fix(security): harden brute-force, rate-limiting and auth-DoS (audit follow-up)

Adversarial audit of the auth surface confirmed several exploitable gaps. Every fix
auto-expires and never permanently locks the control plane (bare-IP recovery host and
the clusev:reset-admin CLI stay open).

Login:
- per-IP (20/min) + per-account (30/15min) buckets on top of the existing email+IP 5/min,
  so a distributed multi-IP brute-force of the single admin account is capped instead of
  scaling linearly with IPs. ip/acct counters decay on their own (a valid login doesn't
  reset a flood's budget).
- constant-time: the unknown-email branch now runs one bcrypt against a fixed DUMMY_HASH
  (evaluated before the `! $user ||` short-circuit), closing the account-enumeration
  timing oracle.

2FA:
- TOTP replay protection — verifyTotp uses verifyKeyNewer with a persisted last-used step
  (two_factor_last_used_step migration), so each 30s code is single-use. Passes 0 (never
  null) as the old step, since null makes verifyKeyNewer return bare `true` not the step.
- challenge + 2FA-proof reset gain an IP-independent per-account backstop, capping the
  distributed TOTP/backup brute-force surface.

Defense-in-depth / DoS:
- global throttle on /livewire/update (180/min per user-id-or-IP) via setUpdateRoute,
  keeping 'web' + the persistent EnsureSecurityOnboarded gate intact.
- reauth throttle (5/min per user) on password change/profile; SMTP test-send capped
  (3/10min per user) so the panel can't relay spam.
- SshClient gets a short, separate connect timeout (~5s) so a dead/tarpit host can't hold
  a worker across several sequential 15s reads (the observed 8.3s /livewire/update DoS).
- profile password policy raised to 12 chars + mixed case + numbers (was 10).

Tests: BruteForceHardeningTest covers TOTP replay, per-email + per-IP login caps,
identical unknown/known rejection, and reauth throttling. Full suite 187 green; Codex
clean; verified in a real browser (login/polls/Livewire updates unaffected by the throttle).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -27,6 +27,25 @@ getaggte Releases (Kanal `stable`, optional `beta`) — niemals Entwicklungs-Bui
   spiegelt jetzt exakt die Kosten der echten Recovery-Code-Prüfung (gesperrtes `SELECT` in einer
   Transaktion statt eines schwereren bcrypt-Vergleichs), und Transportfehler beim Reset-Link werden
   geloggt statt stillschweigend verschluckt.
+- **Brute-Force-/Rate-Limiting-Härtung (Audit-Nachgang).** Alle neuen Limits laufen automatisch ab
+  und sperren die Control-Plane nie dauerhaft (Bare-IP-Recovery + `clusev:reset-admin` bleiben offen):
+  - **Login** zusätzlich pro IP (20/Min) und pro Konto (30/15 Min) begrenzt — ein verteilter
+    Mehr-IP-Angriff auf das eine Admin-Konto wird gedeckelt statt linear zu skalieren; und der
+    Login-Zweig für unbekannte E-Mails führt jetzt denselben bcrypt aus (Konstantzeit) und schließt
+    so das Konten-Enumerations-Timing-Orakel.
+  - **TOTP-Replay-Schutz:** jeder 6-stellige Code ist genau einmal gültig (zuletzt akzeptierter
+    Zeit-Schritt wird persistiert), ein abgefangener Code lässt sich nicht im 30-Sek-Fenster
+    wiederverwenden.
+  - **2FA-Challenge & 2FA-Beweis-Reset** zusätzlich pro Konto begrenzt (IP-unabhängiger Backstop),
+    sodass die TOTP-/Backup-Code-Brute-Force-Fläche auch verteilt gedeckelt ist.
+  - **Globaler `/livewire/update`-Throttle** (180/Min pro Identität) als Flut-Deckel über den
+    Per-Aktion-Limitern.
+  - **Re-Auth gedrosselt** (Passwortänderung/-Profil, 5/Min pro Nutzer) gegen Passwort-Brute-Force
+    über eine gekaperte Session; **SMTP-Testversand** auf 3/10 Min pro Nutzer begrenzt (kein
+    Spam-Relay).
+  - **DoS-Schutz:** SSH bekommt einen kurzen, separaten Connect-Timeout (~5 s), damit ein toter/
+    langsamer Host einen Worker nicht über mehrere sequentielle Reads × 15 s blockiert; die
+    Profil-Passwort-Policy auf 12 Zeichen + Groß/Klein + Ziffern angehoben (war 10).
 
 ## [0.9.2] - 2026-06-15
 

app/Livewire/Auth/ForgotPassword.php

@@ -72,11 +72,19 @@ class ForgotPassword extends Component
             'password' => ['required', 'confirmed', Password::min(12)->mixedCase()->numbers()],
         ]);
 
-        $key = 'forgot:'.md5(strtolower($this->email).'|'.request()->ip());
-        if (RateLimiter::tooManyAttempts($key, 5)) {
-            throw ValidationException::withMessages([
-                'code' => __('auth.too_many_attempts', ['seconds' => RateLimiter::availableIn($key)]),
-            ]);
+        // Tight per-(email+IP) bucket PLUS an IP-independent per-account backstop: this reset
+        // path is a second TOTP/backup brute-force surface (email + code, no password), so a
+        // distributed (multi-IP) attempt must be capped per account the same way the challenge
+        // is. Both auto-expire — never a permanent lockout (clusev:reset-admin stays open).
+        $email = strtolower($this->email);
+        $key = 'forgot:'.md5($email.'|'.request()->ip());
+        $acctKey = 'forgot-acct:'.md5($email);
+        foreach ([[$key, 5], [$acctKey, 20]] as [$k, $max]) {
+            if (RateLimiter::tooManyAttempts($k, $max)) {
+                throw ValidationException::withMessages([
+                    'code' => __('auth.too_many_attempts', ['seconds' => RateLimiter::availableIn($k)]),
+                ]);
+            }
         }
 
         $user = User::where('email', $this->email)->first();
@@ -108,12 +116,14 @@ class ForgotPassword extends Component
         }
 
         if (! $ok) {
-            RateLimiter::hit($key, 60);
+            RateLimiter::hit($key, 60);     // 5 / minute (email+IP)
+            RateLimiter::hit($acctKey, 900); // 20 / 15 minutes (per account, IP-independent)
             // Generic message — never reveal whether the email exists.
             throw ValidationException::withMessages(['code' => __('auth.reset_invalid')]);
         }
 
         RateLimiter::clear($key);
+        RateLimiter::clear($acctKey);
         // Rotate remember_token too, so a stolen remember-me cookie can't survive the reset.
         $user->forceFill([
             'password' => Hash::make($this->password),

app/Livewire/Auth/Login.php

@@ -14,6 +14,14 @@ use Livewire\Component;
 #[Layout('layouts.auth')]
 class Login extends Component
 {
+    /**
+     * A fixed, valid cost-12 bcrypt hash. When the e-mail is unknown we still run one
+     * Hash::check against this so the failure branch costs the same bcrypt as a known
+     * account — closing the response-timing oracle that would otherwise reveal which
+     * addresses exist (same class as the password-reset constant-time fix).
+     */
+    private const DUMMY_HASH = '$2y$12$6gKO7fsTd5ZoshlNsI7JpeuIU60K30r3K0mdPdIryNc2IQy8XwI.u';
+
     #[Validate('required|email')]
     public string $email = '';
 
@@ -26,22 +34,42 @@ class Login extends Component
     {
         $this->validate();
 
-        $key = 'login:'.md5(strtolower($this->email).'|'.request()->ip());
+        // Three auto-expiring counters, none of which can permanently lock the control plane
+        // (all decay in minutes; the host CLI `clusev:reset-admin` is always available):
+        //  - pair  (email+IP): the tight 5/min bucket (unchanged).
+        //  - ip    : caps one source hammering many accounts AND the bcrypt CPU it burns.
+        //  - acct  : an IP-independent backstop so a DISTRIBUTED (multi-IP) brute-force of the
+        //            single admin account is still capped instead of scaling linearly with IPs.
+        $email = strtolower($this->email);
+        $pairKey = 'login:'.md5($email.'|'.request()->ip());
+        $ipKey = 'login-ip:'.md5(request()->ip());
+        $acctKey = 'login-acct:'.md5($email);
 
-        if (RateLimiter::tooManyAttempts($key, 5)) {
-            throw ValidationException::withMessages([
-                'email' => __('auth.too_many_attempts', ['seconds' => RateLimiter::availableIn($key)]),
-            ]);
+        foreach ([[$pairKey, 5], [$ipKey, 20], [$acctKey, 30]] as [$k, $max]) {
+            if (RateLimiter::tooManyAttempts($k, $max)) {
+                throw ValidationException::withMessages([
+                    'email' => __('auth.too_many_attempts', ['seconds' => RateLimiter::availableIn($k)]),
+                ]);
+            }
         }
 
         $user = User::where('email', $this->email)->first();
 
-        if (! $user || ! Hash::check($this->password, $user->password)) {
-            RateLimiter::hit($key, 60);
+        // Evaluate the bcrypt FIRST (never short-circuit it): an unknown e-mail must still spend
+        // one Hash::check against DUMMY_HASH, otherwise `! $user ||` would skip the hash and the
+        // faster no-account response would re-open the enumeration timing oracle.
+        $validPassword = Hash::check($this->password, $user?->password ?? self::DUMMY_HASH);
+
+        if (! $user || ! $validPassword) {
+            RateLimiter::hit($pairKey, 60);   // 5 / minute
+            RateLimiter::hit($ipKey, 60);     // 20 / minute
+            RateLimiter::hit($acctKey, 900);  // 30 / 15 minutes
             throw ValidationException::withMessages(['email' => __('auth.invalid_credentials')]);
         }
 
-        RateLimiter::clear($key);
+        // Only the tight pair bucket is cleared on success; the broader ip/acct counters
+        // decay on their own so one valid login can't reset a flood's budget.
+        RateLimiter::clear($pairKey);
 
         // 2FA gate: hold the login until the TOTP code is verified.
         if ($user->hasTwoFactorEnabled()) {

app/Livewire/Auth/PasswordChange.php

@@ -4,7 +4,9 @@ namespace App\Livewire\Auth;
 
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Auth;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\RateLimiter;
 use Illuminate\Validation\Rules\Password;
+use Illuminate\Validation\ValidationException;
 use Livewire\Attributes\Layout;
 use Livewire\Component;
 
@@ -19,13 +21,32 @@ class PasswordChange extends Component
 
     public function update()
     {
-        $this->validate([
-            'current' => ['required', 'current_password'],
-            'password' => ['required', 'confirmed', Password::min(12)->mixedCase()->numbers()],
-        ], attributes: [
-            'current' => __('auth.attr_current_password'),
-            'password' => __('auth.attr_new_password'),
-        ]);
+        // Throttle the current-password re-auth so a hijacked session can't brute-force the
+        // password. Keyed on the authenticated user id (never IP) and auto-expiring, so it can
+        // only slow the user's own session briefly — never a cross-user or control-plane lockout.
+        $key = 'reauth:'.Auth::id();
+        if (RateLimiter::tooManyAttempts($key, 5)) {
+            throw ValidationException::withMessages([
+                'current' => __('auth.too_many_attempts', ['seconds' => RateLimiter::availableIn($key)]),
+            ]);
+        }
+
+        try {
+            $this->validate([
+                'current' => ['required', 'current_password'],
+                'password' => ['required', 'confirmed', Password::min(12)->mixedCase()->numbers()],
+            ], attributes: [
+                'current' => __('auth.attr_current_password'),
+                'password' => __('auth.attr_new_password'),
+            ]);
+        } catch (ValidationException $e) {
+            if (array_key_exists('current', $e->errors())) {
+                RateLimiter::hit($key, 60);
+            }
+            throw $e;
+        }
+
+        RateLimiter::clear($key);
 
         Auth::user()->forceFill([
             'password' => Hash::make($this->password),

app/Livewire/Auth/TwoFactorChallenge.php

@@ -45,17 +45,54 @@ class TwoFactorChallenge extends Component
         return (bool) $this->pendingUser()?->hasTotp();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Two auto-expiring 2FA brute-force buckets, keyed on the SERVER-side pending user id
+     * (not client-controlled) — a tight per-(user+IP) one plus an IP-independent per-user
+     * backstop, so a distributed (multi-IP) attempt to brute-force the 6-digit TOTP is still
+     * capped. Both decay in minutes (never a permanent lockout; clusev:reset-admin stays open).
+     *
+     * @return array<string, array{0:int,1:int}> key => [maxAttempts, decaySeconds]
+     */
+    private function rateLimitBuckets(): array
+    {
+        $uid = (string) session('2fa.user');
+
+        return [
+            'two-factor:'.md5($uid.'|'.request()->ip()) => [5, 60],
+            'two-factor-acct:'.md5($uid) => [20, 900],
+        ];
+    }
+
+    private function assertNotRateLimited(): void
+    {
+        foreach ($this->rateLimitBuckets() as $key => [$max]) {
+            if (RateLimiter::tooManyAttempts($key, $max)) {
+                throw ValidationException::withMessages([
+                    'code' => __('auth.too_many_attempts', ['seconds' => RateLimiter::availableIn($key)]),
+                ]);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private function hitRateLimit(): void
+    {
+        foreach ($this->rateLimitBuckets() as $key => [, $decay]) {
+            RateLimiter::hit($key, $decay);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private function clearRateLimit(): void
+    {
+        foreach (array_keys($this->rateLimitBuckets()) as $key) {
+            RateLimiter::clear($key);
+        }
+    }
+
     public function verify()
     {
         $this->validate();
 
-        $key = 'two-factor:'.md5(session('2fa.user').'|'.request()->ip());
-
-        if (RateLimiter::tooManyAttempts($key, 5)) {
-            throw ValidationException::withMessages([
-                'code' => __('auth.too_many_attempts', ['seconds' => RateLimiter::availableIn($key)]),
-            ]);
-        }
+        $this->assertNotRateLimited();
 
         $user = User::find(session('2fa.user'));
 
@@ -69,11 +106,11 @@ class TwoFactorChallenge extends Component
         $valid = $user->verifyTotp($this->code) || $user->useRecoveryCode($this->code);
 
         if (! $valid) {
-            RateLimiter::hit($key, 60);
+            $this->hitRateLimit();
             throw ValidationException::withMessages(['code' => __('auth.invalid_code')]);
         }
 
-        RateLimiter::clear($key);
+        $this->clearRateLimit();
 
         $remember = (bool) session('2fa.remember');
         session()->forget(['2fa.user', '2fa.remember']);
@@ -106,22 +143,16 @@ class TwoFactorChallenge extends Component
     /** Complete the login with a verified security-key assertion (alternative to the TOTP/backup code). */
     public function verifyWebauthn(array $assertion, WebauthnService $webauthn)
     {
-        $key = 'two-factor:'.md5(session('2fa.user').'|'.request()->ip());
-
-        if (RateLimiter::tooManyAttempts($key, 5)) {
-            throw ValidationException::withMessages([
-                'code' => __('auth.too_many_attempts', ['seconds' => RateLimiter::availableIn($key)]),
-            ]);
-        }
+        $this->assertNotRateLimited();
 
         $user = User::find(session('2fa.user'));
 
         if (! $user || ! $user->hasTwoFactorEnabled() || ! $webauthn->available() || ! $webauthn->verifyAssertion($user, $assertion)) {
-            RateLimiter::hit($key, 60);
+            $this->hitRateLimit();
             throw ValidationException::withMessages(['code' => __('auth.webauthn_failed')]);
         }
 
-        RateLimiter::clear($key);
+        $this->clearRateLimit();
 
         $remember = (bool) session('2fa.remember');
         session()->forget(['2fa.user', '2fa.remember']);

app/Livewire/Settings/Email.php

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ use App\Models\Setting;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Auth;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Crypt;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Mail;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\RateLimiter;
 use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 use Livewire\Component;
 use Throwable;
@@ -109,6 +110,16 @@ class Email extends Component
             return;
         }
 
+        // Throttle test-sends so the panel can't be turned into a spam/mail-bomb relay.
+        // Per-user + auto-expiring: only ever limits the operator's own test button briefly.
+        $key = 'mail-test:'.Auth::id();
+        if (RateLimiter::tooManyAttempts($key, 3)) {
+            $this->dispatch('notify', message: __('mail.notify_test_throttled', ['seconds' => RateLimiter::availableIn($key)]), level: 'error');
+
+            return;
+        }
+        RateLimiter::hit($key, 600); // 3 test e-mails / 10 minutes per user
+
         $to = Auth::user()->email;
 
         try {

app/Livewire/Settings/Profile.php

@@ -4,8 +4,10 @@ namespace App\Livewire\Settings;
 
 use App\Models\AuditEvent;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Auth;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\RateLimiter;
 use Illuminate\Validation\Rule;
 use Illuminate\Validation\Rules\Password;
+use Illuminate\Validation\ValidationException;
 use Livewire\Component;
 
 class Profile extends Component
@@ -40,10 +42,28 @@ class Profile extends Component
 
     public function updatePassword(): void
     {
-        $this->validate([
-            'current_password' => ['required', 'current_password'],
-            'password' => ['required', 'confirmed', Password::min(10)],
-        ]);
+        // Throttle the current-password re-auth (hijacked-session brute-force protection).
+        // User-id keyed + auto-expiring: only ever slows the user's own session briefly.
+        $key = 'reauth:'.Auth::id();
+        if (RateLimiter::tooManyAttempts($key, 5)) {
+            throw ValidationException::withMessages([
+                'current_password' => __('auth.too_many_attempts', ['seconds' => RateLimiter::availableIn($key)]),
+            ]);
+        }
+
+        try {
+            $this->validate([
+                'current_password' => ['required', 'current_password'],
+                'password' => ['required', 'confirmed', Password::min(12)->mixedCase()->numbers()],
+            ]);
+        } catch (ValidationException $e) {
+            if (array_key_exists('current_password', $e->errors())) {
+                RateLimiter::hit($key, 60);
+            }
+            throw $e;
+        }
+
+        RateLimiter::clear($key);
 
         Auth::user()->update(['password' => $this->password, 'must_change_password' => false]);
         $this->reset('current_password', 'password', 'password_confirmation');

app/Models/User.php

@@ -103,7 +103,26 @@ class User extends Authenticatable
         }
 
         try {
-            return (new Google2FA)->verifyKey($this->two_factor_secret, preg_replace('/\s+/', '', $code) ?? '');
+            // Replay protection: verifyKeyNewer rejects any code from a time-step <= the last
+            // accepted one and returns the matched step on success. Persisting it makes each
+            // 30s code single-use, so an intercepted/replayed code can't be used twice.
+            //
+            // Pass 0 (never null) as the old timestamp: google2fa returns the bare bool `true`
+            // — not the matched step — when oldTimestamp is null, which would break the
+            // comparison on the very first use. With 0 it always returns the integer step.
+            $step = (new Google2FA)->verifyKeyNewer(
+                $this->two_factor_secret,
+                preg_replace('/\s+/', '', $code) ?? '',
+                (int) ($this->two_factor_last_used_step ?? 0),
+            );
+
+            if ($step === false) {
+                return false;
+            }
+
+            $this->forceFill(['two_factor_last_used_step' => $step])->save();
+
+            return true;
         } catch (Google2FAException) {
             return false;
         }

app/Providers/AppServiceProvider.php

@@ -5,7 +5,11 @@ namespace App\Providers;
 use App\Http\Middleware\EnsureSecurityOnboarded;
 use App\Models\Setting;
 use App\Services\DeploymentService;
+use Illuminate\Cache\RateLimiting\Limit;
+use Illuminate\Http\Request;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Crypt;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\RateLimiter;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;
 use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;
 use Livewire\Livewire;
 use Throwable;
@@ -41,6 +45,19 @@ class AppServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
             EnsureSecurityOnboarded::class,
         ]);
 
+        // Defense-in-depth: a coarse per-identity cap on the Livewire action endpoint
+        // (/livewire/update carries every component request, including the auth actions). The
+        // per-action limiters in the components are the precise gate; this is the blunt cap so a
+        // single source (authed user id, else guest IP) can't flood workers regardless of which
+        // action it targets. 180/min sits far above normal polling + interaction yet well below a
+        // flood; it auto-expires, so — like every limiter here — it can never permanently lock the
+        // control plane (the bare-IP recovery host and clusev:reset-admin are unaffected).
+        RateLimiter::for('livewire-update', fn (Request $request) => Limit::perMinute(180)
+            ->by($request->user()?->id ?: $request->ip()));
+
+        Livewire::setUpdateRoute(fn ($handle) => Route::post('/livewire/update', $handle)
+            ->middleware(['web', 'throttle:livewire-update']));
+
         config([
             'broadcasting.connections.reverb.options.host' => 'reverb',
             'broadcasting.connections.reverb.options.port' => 8080,

app/Support/Ssh/SshClient.php

@@ -19,11 +19,17 @@ class SshClient
     public function __construct(
         private readonly CredentialVault $vault,
         private readonly int $timeout = 15,
+        private readonly int $connectTimeout = 5,
     ) {}
 
     public function connect(Server $server): self
     {
-        $ssh = new SSH2($server->ip, $server->ssh_port ?: 22);
+        // Short, SEPARATE connect timeout so an unreachable / black-holing / tarpit host fails
+        // fast (~5s) instead of holding the FPM worker for the full exec timeout. The
+        // server-detail page issues several SSH reads in a row, so a dead host must not stack
+        // timeout × N and exhaust workers (DoS). The exec/read timeout stays at 15s for
+        // legitimately slow commands.
+        $ssh = new SSH2($server->ip, $server->ssh_port ?: 22, $this->connectTimeout);
         $ssh->setTimeout($this->timeout);
 
         $this->verifyHostKey($ssh, $server);

database/migrations/2026_06_17_000001_add_two_factor_last_used_step_to_users_table.php

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+<?php
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;
+
+return new class extends Migration
+{
+    /**
+     * TOTP replay protection: the time-step of the last accepted authenticator code.
+     * verifyKeyNewer() rejects any code from a step <= this, so a single intercepted
+     * 6-digit code can't be reused within its 30s validity window.
+     */
+    public function up(): void
+    {
+        Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->unsignedBigInteger('two_factor_last_used_step')->nullable()->after('two_factor_secret');
+        });
+    }
+
+    public function down(): void
+    {
+        Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->dropColumn('two_factor_last_used_step');
+        });
+    }
+};

lang/de/mail.php

@@ -35,5 +35,6 @@ return [
     'notify_saved' => 'SMTP-Einstellungen gespeichert.',
     'notify_test_ok' => 'Testmail an :email gesendet.',
     'notify_test_failed' => 'Testmail fehlgeschlagen: :error',
+    'notify_test_throttled' => 'Zu viele Testmails – bitte in :seconds Sekunden erneut.',
     'not_configured' => 'SMTP ist nicht konfiguriert.',
 ];

lang/en/mail.php

@@ -35,5 +35,6 @@ return [
     'notify_saved' => 'SMTP settings saved.',
     'notify_test_ok' => 'Test mail sent to :email.',
     'notify_test_failed' => 'Test mail failed: :error',
+    'notify_test_throttled' => 'Too many test e-mails — try again in :seconds seconds.',
     'not_configured' => 'SMTP is not configured.',
 ];

tests/Feature/BruteForceHardeningTest.php

@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Tests\Feature;
+
+use App\Livewire\Auth\Login;
+use App\Livewire\Auth\PasswordChange;
+use App\Models\User;
+use Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\RefreshDatabase;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;
+use Livewire\Livewire;
+use PragmaRX\Google2FAQRCode\Google2FA;
+use Tests\TestCase;
+
+/**
+ * Brute-force / rate-limit hardening (security audit follow-up).
+ *
+ * Each test starts with a cleared cache so the array-store RateLimiter buckets (keyed partly
+ * on the fixed test IP) don't leak between tests. The "still blocked with the CORRECT password"
+ * assertions are the point: a working limiter must refuse even valid credentials once tripped,
+ * which a non-working one would let straight through.
+ */
+class BruteForceHardeningTest extends TestCase
+{
+    use RefreshDatabase;
+
+    protected function setUp(): void
+    {
+        parent::setUp();
+        Cache::flush();
+    }
+
+    private const PW = 'Sup3rStr0ngPass!';
+
+    private const NEW_PW = 'An0therStr0ngPass!';
+
+    public function test_totp_code_cannot_be_replayed(): void
+    {
+        $user = User::factory()->create([
+            'two_factor_secret' => (new Google2FA)->generateSecretKey(),
+            'two_factor_confirmed_at' => now(),
+        ]);
+
+        $otp = (new Google2FA)->getCurrentOtp($user->two_factor_secret);
+
+        $this->assertTrue($user->verifyTotp($otp), 'first use of a fresh code must succeed');
+        $this->assertFalse($user->fresh()->verifyTotp($otp), 'the same code must be rejected on replay');
+    }
+
+    public function test_per_account_login_throttle_blocks_even_a_correct_password(): void
+    {
+        User::factory()->create(['email' => 'admin@clusev.local', 'password' => Hash::make(self::PW)]);
+
+        for ($i = 0; $i < 5; $i++) {
+            Livewire::test(Login::class)
+                ->set('email', 'admin@clusev.local')->set('password', 'wrong')->call('authenticate');
+        }
+
+        // 6th attempt with the RIGHT password must still be refused (per-(email+IP) cap = 5).
+        Livewire::test(Login::class)
+            ->set('email', 'admin@clusev.local')->set('password', self::PW)->call('authenticate')
+            ->assertHasErrors('email');
+
+        $this->assertGuest();
+    }
+
+    public function test_per_ip_login_throttle_blocks_a_flood_across_distinct_emails(): void
+    {
+        User::factory()->create(['email' => 'admin@clusev.local', 'password' => Hash::make(self::PW)]);
+
+        // 20 failures spread over distinct emails — the per-(email+IP) bucket never trips (1 each),
+        // but the per-IP bucket (20/min) does.
+        for ($i = 0; $i < 20; $i++) {
+            Livewire::test(Login::class)
+                ->set('email', "flood{$i}@clusev.local")->set('password', 'wrong')->call('authenticate');
+        }
+
+        // A correct login for the real admin from the same IP is now blocked by the per-IP cap.
+        Livewire::test(Login::class)
+            ->set('email', 'admin@clusev.local')->set('password', self::PW)->call('authenticate')
+            ->assertHasErrors('email');
+
+        $this->assertGuest();
+    }
+
+    public function test_unknown_and_known_wrong_email_are_rejected_identically(): void
+    {
+        User::factory()->create(['email' => 'admin@clusev.local', 'password' => Hash::make(self::PW)]);
+
+        // Both a known-wrong-password and a non-existent address fail on the SAME field with the
+        // SAME generic auth.invalid_credentials message (by construction), and neither logs in —
+        // no account-existence signal in the response. (The matching bcrypt cost on the unknown
+        // branch, via DUMMY_HASH, closes the timing oracle; that is not asserted here because the
+        // test env uses BCRYPT_ROUNDS=4 while DUMMY_HASH is cost-12.)
+        foreach (['admin@clusev.local', 'ghost@clusev.local'] as $email) {
+            Livewire::test(Login::class)
+                ->set('email', $email)->set('password', 'wrong')->call('authenticate')
+                ->assertHasErrors('email');
+        }
+
+        $this->assertGuest();
+    }
+
+    public function test_password_reauth_is_throttled_against_a_hijacked_session(): void
+    {
+        $user = User::factory()->create([
+            'password' => Hash::make(self::PW),
+            'must_change_password' => true,
+        ]);
+        $this->actingAs($user);
+
+        for ($i = 0; $i < 5; $i++) {
+            Livewire::test(PasswordChange::class)
+                ->set('current', 'wrong')->set('password', self::NEW_PW)->set('password_confirmation', self::NEW_PW)
+                ->call('update');
+        }
+
+        // 6th try with the CORRECT current password is still refused (reauth bucket tripped).
+        Livewire::test(PasswordChange::class)
+            ->set('current', self::PW)->set('password', self::NEW_PW)->set('password_confirmation', self::NEW_PW)
+            ->call('update')
+            ->assertHasErrors('current');
+
+        // Password unchanged.
+        $this->assertTrue(Hash::check(self::PW, $user->fresh()->password));
+    }
+}