fix placeholder users being resolved by authentication flows

app/Auth/ActiveUserProvider.php

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace App\Auth;
+
+use Illuminate\Auth\EloquentUserProvider;
+use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder;
+use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
+
+/**
+ * User provider that only resolves non-placeholder users.
+ *
+ * Placeholder users are created by imports and when members are removed from an
+ * organization. They can share an email address with a real user, so resolving a user by
+ * email can return a placeholder instead of the real account. The login flow filters them
+ * out explicitly, but the password broker and the guard credential checks (for example the
+ * password confirmation) resolve users through the configured user provider.
+ *
+ * Registered as the "eloquent" provider driver in the AuthServiceProvider, so it replaces the
+ * built-in one for every provider in config/auth.php.
+ */
+class ActiveUserProvider extends EloquentUserProvider
+{
+    /**
+     * @param  Model|null  $model
+     * @return Builder<Model>
+     */
+    #[\Override]
+    protected function newModelQuery($model = null): Builder
+    {
+        $query = parent::newModelQuery($model);
+        $query->getQuery()->where('is_placeholder', '=', false);
+
+        return $query;
+    }
+}

app/Models/User.php

@@ -38,7 +38,10 @@ use OwenIt\Auditing\Contracts\Auditable as AuditableContract;
  * @property string|null $pending_email
  * @property Carbon|null $email_verified_at
  * @property string|null $password
+ * @property string|null $remember_token
  * @property string|null $two_factor_secret
+ * @property string|null $two_factor_recovery_codes
+ * @property Carbon|null $two_factor_confirmed_at
  * @property string $timezone
  * @property bool $is_placeholder
  * @property Weekday $week_start
@@ -150,7 +153,9 @@ class User extends Authenticatable implements AuditableContract, FilamentUser, M
 
     public function canAccessPanel(Panel $panel): bool
     {
-        return in_array($this->email, config('auth.super_admins', []), true) && $this->hasVerifiedEmail();
+        return $this->is_placeholder === false
+            && in_array($this->email, config('auth.super_admins', []), true)
+            && $this->hasVerifiedEmail();
     }
 
     public function isMemberOfOrganization(Organization $organization): bool

app/Providers/AuthServiceProvider.php

@@ -4,11 +4,14 @@ declare(strict_types=1);
 
 namespace App\Providers;
 
+use App\Auth\ActiveUserProvider;
 use App\Models\Passport\AuthCode;
 use App\Models\Passport\Client;
 use App\Models\Passport\RefreshToken;
 use App\Models\Passport\Token;
+use Illuminate\Contracts\Foundation\Application;
 use Illuminate\Foundation\Support\Providers\AuthServiceProvider as ServiceProvider;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Auth;
 use Laravel\Passport\Passport;
 
 class AuthServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
@@ -26,6 +29,13 @@ class AuthServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
      */
     public function boot(): void
     {
+        // Replaces the built-in eloquent user provider, so that no authentication flow can
+        // resolve a placeholder user. The driver name is kept, because Passport recognizes
+        // only providers that are configured with the driver "eloquent".
+        Auth::provider('eloquent', function (Application $app, array $config): ActiveUserProvider {
+            return new ActiveUserProvider($app->make('hash'), $config['model']);
+        });
+
         // define scopes for passport tokens
         Passport::tokensCan([
             'create' => 'Create resources',

app/Service/MemberService.php

@@ -218,7 +218,16 @@ class MemberService
 
         $placeholderUser = $user->replicate();
         $placeholderUser->is_placeholder = true;
-        $placeholderUser->current_team_id = $member->organization_id;
+        // Reset authentication relevant properties on the placeholder user
+        $placeholderUser->password = null;
+        $placeholderUser->remember_token = null;
+        $placeholderUser->two_factor_secret = null;
+        $placeholderUser->two_factor_recovery_codes = null;
+        $placeholderUser->two_factor_confirmed_at = null;
+        $placeholderUser->email_verified_at = null;
+        $placeholderUser->pending_email = null;
+        $placeholderUser->current_team_id = null;
+        $placeholderUser->profile_photo_path = null;
         $placeholderUser->save();
 
         $member->user()->associate($placeholderUser);

database/migrations/2026_09_16_000001_remove_credentials_from_placeholder_users.php

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
+use Illuminate\Database\Query\Builder;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;
+
+return new class extends Migration
+{
+    /**
+     * Placeholder users used to be created as a full copy of the user they were made from,
+     * which included the credentials and the account state of that user. A placeholder is a
+     * stand-in for a person in one organization, not an account, and the row shares the email
+     * address with the real account, so these values are removed from the placeholders that
+     * already exist. The organization a placeholder belongs to is recorded on its member row.
+     */
+    public function up(): void
+    {
+        DB::table('users')
+            ->where('is_placeholder', '=', true)
+            ->where(function (Builder $builder): void {
+                $builder->whereNotNull('password')
+                    ->orWhereNotNull('remember_token')
+                    ->orWhereNotNull('two_factor_secret')
+                    ->orWhereNotNull('two_factor_recovery_codes')
+                    ->orWhereNotNull('two_factor_confirmed_at')
+                    ->orWhereNotNull('email_verified_at')
+                    ->orWhereNotNull('pending_email')
+                    ->orWhereNotNull('current_team_id')
+                    ->orWhereNotNull('profile_photo_path');
+            })
+            ->update([
+                'password' => null,
+                'remember_token' => null,
+                'two_factor_secret' => null,
+                'two_factor_recovery_codes' => null,
+                'two_factor_confirmed_at' => null,
+                'email_verified_at' => null,
+                'pending_email' => null,
+                'current_team_id' => null,
+                'profile_photo_path' => null,
+            ]);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Reverse the migrations.
+     */
+    public function down(): void
+    {
+        //
+    }
+};

tests/Feature/PasswordConfirmationTest.php

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ namespace Tests\Feature;
 
 use App\Models\User;
 use Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\RefreshDatabase;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;
 use Tests\TestCase;
 
 class PasswordConfirmationTest extends TestCase
@@ -43,4 +44,43 @@ class PasswordConfirmationTest extends TestCase
 
         $response->assertSessionHasErrors();
     }
+
+    public function test_password_can_be_confirmed_if_a_placeholder_user_with_the_same_email_exists(): void
+    {
+        // Arrange
+        // Placeholders created by an import have no password at all. The placeholder is created
+        // first so that it would be returned by an unordered lookup by email.
+        $email = 'shared@example.com';
+        User::factory()->placeholder()->create(['email' => $email, 'password' => null]);
+        $user = User::factory()->create(['email' => $email, 'password' => Hash::make('secret-password')]);
+
+        // Act
+        $response = $this->actingAs($user)->post('/user/confirm-password', [
+            'password' => 'secret-password',
+        ]);
+
+        // Assert
+        $response->assertRedirect();
+        $response->assertSessionHasNoErrors();
+        $this->assertTrue($this->app['session']->has('auth.password_confirmed_at'));
+    }
+
+    public function test_password_confirmation_ignores_the_password_of_a_placeholder_user_with_the_same_email(): void
+    {
+        // Arrange
+        // Placeholders created by removing a member copy the password hash as of the removal,
+        // so the placeholder holds a password that the real user has since replaced.
+        $email = 'shared@example.com';
+        User::factory()->placeholder()->create(['email' => $email, 'password' => Hash::make('outdated-password')]);
+        $user = User::factory()->create(['email' => $email, 'password' => Hash::make('current-password')]);
+
+        // Act
+        $response = $this->actingAs($user)->post('/user/confirm-password', [
+            'password' => 'outdated-password',
+        ]);
+
+        // Assert
+        $response->assertSessionHasErrors();
+        $this->assertFalse($this->app['session']->has('auth.password_confirmed_at'));
+    }
 }

tests/Feature/PasswordResetTest.php

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ namespace Tests\Feature;
 use App\Models\User;
 use Illuminate\Auth\Notifications\ResetPassword;
 use Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\RefreshDatabase;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Notification;
 use Laravel\Fortify\Features;
 use Tests\TestCase;
@@ -93,4 +94,62 @@ class PasswordResetTest extends TestCase
             return true;
         });
     }
+
+    public function test_password_reset_targets_the_real_user_when_a_placeholder_user_with_the_same_email_exists(): void
+    {
+
+        Notification::fake();
+
+        // The placeholder is created first so that it would be returned by an unordered lookup by email
+        $email = 'shared@example.com';
+        $placeholder = User::factory()->placeholder()->create(['email' => $email]);
+        $user = User::factory()->create(['email' => $email]);
+        $placeholderPasswordBefore = $placeholder->password;
+
+        $response = $this->post('/forgot-password', [
+            'email' => $email,
+        ]);
+
+        $response->assertSessionHasNoErrors();
+        Notification::assertNotSentTo($placeholder, ResetPassword::class);
+        Notification::assertSentTo($user, ResetPassword::class, function (ResetPassword $notification) use ($email) {
+            $response = $this->post('/reset-password', [
+                'token' => $notification->token,
+                'email' => $email,
+                'password' => 'new-password-123',
+                'password_confirmation' => 'new-password-123',
+            ]);
+
+            $response->assertSessionHasNoErrors();
+
+            return true;
+        });
+
+        $placeholder->refresh();
+        $user->refresh();
+        $this->assertSame($placeholderPasswordBefore, $placeholder->password);
+        $this->assertTrue(Hash::check('new-password-123', $user->password));
+
+        $response = $this->post('/login', [
+            'email' => $email,
+            'password' => 'new-password-123',
+        ]);
+
+        $response->assertSessionHasNoErrors();
+        $this->assertAuthenticatedAs($user);
+    }
+
+    public function test_password_reset_link_is_not_sent_if_only_a_placeholder_user_with_the_email_exists(): void
+    {
+        Notification::fake();
+
+        $placeholder = User::factory()->placeholder()->create();
+
+        $response = $this->post('/forgot-password', [
+            'email' => $placeholder->email,
+        ]);
+
+        $response->assertSessionHasErrors('email');
+        Notification::assertNothingSent();
+    }
 }

tests/Unit/Auth/ActiveUserProviderTest.php

@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace Tests\Unit\Auth;
+
+use App\Auth\ActiveUserProvider;
+use App\Models\User;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Auth;
+use PHPUnit\Framework\Attributes\CoversClass;
+use Tests\TestCaseWithDatabase;
+
+#[CoversClass(ActiveUserProvider::class)]
+class ActiveUserProviderTest extends TestCaseWithDatabase
+{
+    public function test_password_broker_uses_the_active_user_provider(): void
+    {
+        // Act
+        $brokerProvider = Auth::createUserProvider(config('auth.passwords.users.provider'));
+
+        // Assert
+        $this->assertInstanceOf(ActiveUserProvider::class, $brokerProvider);
+    }
+
+    public function test_api_guard_uses_the_active_user_provider(): void
+    {
+        // Act
+        $guardProvider = Auth::createUserProvider(config('auth.guards.api.provider'));
+
+        // Assert
+        $this->assertInstanceOf(ActiveUserProvider::class, $guardProvider);
+    }
+
+    public function test_web_guard_uses_the_active_user_provider(): void
+    {
+        // Act
+        $guardProvider = Auth::createUserProvider(config('auth.guards.web.provider'));
+
+        // Assert
+        $this->assertInstanceOf(ActiveUserProvider::class, $guardProvider);
+    }
+
+    public function test_retrieve_by_credentials_ignores_placeholder_users_with_the_same_email(): void
+    {
+        // Arrange
+        $email = 'shared@example.com';
+        $placeholder = User::factory()->placeholder()->create(['email' => $email]);
+        $user = User::factory()->create(['email' => $email]);
+        $provider = Auth::createUserProvider('users');
+
+        // Act
+        $result = $provider->retrieveByCredentials(['email' => $email]);
+
+        // Assert
+        $this->assertInstanceOf(User::class, $result);
+        $this->assertTrue($user->is($result));
+        $this->assertFalse($placeholder->is($result));
+    }
+
+    public function test_retrieve_by_credentials_returns_null_if_only_a_placeholder_user_exists(): void
+    {
+        // Arrange
+        $email = 'placeholder-only@example.com';
+        User::factory()->placeholder()->create(['email' => $email]);
+        $provider = Auth::createUserProvider('users');
+
+        // Act
+        $result = $provider->retrieveByCredentials(['email' => $email]);
+
+        // Assert
+        $this->assertNull($result);
+    }
+
+    public function test_retrieve_by_id_returns_null_for_placeholder_users(): void
+    {
+        // Arrange
+        $placeholder = User::factory()->placeholder()->create();
+        $user = User::factory()->create();
+        $provider = Auth::createUserProvider('users');
+
+        // Act
+        $placeholderResult = $provider->retrieveById($placeholder->getKey());
+        $userResult = $provider->retrieveById($user->getKey());
+
+        // Assert
+        $this->assertNull($placeholderResult);
+        $this->assertInstanceOf(User::class, $userResult);
+        $this->assertTrue($user->is($userResult));
+    }
+}

tests/Unit/Endpoint/Web/OrganizationInvitationEndpointTest.php

@@ -105,6 +105,9 @@ class OrganizationInvitationEndpointTest extends EndpointTestAbstract
         $this->assertDatabaseMissing(OrganizationInvitation::class, [
             'id' => $invitation->getKey(),
         ]);
+        // Joining sets the organization as the current one for the user, independently of the
+        // placeholders that were merged into them
+        $this->assertSame($user->organization->getKey(), $user2->user->fresh()->current_team_id);
     }
 
     public function test_accepting_invitation_while_logged_out_redirects_to_login(): void

tests/Unit/Model/UserModelTest.php

@@ -53,6 +53,23 @@ class UserModelTest extends ModelTestAbstract
         $this->assertTrue($canAccess);
     }
 
+    public function test_placeholder_user_with_a_super_admin_email_can_not_access_admin_panel(): void
+    {
+        // Arrange
+        Config::set('auth.super_admins', ['some@email.test', 'other@email.test']);
+        $user = User::factory()->placeholder()->create([
+            'email' => 'some@email.test',
+        ]);
+        $panelProvider = new AdminPanelProvider(app());
+        $mainPanel = $panelProvider->panel(Panel::make());
+
+        // Act
+        $canAccess = $user->canAccessPanel($mainPanel);
+
+        // Assert
+        $this->assertFalse($canAccess);
+    }
+
     public function test_scope_belongs_to_organization_returns_only_users_of_organization_including_owners(): void
     {
         // Arrange

tests/Unit/Service/DeletionServiceTest.php

@@ -412,10 +412,11 @@ class DeletionServiceTest extends TestCaseWithDatabase
         $this->assertDatabaseHas(Organization::class, [
             'id' => $organizationOfA->getKey(),
         ]);
-        // The placeholder user should exist with current_team_id set to the org where they are a placeholder
+        // The placeholder user should exist and must not reference the deleted organization,
+        // which is what caused the foreign key violation in #989
         $placeholderUser = User::query()->where('is_placeholder', true)->first();
         $this->assertNotNull($placeholderUser);
-        $this->assertSame($organizationOfA->getKey(), $placeholderUser->current_team_id);
+        $this->assertNull($placeholderUser->current_team_id);
         $this->assertDatabaseHas(Member::class, [
             'id' => $memberBInOrgA->getKey(),
             'user_id' => $placeholderUser->getKey(),

tests/Unit/Service/MemberServiceTest.php

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ use App\Models\TimeEntry;
 use App\Models\User;
 use App\Service\MemberService;
 use App\Service\UserService;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;
 use InvalidArgumentException;
 use PHPUnit\Framework\Attributes\CoversClass;
 use Tests\TestCaseWithDatabase;
@@ -64,6 +65,48 @@ class MemberServiceTest extends TestCaseWithDatabase
         $this->assertSame(Role::Admin->value, $oldOwnerMember->refresh()->role);
     }
 
+    public function test_make_member_to_placeholder_does_not_copy_the_credentials_and_account_state_of_the_user(): void
+    {
+        // Arrange
+        $user = User::factory()->create([
+            'password' => Hash::make('secret-password'),
+            'remember_token' => 'remember-me-token',
+            'two_factor_secret' => 'two-factor-secret',
+            'two_factor_recovery_codes' => 'two-factor-recovery-codes',
+            'two_factor_confirmed_at' => '2026-09-16 10:00:00',
+            'email_verified_at' => '2026-09-16 09:00:00',
+            'pending_email' => 'pending@example.com',
+            'profile_photo_path' => 'profile-photos/photo.png',
+        ]);
+        $organization = Organization::factory()->create();
+        $member = Member::factory()->forOrganization($organization)->forUser($user)->role(Role::Employee)->create();
+
+        // Act
+        $this->memberService->makeMemberToPlaceholder($member);
+
+        // Assert
+        $member->refresh();
+        $placeholderUser = $member->user;
+        $this->assertTrue($placeholderUser->is_placeholder);
+        $this->assertSame($user->email, $placeholderUser->email);
+        $this->assertNull($placeholderUser->password);
+        $this->assertNull($placeholderUser->remember_token);
+        $this->assertNull($placeholderUser->two_factor_secret);
+        $this->assertNull($placeholderUser->two_factor_recovery_codes);
+        $this->assertNull($placeholderUser->two_factor_confirmed_at);
+        $this->assertNull($placeholderUser->email_verified_at);
+        $this->assertNull($placeholderUser->pending_email);
+        $this->assertNull($placeholderUser->current_team_id);
+        $this->assertNull($placeholderUser->profile_photo_path);
+        // the user the placeholder was created from keeps their own credentials and state
+        $user->refresh();
+        $this->assertTrue(Hash::check('secret-password', (string) $user->password));
+        $this->assertSame('two-factor-secret', $user->two_factor_secret);
+        $this->assertNotNull($user->email_verified_at);
+        $this->assertSame('pending@example.com', $user->pending_email);
+        $this->assertSame('profile-photos/photo.png', $user->profile_photo_path);
+    }
+
     public function test_make_member_to_placeholder_creates_new_user_based_on_member_and_changes_member_to_placeholder(): void
     {
         // Arrange