Server-side Blazor Protection

Shield provides comprehensive protection for Blazor Server applications, securing your server-side .NET code while maintaining optimal performance and compatibility.

Understanding Blazor Server Security Model

Blazor Server uses a different execution model than Blazor WebAssembly:

Application logic runs on the server
UI updates are sent to the client via SignalR
The client runs a small JavaScript file that maintains the connection and updates the DOM

This architecture provides inherent security benefits since your code remains on the server. However, Shield adds multiple protection layers to prevent reverse engineering and tampering with your server-side assemblies.

Protection Strategy for Blazor Server

Shield applies several protection techniques optimized for Blazor Server applications:

Assembly Protection: Secures your server-side assemblies against decompilation and analysis
SignalR Message Protection: Ensures the integrity of communication between server and client
Method Invocation Protection: Secures the method calls that might be exposed through SignalR
Reference Hiding: Obfuscates references between components and services
Server-side Performance Optimization: Maintains responsive UI updates while providing strong protection

Implementation

Prerequisites

ByteHide Shield (Team, Scale, or Enterprise edition)
Blazor Server project

Configuration

Create a shield.config.json file in the root of your Blazor Server project:

{
  "preset": "custom",
  "protections": {
    "rename": {
      "rename_public": false
    },
    "control_flow_advance": {},
    "virtualization": {},
    "constants_encryption": {},
    "constants_mutation": {}
  }
}

Shield will automatically detect that your assembly is a Blazor Server application and apply the necessary optimizations.

Integration with MSBuild

Add Shield to your Blazor Server project using the NuGet package:

dotnet add package ByteHide.Shield

Recommended Protections

For Blazor Server applications, these protections provide the best balance of security and performance:

Protection	Recommendation	Notes
Renamer	✓ Essential	Use `rename_public: false` to maintain component discovery
Control Flow	✓ Recommended	Provides strong protection for server-side logic
Virtualization	✓ Recommended	Secures all the code
Anti-Debug	✓ Recommended	Prevents unauthorized debugging of server code
Constants Encryption	✓ Recommended	Secures sensitive values and strings
Constants Mutation	✓ Recommended	Adds additional security to constant values

Special Considerations

Component Discovery

Blazor Server relies on component discovery for routing and rendering. Shield automatically detects and preserves Blazor component names through its built-in analyzer. To ensure your application works correctly:

Set rename_public: false in the Renamer protection
Use [Obfuscation(Exclude = true)] attribute on components that use routing
Consider excluding the OnInitialized and OnParametersSet methods from control flow protection
Avoid renaming public members that are used by Blazor's component system

SignalR Communication

Shield automatically applies protection to the SignalR communication channel, ensuring:

Message integrity validation
Circuit tampering protection
Enhanced security for remote method invocation

Testing Protected Applications

After applying Shield protection to your Blazor Server application:

Build your application in Release mode
Verify all routes and navigation work correctly
Test component initialization and parameter passing
Verify real-time updates and SignalR communication
Check performance under typical user loads

Blazor Server applications benefit from Shield's server-side protections while maintaining the security advantage of keeping your code on the server. This combination provides robust protection against reverse engineering.

Compatibility Considerations

Shield's Blazor Server protection is compatible with:

Blazor Server 3.2+
All modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
Component libraries like Telerik, Syncfusion, and Radzen
Authentication providers including Identity, Auth0, and Azure AD
Hosting on Windows, Linux, and macOS