Framework Version Changes Depending on Protection Rules

[Sanada-MQJ]

Hi.

I am using ConfuserEx v1.6.0 to obfuscate a DLL built for .NET Framework 2.0. However, when I reference the obfuscated DLL from my application, I encounter a framework version mismatch error.

Using DotPeek to inspect the output, I noticed that the target framework version of the obfuscated DLL has changed to .NET Framework 4.0.

I conducted several experiments and observed the following behaviors:

• Enabling Name Protection on a .NET 2.0 DLL results in an obfuscated DLL targeting .NET 3.5.
• Enabling Constants Protection on a .NET 2.0 DLL results in an obfuscated DLL targeting .NET 4.0.
• Using the Preset: Minimum setting on a .NET 2.0 DLL results in an obfuscated DLL targeting .NET 3.5.

It seems that the required minimum framework version varies depending on the applied protection settings.
Is this expected behavior? Are there any guidelines regarding how different protection methods affect the target framework version?

Thank you for your support.