fix(auth): stop the address-bar mirror eating emailed auth tokens, and unlock revoked accounts

Two independent bugs made an email+password registration unrecoverable in prod.

The verification link did nothing. urlWithParams/clearParams rebuilt the URL as
pathname+query and dropped the fragment — but the one-time auth tokens ride the
fragment (#verify=/#reset=, SB3), and the providers that mirror nav params
(useUrlMirror in FeedFilters/Playlists/Plex/Channels) sit ABOVE the lazily-loaded
<App> in main.tsx. Their mount effect replaceState'd the token away before the auth
card's chunk had loaded, so the card read an empty hash: the link opened a bare
sign-in page, no request, no banner. Both helpers now carry the fragment over.

The account was then locked out for good. SEC-10 nulls password_hash when an
unverified account is attested (here: admin approval landing before the user could
verify — which the bug above made impossible). That is indistinguishable from a
Google-only account, and reset eligibility keyed off password_hash alone, so no
reset link was ever issued: no password to sign in with, and no way to get one.
users.password_revoked_at records the revocation, reset eligibility honours it, and
setting a password again (reset-confirm or set-password) clears it. An account that
never had a password stays ineligible on purpose — its owner adds one from Settings.

/auth/verify now also answers password_reset_required so the card can say why the
registered password stopped working, instead of leaving the user at the uniform
"Invalid email or password". Telling the holder of a valid verify token leaks
nothing: they have already proved they own the mailbox.

The 0078 migration backfills the stamp for rows carrying the exact lockout signature
(local, non-demo, no password, unverified), so existing victims recover unaided.

backend/alembic/versions/0078_password_revoked_at.py

@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+"""users.password_revoked_at — remember that SEC-10 dropped a preset password
+
+Revision ID: 0078_password_revoked_at
+Revises: 0077_plex_playback_class
+Create Date: 2026-09-02
+
+SEC-10 (`auth.revoke_preset_password_if_unverified`) nulls `password_hash` when an account whose email
+was never verified is attested (Google adoption, or admin approval). That left NO trace, and
+password-reset eligibility keyed off `password_hash IS NOT NULL` — so such an account could neither
+sign in (no password) nor request a reset link (not "eligible"): a permanent lockout with a silent,
+uniform response at every step.
+
+This column is that trace. A row with `password_revoked_at` set is a local account that HAD a password
+and had it revoked, so the reset flow treats it as eligible again. Setting a password (reset-confirm or
+/auth/set-password) clears the stamp. A Google-only account that never had a password keeps it NULL and
+stays reset-ineligible by design — its owner adds a password from Settings while signed in.
+
+Backfill: the pre-existing victims of the lockout can't be identified with certainty, but the signature
+is exact and narrow — a local (google_sub IS NULL), non-demo account with no password whose email is
+still unverified could ONLY have got there through the revoke, since registration always sets a hash.
+Stamp those with the current time so they become recoverable without operator intervention.
+"""
+
+from typing import Sequence, Union
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+revision: str = "0078_password_revoked_at"
+down_revision: Union[str, None] = "0077_plex_playback_class"
+branch_labels: Union[str, Sequence[str], None] = None
+depends_on: Union[str, Sequence[str], None] = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    op.add_column(
+        "users",
+        sa.Column("password_revoked_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True), nullable=True),
+    )
+    op.execute(
+        "UPDATE users SET password_revoked_at = now() "
+        "WHERE password_hash IS NULL "
+        "AND google_sub IS NULL "
+        "AND is_demo = false "
+        "AND email_verified = false"
+    )
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    op.drop_column("users", "password_revoked_at")

backend/app/models.py

@@ -47,6 +47,12 @@ class User(Base, TimestampMixin):
     email: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(320), unique=True, index=True)
     # argon2id hash for email+password login; NULL for Google-only / demo accounts.
     password_hash: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(255))
+    # When SEC-10 dropped a preset password (see auth.revoke_preset_password_if_unverified). Without
+    # this trace a revoked account was indistinguishable from a Google-only one, so it failed the
+    # password-reset eligibility check and could never be recovered — it could neither sign in nor
+    # reset. Set = "had a password, lost it to the guard" -> reset-eligible. Cleared whenever a
+    # password is set again (reset-confirm / set-password).
+    password_revoked_at: Mapped[datetime | None] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True))
     # Email ownership proven (Google sign-in is implicitly verified; password registration
     # verifies via a link). Login requires this AND is_active.
     email_verified: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(Boolean, default=False, server_default="false")

backend/app/routes/auth.py

@@ -662,15 +662,22 @@ def _register_account(email: str, password: str) -> None:
 @router.post("/verify")
 def verify_email_confirm(body: TokenIn, db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> dict:
     """Confirm an email-verification token the SPA read from the URL fragment (SB3). Uniform 400
-    on any invalid/expired/used token."""
+    on any invalid/expired/used token.
+
+    `password_reset_required` tells the SPA to send the user straight to the reset flow: an admin who
+    approved this account BEFORE it was verified tripped SEC-10, so the password chosen at registration
+    is gone and sign-in would answer with the deliberately uniform "Invalid email or password" — true,
+    but unreadable to the person who just proved they own the mailbox. Saying so leaks nothing: holding
+    a valid single-use verify token for this account already proves that much."""
     user = _consume_token(db, body.token, "verify")
     if user is None:
         raise HTTPException(
             status_code=400, detail="This verification link is invalid or has expired."
         )
     user.email_verified = True
+    needs_password = user.password_hash is None and user.password_revoked_at is not None
     db.commit()
-    return {"ok": True}
+    return {"ok": True, "password_reset_required": needs_password}
 
 
 @router.post("/verify/resend")
@@ -714,8 +721,10 @@ def verify_email(token: str, db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
     if user is None:
         return RedirectResponse(url="/?verify=invalid")
     user.email_verified = True
+    needs_password = user.password_hash is None and user.password_revoked_at is not None
     db.commit()
-    return RedirectResponse(url="/?verify=ok")
+    # Same two outcomes as the POST flow above, so an old link in flight lands on the same guidance.
+    return RedirectResponse(url="/?verify=" + ("ok_reset" if needs_password else "ok"))
 
 
 @router.post("/password-login")
@@ -780,10 +789,18 @@ def _send_reset_if_eligible(email: str) -> None:
     """Background worker for password_reset_request: issue a reset token + email the link, but ONLY
     for a real (non-demo) password account. Runs after the response with its own DB session, so the
     request's timing never reveals whether the account exists. Token rides the URL FRAGMENT (#) so it
-    can't leak into proxy/access logs or a Referer (SB3)."""
+    can't leak into proxy/access logs or a Referer (SB3).
+
+    "Password account" is `password_hash OR password_revoked_at` — an account SEC-10 stripped had a
+    password and must be able to get a new one, or it is locked out permanently (no password to sign in
+    with, and formerly no reset link either). A Google-only account that never had a password stays
+    ineligible on purpose: its owner adds one from Settings (/auth/set-password) while signed in, which
+    proves identity through the session rather than by mail."""
     with SessionLocal() as db:
         user = db.execute(select(User).where(User.email == email)).scalar_one_or_none()
-        if user is not None and user.password_hash and not user.is_demo:
+        if user is None or user.is_demo:
+            return
+        if user.password_hash or user.password_revoked_at:
             raw = _issue_token(db, user, "reset", RESET_TTL)
             email_mod.send_password_reset(email, f"{_app_base()}/#reset={raw}")
 
@@ -802,6 +819,7 @@ def password_reset_confirm(body: TokenPasswordIn, db: Session = Depends(get_db))
     if user is None:
         raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="This reset link is invalid or has expired.")
     user.password_hash = hash_password(new_password)
+    user.password_revoked_at = None  # the account has a password again — SEC-10's trace is spent
     # A valid reset link proves control of the mailbox, so completing a reset also verifies the
     # email — this rescues an account that registered but never clicked the verification link (it
     # can then sign in). The separate admin-approval gate (is_active) is deliberately NOT touched
@@ -844,9 +862,15 @@ def revoke_preset_password_if_unverified(user: User) -> None:
     ownership is finally attested (Google adoption, or admin approval), drop that password and bump the
     epoch to revoke any session it minted; the owner re-sets one via password-reset. No-op for an
     already-verified account, so a legit no-SMTP registration is unaffected. The single source for this
-    rule — both the Google-callback and admin-activation paths call it so they can't drift."""
+    rule — both the Google-callback and admin-activation paths call it so they can't drift.
+
+    `password_revoked_at` is what makes "the owner re-sets one via password-reset" actually true. The
+    revoke leaves `password_hash IS NULL`, which is also what a Google-only account looks like — and
+    _send_reset_if_eligible keyed off exactly that, so a revoked account silently got no reset link and
+    was locked out for good (it could not sign in either). The stamp separates the two cases."""
     if not user.email_verified:
         user.password_hash = None
+        user.password_revoked_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
         bump_session_epoch(user)
 
 
@@ -916,6 +940,7 @@ def set_password(
         if not verify_password(body.current_password or "", user.password_hash):
             raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail="Current password is incorrect.")
     user.password_hash = hash_password(new_password)
+    user.password_revoked_at = None  # same as the reset path: a password exists again
     # SA4: a password change logs out every OTHER session; re-stamp this cookie at the new epoch so
     # the person making the change stays signed in here. Commit BEFORE re-stamping so a failed commit
     # can't leave the cookie at a newer epoch than the DB (which would wrongly 401 THIS session).

backend/tests/test_auth_session.py

@@ -341,3 +341,134 @@ def test_register_route_is_refused_when_registration_is_closed(client, db, monke
         db.execute(_select(User).where(User.email == "closed@example.com")).scalar_one_or_none()
         is None
     )
+
+
+# --- SEC-10 lockout: a revoked preset password must stay RECOVERABLE ---------------------------
+#
+# Regression pack for the prod incident of 2026-09-02. An account registered with a password, then
+# approved by an admin BEFORE its email was verified, ended up with password_hash = NULL. That is
+# also what a Google-only account looks like, and reset eligibility keyed off `password_hash` alone —
+# so the account could neither sign in (no password) nor obtain a reset link, and every response on
+# the way was a deliberately uniform "ok"/401. `password_revoked_at` is the trace that tells the two
+# apart; these pin each step of the way back in.
+
+
+def _capture_reset_links(monkeypatch) -> list[str]:
+    """Patch the reset mailer and collect the recipients it is asked to write to."""
+    from app.routes import auth as auth_mod
+
+    sent: list[str] = []
+    monkeypatch.setattr(auth_mod.email_mod, "send_password_reset", lambda to, link: sent.append(to))
+    return sent
+
+
+def test_the_approval_revoke_stamps_password_revoked_at(db, make_user):
+    from app.routes.admin import _activate_user_by_email
+
+    victim = make_user(
+        email="stamped@example.com",
+        password="attacker-chosen",
+        email_verified=False,
+        is_active=False,
+    )
+    assert victim.password_revoked_at is None
+
+    _activate_user_by_email(db, "stamped@example.com")
+
+    assert victim.password_hash is None
+    assert victim.password_revoked_at is not None  # …so the reset flow can tell it HAD a password
+
+
+def test_an_account_whose_password_was_revoked_can_still_get_a_reset_link(
+    db, make_user, monkeypatch
+):
+    # THE lockout bug: without the stamp this sent nothing, and the account was unrecoverable.
+    from app.routes.admin import _activate_user_by_email
+    from app.routes.auth import _send_reset_if_eligible
+
+    make_user(
+        email="lockedout@example.com",
+        password="chosen at registration",
+        email_verified=False,
+        is_active=False,
+    )
+    _activate_user_by_email(db, "lockedout@example.com")
+    sent = _capture_reset_links(monkeypatch)
+
+    _send_reset_if_eligible("lockedout@example.com")
+
+    assert sent == ["lockedout@example.com"]
+
+
+def test_a_google_only_account_is_still_not_reset_eligible(db, make_user, monkeypatch):
+    # The other side of the rule: an account that NEVER had a password gets no reset link — its owner
+    # adds one from Settings while signed in (/auth/set-password), which proves identity by session.
+    from app.routes.auth import _send_reset_if_eligible
+
+    make_user(email="googler@example.com", password=None, google_sub="sub-123")
+    sent = _capture_reset_links(monkeypatch)
+
+    _send_reset_if_eligible("googler@example.com")
+
+    assert sent == []
+
+
+def test_completing_a_reset_clears_the_revocation_stamp(client, db, make_user):
+    from app.routes.admin import _activate_user_by_email
+    from app.routes.auth import _issue_token
+
+    user = make_user(
+        email="recovered@example.com",
+        password="chosen at registration",
+        email_verified=False,
+        is_active=False,
+    )
+    _activate_user_by_email(db, "recovered@example.com")
+    raw = _issue_token(db, user, "reset", timedelta(hours=1))
+    db.commit()
+
+    ok = client.post(
+        "/auth/password-reset/confirm", json={"token": raw, "password": "a brand new one"}
+    )
+
+    assert ok.status_code == 200
+    db.expire_all()
+    assert user.password_hash is not None
+    assert user.password_revoked_at is None  # spent — not a permanently reset-eligible account
+    assert _login(client, "recovered@example.com", "a brand new one").status_code == 200
+
+
+def test_verify_tells_a_revoked_account_that_it_needs_a_new_password(client, db, make_user):
+    # The banner's input. Saying so leaks nothing: the caller just proved mailbox control by holding a
+    # valid single-use verify token. Without it the user meets only the uniform "Invalid email or
+    # password" and has no way to learn why the password they chose stopped working.
+    from app.routes.admin import _activate_user_by_email
+    from app.routes.auth import _issue_token
+
+    user = make_user(
+        email="needspw@example.com",
+        password="chosen at registration",
+        email_verified=False,
+        is_active=False,
+    )
+    _activate_user_by_email(db, "needspw@example.com")
+    raw = _issue_token(db, user, "verify", timedelta(hours=1))
+    db.commit()
+
+    r = client.post("/auth/verify", json={"token": raw})
+
+    assert r.status_code == 200
+    assert r.json() == {"ok": True, "password_reset_required": True}
+
+
+def test_verify_reports_no_reset_needed_for_an_intact_account(client, db, make_user):
+    from app.routes.auth import _issue_token
+
+    user = make_user(email="intact@example.com", email_verified=False, is_active=False)
+    raw = _issue_token(db, user, "verify", timedelta(hours=1))
+    db.commit()
+
+    r = client.post("/auth/verify", json={"token": raw})
+
+    assert r.status_code == 200
+    assert r.json() == {"ok": True, "password_reset_required": False}

frontend/src/components/Welcome.tsx

@@ -339,7 +339,10 @@ function AuthCard() {
     verifyFired.current = true;
     api
       .verifyEmail(verifyToken)
-      .then(() => setVerify("ok"))
+      // "ok_reset": verified, but SEC-10 had dropped the password this account registered with (an
+      // admin approved it before it was verified). Sign-in would answer with the uniform credentials
+      // error, so point the user at the reset flow instead. Same value the legacy ?verify= redirect uses.
+      .then((r) => setVerify(r.password_reset_required ? "ok_reset" : "ok"))
       .catch(() => setVerify("invalid"));
   }, [verifyToken]);
 
@@ -392,6 +395,13 @@ function AuthCard() {
     setMode("resend");
   };
 
+  // Used by the "verified, but your password was revoked" banner — the only way back into that
+  // account is a reset link, so put the user one click from it.
+  const goForgot = () => {
+    reset();
+    setMode("forgot");
+  };
+
   async function onSubmit(e: React.FormEvent) {
     e.preventDefault();
     reset();
@@ -465,6 +475,14 @@ function AuthCard() {
 
       {/* One-time status banners from a redirect (Google-denied, email verification). */}
       {verify === "ok" && <Banner tone="ok">{t("welcome.auth.verifyOk")}</Banner>}
+      {verify === "ok_reset" && (
+        <Banner tone="warn">
+          {t("welcome.auth.verifyOkReset")}{" "}
+          <button onClick={goForgot} className="font-semibold text-accent hover:underline">
+            {t("welcome.auth.verifyOkResetCta")}
+          </button>
+        </Banner>
+      )}
       {verify === "invalid" && (
         <Banner tone="warn">
           {t("welcome.auth.verifyInvalid")}{" "}

frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/welcome.json

@@ -86,6 +86,8 @@
     "forgotDone": "If that email has an account, we've sent a reset link. Check your inbox.",
     "resetDone": "Your password has been set — you can sign in now.",
     "verifyOk": "Email confirmed. Once an admin approves your account, you can sign in.",
+    "verifyOkReset": "Email confirmed. Your account was approved before you confirmed it, so the password you registered with was cleared for security — choose a new one to sign in.",
+    "verifyOkResetCta": "Set a new password",
     "verifyInvalid": "That verification link is invalid or has expired.",
     "resendCta": "Send a new link",
     "resendDone": "If that email has an unverified account, we've sent a new verification link. Check your inbox.",

frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/welcome.json

@@ -86,6 +86,8 @@
     "forgotDone": "Ha ehhez az e-mailhez tartozik fiók, elküldtük a visszaállító linket. Nézd meg a postafiókod.",
     "resetDone": "A jelszavad be van állítva — most már beléphetsz.",
     "verifyOk": "E-mail megerősítve. Amint egy admin jóváhagyja a fiókodat, beléphetsz.",
+    "verifyOkReset": "E-mail megerősítve. A fiókodat még a megerősítés előtt jóváhagyták, ezért biztonsági okból töröltük a regisztrációkor megadott jelszavadat — válassz újat a belépéshez.",
+    "verifyOkResetCta": "Új jelszó beállítása",
     "verifyInvalid": "Ez a megerősítő link érvénytelen vagy lejárt.",
     "resendCta": "Új link küldése",
     "resendDone": "Ha ehhez az e-mailhez tartozik megerősítetlen fiók, elküldtünk egy új megerősítő linket. Nézd meg a postafiókod.",

frontend/src/lib/api/auth.ts

@@ -37,7 +37,10 @@ export const authApi = {
       { quiet: true },
     ),
   // Confirm an email-verification token the SPA read from the URL fragment (SB3).
-  verifyEmail: (token: string): Promise<{ ok: boolean }> =>
+  // `password_reset_required` = SEC-10 dropped the password this account registered with (an admin
+  // approved it before it was verified), so signing in would fail with the uniform credentials error.
+  // The card sends the user to the reset flow instead of leaving them to guess.
+  verifyEmail: (token: string): Promise<{ ok: boolean; password_reset_required?: boolean }> =>
     req("/auth/verify", { method: "POST", body: JSON.stringify({ token }) }, { quiet: true }),
   // Re-issue a verification link (the first one expired, or was lost). Uniform response — never
   // reveals whether the email has a pending account.

frontend/src/lib/urlState.dom.test.ts

@@ -64,6 +64,19 @@ describe("urlWithParams", () => {
     setLocation("?page=channels");
     expect(urlWithParams({ page: null })).toBe("/app");
   });
+
+  it("carries the fragment over — the one-time auth tokens ride it", () => {
+    // Regression (prod, 2026-09-02): the providers that mirror nav params mount ABOVE the lazy <App>,
+    // so this URL was replaceState'd before the auth card's chunk loaded. Dropping the hash ate the
+    // #verify= token and the verification link opened a bare sign-in page.
+    window.history.replaceState(null, "", "/app?page=plex#verify=tok123");
+    expect(urlWithParams({ v: "show:1" })).toBe("/app?page=plex&v=show%3A1#verify=tok123");
+  });
+
+  it("carries the fragment over even when the query empties out", () => {
+    window.history.replaceState(null, "", "/app?page=channels#reset=tok456");
+    expect(urlWithParams({ page: null })).toBe("/app#reset=tok456");
+  });
 });
 
 describe("clearParams", () => {

frontend/src/lib/urlState.ts

@@ -146,10 +146,16 @@ export function readPage(): Page {
   return isPage(p) ? p : "feed";
 }
 
-/** Build a URL (path + query) from the CURRENT location's query with `updates` applied — a null value
- * deletes that key, any other string sets it. Lets each provider own its own nav key(s) — page / chan /
- * v / pl / the feed-filter keys — and update the address bar without clobbering the others (read-modify-
- * write on the live query). The caller decides pushState vs replaceState with the returned string. */
+/** Build a URL (path + query + fragment) from the CURRENT location with `updates` applied to the query —
+ * a null value deletes that key, any other string sets it. Lets each provider own its own nav key(s) —
+ * page / chan / v / pl / the feed-filter keys — and update the address bar without clobbering the others
+ * (read-modify-write on the live query). The caller decides pushState vs replaceState with the string.
+ *
+ * ⚠️ The FRAGMENT must be carried over. The one-time auth tokens ride it (`#verify=…` / `#reset=…`, SB3),
+ * and the providers that mirror nav params (useUrlMirror in FeedFilters/Playlists/Plex/Channels) sit ABOVE
+ * the lazily-loaded <App> in main.tsx — their mount effect replaceState's this URL before the auth card's
+ * chunk has even loaded. Dropping the hash here silently ate the token: the verification link opened a
+ * bare sign-in page and the account could never be verified. */
 export function urlWithParams(updates: Record<string, string | null>): string {
   const params = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search);
   for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(updates)) {
@@ -157,7 +163,7 @@ export function urlWithParams(updates: Record<string, string | null>): string {
     else params.set(k, v);
   }
   const qs = params.toString();
-  return `${window.location.pathname}${qs ? `?${qs}` : ""}`;
+  return `${window.location.pathname}${qs ? `?${qs}` : ""}${window.location.hash}`;
 }
 
 /** Remove specific TRANSIENT params (one-time auth/admin links: ?link, ?oauth, ?admin, ?access, ?verify,
@@ -178,6 +184,8 @@ export function clearParams(...keys: string[]): void {
   window.history.replaceState(
     window.history.state,
     "",
-    `${window.location.pathname}${qs ? `?${qs}` : ""}`,
+    // Same fragment rule as urlWithParams: this strips QUERY keys only, so a `#verify=…`/`#reset=…`
+    // token that has not been consumed yet must survive. Welcome's own cleanup is what clears it.
+    `${window.location.pathname}${qs ? `?${qs}` : ""}${window.location.hash}`,
   );
 }

frontend/src/lib/useUrlMirror.dom.test.ts

@@ -48,4 +48,14 @@ describe("useUrlMirror", () => {
     renderHook(() => useUrlMirror({ pl: "5" }));
     expect(window.location.search).toBe("?page=playlists&pl=5");
   });
+
+  it("leaves an unconsumed auth token in the fragment alone", () => {
+    // This hook's mount effect is what ran before <App> (and therefore before the auth card) had even
+    // loaded, so whatever it writes to the address bar is what the card later reads. It must not eat
+    // the #verify=/#reset= token that the emailed link carries.
+    window.history.replaceState(null, "", "/?page=playlists#verify=tok123");
+    renderHook(() => useUrlMirror({ pl: "5" }));
+    expect(window.location.hash).toBe("#verify=tok123");
+    expect(window.location.search).toBe("?page=playlists&pl=5");
+  });
 });