fix(hub): enforce registration captcha for every client

The server only checked the captcha when auth_key was absent — but
every real client (browser included, via the password split) sends
auth_key, so the check was off for everyone, and a bot skipped it by
including the field. The Register form still made humans solve a
widget whose token was never transmitted.

Gate is now unconditional on captcha.enabled. The web client
(registerUser in keyderive.js) forwards captcha.token; RegisterPage
resets the (single-use) token on a failed attempt. The desktop client
shares this UI source and is Chromium, so it renders the same widget
(see the paired meshbay-client commit for the CSP change that allows
it).

Tests: test_register_captcha.py.

Third security review, finding M1 (Option A).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_011pG75yGK3NthNfyjH74omG

1 files changed, 7 insertions, 2 deletions

diff --git a/packages/meshbay-hub/src/meshbay_hub/api/users.py b/packages/meshbay-hub/src/meshbay_hub/api/users.py
index 559cfa6..9b70b59 100644
--- a/packages/meshbay-hub/src/meshbay_hub/api/users.py
+++ b/packages/meshbay-hub/src/meshbay_hub/api/users.py
@@ -150,8 +150,13 @@ async def register(
             return {"user_id": found.id, "email_verification_required": True}
         raise HTTPException(status_code=409, detail="Username already taken")
 
-    # Captcha gate — web path only (native clients send auth_key)
-    if _cfg and _cfg.captcha.enabled and not body.auth_key:
+    # Captcha gate — every fresh registration when a captcha is configured, with
+    # no client carve-out. The earlier `and not body.auth_key` exempted anything
+    # that sent an `auth_key`, which is *every* real client (the browser sends it
+    # too, from the password split) — so the check was off for everyone, and a
+    # bot skipped it by sending the field. The desktop client is Chromium and
+    # renders the same widget, so it has no need of an exemption either.
+    if _cfg and _cfg.captcha.enabled:
         await _verify_captcha_or_raise(body.captcha_token, request)
 
     # Email uniqueness (only active or pending accounts)