This issue was addressed through improved state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2. Private Browsing tabs may be accessed without authentication.
[
{
"vendor": "Apple",
"product": "iOS and iPadOS",
"versions": [
{
"version": "unspecified",
"status": "affected",
"lessThan": "17.2",
"versionType": "custom"
}
]
}
]