WireGuard
The facts below are what the maker publishes about WireGuard, checked and dated. Our editors have not written about it yet.
The facts
Each one read from WireGuard's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Access model
- vpnchecked 22 Sep 2026
- Admin control level
- basicchecked 22 Sep 2026
- Configuration
- Peers authenticate with public keys, and WireGuard handles the rest of the connection transparently.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Containers
- A WireGuard interface can be moved into a Docker container’s network namespace so the container can use the tunnel as its only network interface.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Container use
- A WireGuard interface can be moved into a Docker container's network namespace so the tunnel is the container's only network interface.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Cryptography
- WireGuard uses the Noise protocol framework, Curve25519, ChaCha20, Poly1305, BLAKE2, SipHash24, and HKDF.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Denial-of-service mitigation
- The first handshake message is authenticated before the server allocates state, and the protocol describes cookie-based mitigation when the server is under load.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Installation options
- The installation page provides Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and numerous Linux and BSD installation options, with source compilation available for unlisted distributions.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The project describes using WireGuard with Docker network namespaces and lists packages or installation instructions for many Linux distributions and BSD systems.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Key security
- The protocol periodically establishes rotating session keys to provide perfect forward secrecy.checked 11 Oct 2026
- License
- The kernel components are GPLv2; other project components use MIT, BSD, Apache 2.0, or GPL depending on context.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Licensing
- The kernel components are GPLv2, while other project components use MIT, BSD, Apache 2.0, or GPL depending on context.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Limit: obfuscation
- WireGuard does not focus on obfuscation and says that should happen at a layer above the protocol.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Limit: post-quantum
- WireGuard is not post-quantum secure by default, though its pre-shared-key parameter can add a layer of post-quantum secrecy.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Limit: transport
- WireGuard does not support tunneling over TCP; the site says transforming its UDP packets to TCP is the job of an upper layer.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Performance and design
- The project describes WireGuard as a fast, simple VPN designed for uses ranging from embedded interfaces to supercomputers.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- WireGuard is a fast, modern VPN that securely encapsulates IP packets over UDP.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Roaming
- WireGuard supports IP roaming: peers update their endpoint based on authenticated traffic from the most recent endpoint.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Routing
- Its cryptokey routing associates peer public keys with allowed tunnel IP addresses, which serve as routing and access-control rules.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Security review
- The project says its cryptographic choices have been reviewed by cryptographers and its small implementation is designed to be auditable.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Support
- The project recommends its #wireguard IRC channel for setup and usage help, and directs development discussion to its mailing list.checked 11 Oct 2026
Money
- Free plan
- Yeschecked 22 Sep 2026
Where it runs
- Platforms
- The project lists Windows, macOS, BSD, iOS, and Android as supported cross-platform targets, and provides Linux installation instructions.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Supported platforms
- The project lists Windows, macOS, BSD, iOS, and Android as cross-platform targets, and its installation page provides Linux distribution instructions.checked 11 Oct 2026
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