.2
Checked on 1 November 2026.