Merge latest beta with verified auth hardening

backend/app/security.py

@@ -44,6 +44,8 @@ def _create_token(
     return jwt.encode(payload, settings.jwt_secret, algorithm=_ALGORITHM)
 
 def create_access_token(subject: str, role: str, expires_minutes: Optional[int] = None) -> str:
+    if not settings.jwt_secret:
+        raise ValueError("JWT_SECRET is not configured")
     minutes = expires_minutes or settings.jwt_exp_minutes
     expires = datetime.now(timezone.utc) + timedelta(minutes=minutes)
     return _create_token(subject, role, expires_at=expires, token_type="access")
@@ -55,6 +57,8 @@ def create_stream_token(subject: str, role: str, expires_seconds: int = 120) ->
 
 
 def decode_token(token: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    if not settings.jwt_secret:
+        raise ValueError("JWT_SECRET is not configured")
     return jwt.decode(token, settings.jwt_secret, algorithms=[_ALGORITHM])