Validation of viewstate MAC failed error

when the following preconditions are true:

1. You aren't using a web farm.
2. It appears when using built-in databound controls such as GridView, DetailsView or FormView which utilize “DataKeyNames”.
3. It appears if you have a large page which loads slowly for any reason.

If following preconditions are true and you click a postbacking control/link and the page hasn't loaded completely in client browser, you might get the "Validation of ViewState MAC failed" exception.

When this happens, if you just try setting the page property "EnableViewStateMac" to false, it does not solve the problem, it just changes the error message in same navigation behavior:



The state information is invalid for
this page and might be corrupted.

Root Cause

This exception appears because Controls using DataKeyNames require Viewstate to be encrypted. When Viewstate is encrypted (Default mode, Auto, is to encrypt if controls require that, otherwise not), Page adds field just before closing of the < form > tag. But this hidden field might not have been rendered to the browser with long-running pages, and if you make a postback before it does, the browser initiates postback without this field (in form post collection). End result is that if this field is omitted on postback, the page doesn't know that Viewstate is encrypted and causes the aforementioned Exception. I.E. page expects to be fully-loaded before you make a postback.

And by the way similar problem is with event validation since __EVENTVALIDATION field is also rendered on the end of the form. This is a security feature that ensures that postback actions only come from events allowed and created by the server to help prevent spoofed postbacks. This feature is implemented by having controls register valid events when they render (as in, during their actual Render() methods). The end result is that at the bottom of your rendered tag, you'll see something like this: . When a postback occurs, ASP.NET uses the values stored in this hidden field to ensure that the button you clicked invokes a valid event. If it's not valid, you get the exception above.

The problem happens specifically when you postback before the EventValidation field has been rendered. If EventValidation is enabled (which it is, by default), but ASP.net doesn't see the hidden field when you postback, you also get the exception. If you submit a form before it has been entirely rendered, then chances are the EventValidation field has not yet been rendered, and thus ASP.NET cannot validate your click.

Workarounds

1. Set enableEventValidation to false and viewStateEncryptionMode to Never as follows:



This has the unwanted side-effect of disabling validation and encryption. On some sites, this may be ok to do, but it isn't a best practice, especially in publicly facing sites.



2. Another way around the problem is to mark the form as disabled and then enable it in script once the load is complete:
function enableForm() {
document.getElementById("form").disabled = false;
}

window.onLoad = enableForm();



Or you can disable the individual form elements and enable them once everything is loaded:

function disableElements(elements) {
for (var i = elements.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
var elmt = elements[i];

if (!elmt.disabled) {
elmt.disabled = true;
}
else {
elmt._wasDisabled = true;
}
}
}

function disableFormElements() {
disableElements(_form.getElementsByTagName("INPUT"));
disableElements(_form.getElementsByTagName("SELECT"));
disableElements(_form.getElementsByTagName("TEXTAREA"));
disableElements(_form.getElementsByTagName("BUTTON"));
disableElements(_form.getElementsByTagName("A"));
}

function enableElements(elements) {
for (var i = elements.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
var elmt = elements[i];
if (!elmt._wasDisabled) {
elmt.disabled = false;
}
else {
elmt._wasDisabled = null;
}
}
}

function enableFormElements() {
enableElements(_form.getElementsByTagName("INPUT"));
enableElements(_form.getElementsByTagName("SELECT"));
enableElements(_form.getElementsByTagName("TEXTAREA"));
enableElements(_form.getElementsByTagName("BUTTON"));
enableElements(_form.getElementsByTagName("A"));
}


Make sure that the variable _form is set to the ASP.net form on the page. Then just call enableFormElements() and disableFormElements().



3. The last way to workaround this problem is to override the Render Event of the page to place the hidden fields for Encrypted Viewstate and Event validation on the top of the form. This will ensure that these things get written out before anything that can submit the form:



protected override void Render(System.Web.UI.HtmlTextWriter writer)
{
System.IO.StringWriter stringWriter =
new System.IO.StringWriter();
HtmlTextWriter htmlWriter = new HtmlTextWriter(stringWriter);
base.Render(htmlWriter);
string html = stringWriter.ToString();
string[] aspnet_formelems = new string[5];
aspnet_formelems[0] = "__EVENTTARGET";
aspnet_formelems[1] = "__EVENTARGUMENT";
aspnet_formelems[2] = "__VIEWSTATE";
aspnet_formelems[3] = "__EVENTVALIDATION";
aspnet_formelems[4] = "__VIEWSTATEENCRYPTED";
foreach (string elem in aspnet_formelems)
{
//Response.Write("input type=""hidden"" name=""" & abc.ToString & """")
int StartPoint = html.IndexOf("= 0)
{
//does __VIEWSTATE exist?
int EndPoint = html.IndexOf("/>", StartPoint) + 2;
string ViewStateInput = html.Substring(StartPoint,
EndPoint - StartPoint);
html = html.Remove(StartPoint, EndPoint - StartPoint);
int FormStart = html.IndexOf("< form "); int="" endform = "html. IndexOf("">", FormStart ) + 1;
if (EndForm >= 0)
html = html.Insert( EndForm , ViewStateInput);
}
}

writer.Write(html);
}


< / form");>< / form>