Security Headers

New in 3.6.0

Security Headers middleware was added in version 3.6.0.

Configurable security headers middleware to protect against common web vulnerabilities. The middleware adds HTTP security headers to all responses.

Overview

json

{
  "SecurityHeaders": {
    "Enabled": false,
    "XContentTypeOptions": "nosniff",
    "XFrameOptions": "DENY",
    "ReferrerPolicy": "strict-origin-when-cross-origin",
    "ContentSecurityPolicy": null,
    "PermissionsPolicy": null,
    "CrossOriginOpenerPolicy": null,
    "CrossOriginEmbedderPolicy": null,
    "CrossOriginResourcePolicy": null
  }
}

Settings Reference

Setting	Type	Default	Description
Enabled	bool	false	Enable security headers middleware. When enabled, configured headers are added to all HTTP responses.
XContentTypeOptions	string	"nosniff"	Prevents browsers from MIME-sniffing a response away from the declared content-type. Set to null to not include this header.
XFrameOptions	string	"DENY"	Controls whether the browser should allow the page to be rendered in a frame. Values: "DENY", "SAMEORIGIN". Set to null to not include.
ReferrerPolicy	string	"strict-origin-when-cross-origin"	Controls how much referrer information should be included with requests. Set to null to not include.
ContentSecurityPolicy	string	null	Defines approved sources of content that the browser may load. Helps prevent XSS and code injection attacks.
PermissionsPolicy	string	null	Controls which browser features and APIs can be used.
CrossOriginOpenerPolicy	string	null	Controls how your document is shared with cross-origin popups.
CrossOriginEmbedderPolicy	string	null	Prevents a document from loading cross-origin resources that don't explicitly grant permission.
CrossOriginResourcePolicy	string	null	Indicates how the resource should be shared cross-origin.

X-Content-Type-Options

Prevents browsers from MIME-sniffing a response away from the declared content-type, reducing exposure to drive-by download attacks.

json

{
  "SecurityHeaders": {
    "Enabled": true,
    "XContentTypeOptions": "nosniff"
  }
}

The recommended value is "nosniff".

X-Frame-Options

Controls whether the browser should allow the page to be rendered in a <frame>, <iframe>, <embed> or <object>. Prevents clickjacking attacks.

json

{
  "SecurityHeaders": {
    "Enabled": true,
    "XFrameOptions": "DENY"
  }
}

Value	Description
DENY	Never allow the page to be framed
SAMEORIGIN	Allow framing from the same origin only

WARNING

This header is skipped if Antiforgery is enabled, as Antiforgery already sets X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN by default via its SuppressXFrameOptionsHeader setting.

Referrer-Policy

Controls how much referrer information should be included with requests made from your site.

json

{
  "SecurityHeaders": {
    "Enabled": true,
    "ReferrerPolicy": "strict-origin-when-cross-origin"
  }
}

Value	Description
no-referrer	Never send referrer information
no-referrer-when-downgrade	Send full URL for same-security requests, nothing for downgrades
origin	Send only the origin (scheme, host, port)
origin-when-cross-origin	Send full URL for same-origin, origin only for cross-origin
same-origin	Send full URL for same-origin, nothing for cross-origin
strict-origin	Send origin for same-security, nothing for downgrades
strict-origin-when-cross-origin	Send full URL for same-origin, origin for cross-origin same-security
unsafe-url	Always send full URL (not recommended)

Content-Security-Policy

Defines approved sources of content that the browser may load. This is the primary browser-side defense against XSS, clickjacking, and other code injection attacks.

json

{
  "SecurityHeaders": {
    "Enabled": true,
    "ContentSecurityPolicy": "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'"
  }
}

TIP

CSP should be configured based on your specific application needs. Start with a restrictive policy and loosen as needed.

Common directives:

• default-src - Fallback for other directives
• script-src - Valid sources for JavaScript
• style-src - Valid sources for stylesheets
• img-src - Valid sources for images
• connect-src - Valid sources for fetch, WebSocket, etc.
• font-src - Valid sources for fonts
• frame-src - Valid sources for frames

Reference: MDN Content-Security-Policy

Permissions-Policy

Controls which browser features and APIs can be used by your application and any embedded content.

json

{
  "SecurityHeaders": {
    "Enabled": true,
    "PermissionsPolicy": "geolocation=(), microphone=(), camera=()"
  }
}

This example disables geolocation, microphone, and camera access entirely.

To allow features only from the same origin:

json

{
  "SecurityHeaders": {
    "PermissionsPolicy": "geolocation=(self), microphone=(self)"
  }
}

Reference: MDN Permissions-Policy

Cross-Origin Policies

Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy

Controls how your document is shared with cross-origin popups.

json

{
  "SecurityHeaders": {
    "CrossOriginOpenerPolicy": "same-origin"
  }
}

Value	Description
unsafe-none	Default browser behavior
same-origin-allow-popups	Isolate from cross-origin, allow popups
same-origin	Full isolation from cross-origin documents

Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy

Prevents a document from loading cross-origin resources that don't explicitly grant permission.

json

{
  "SecurityHeaders": {
    "CrossOriginEmbedderPolicy": "require-corp"
  }
}

Value	Description
unsafe-none	Default browser behavior
require-corp	Require CORP or CORS for cross-origin resources
credentialless	Load cross-origin resources without credentials

TIP

require-corp along with CrossOriginOpenerPolicy: same-origin enables access to SharedArrayBuffer and high-resolution timers.

Cross-Origin-Resource-Policy

Indicates how the resource should be shared cross-origin.

json

{
  "SecurityHeaders": {
    "CrossOriginResourcePolicy": "same-origin"
  }
}

Value	Description
same-site	Only same-site requests allowed
same-origin	Only same-origin requests allowed
cross-origin	Any origin can load the resource

Example Configurations

Basic Security (Recommended Starting Point)

json

{
  "SecurityHeaders": {
    "Enabled": true,
    "XContentTypeOptions": "nosniff",
    "XFrameOptions": "DENY",
    "ReferrerPolicy": "strict-origin-when-cross-origin"
  }
}

API-Only Application

json

{
  "SecurityHeaders": {
    "Enabled": true,
    "XContentTypeOptions": "nosniff",
    "XFrameOptions": "DENY",
    "ReferrerPolicy": "no-referrer",
    "ContentSecurityPolicy": "default-src 'none'; frame-ancestors 'none'"
  }
}

Full Protection with CSP

json

{
  "SecurityHeaders": {
    "Enabled": true,
    "XContentTypeOptions": "nosniff",
    "XFrameOptions": "SAMEORIGIN",
    "ReferrerPolicy": "strict-origin-when-cross-origin",
    "ContentSecurityPolicy": "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'; img-src 'self' data:; font-src 'self'; connect-src 'self'",
    "PermissionsPolicy": "geolocation=(), microphone=(), camera=()",
    "CrossOriginOpenerPolicy": "same-origin",
    "CrossOriginEmbedderPolicy": "require-corp",
    "CrossOriginResourcePolicy": "same-origin"
  }
}

Related

• Antiforgery - CSRF protection (also sets X-Frame-Options)
• CORS - Cross-Origin Resource Sharing configuration
• OWASP Secure Headers Project - Security headers reference

Next Steps

• Forwarded Headers - Configure proxy header handling
• Authentication - Configure authentication methods