Are there security risks to port forwarding? (self-hosting Terraria)

Yes, there are security risks with every port you open. I’d suggest you look into VPNs such as WireGuard. You can open the WireGuard port relatively safely in comparison to opening the Terraria port itself. This is what I’d do as of now, I think it’s a great option. You can host WireGuard on a PC or router. Previously, I would’ve said just use tailscale, but it’s quite annoying, because it requires SSO with one of the big brother companies. I guess if you’re okay with that, tailscale could also be a good option that doesn’t require port forwarding.