diff --git a/src/lib/__tests__/require-fresh-mfa.test.ts b/src/lib/__tests__/require-fresh-mfa.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8093ab688
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/__tests__/require-fresh-mfa.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from "vitest";
+
+// Mirrors require-auth-bearer.test.ts mocking so the api-handler module loads
+// without a live DB / request scope.
+vi.mock("@/lib/db", () => ({
+  prisma: {
+    session: { findUnique: vi.fn() },
+  },
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@/lib/auth/session", () => ({
+  getSession: vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@/lib/auth/hmac", () => ({ hashToken: vi.fn() }));
+vi.mock("@/lib/auth/audit", () => ({
+  auditLog: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+}));
+vi.mock("@/lib/logging/transports", () => ({ emitIfSampled: vi.fn() }));
+
+const headersGet = vi.fn<(name: string) => string | null>();
+vi.mock("next/headers", () => ({
+  headers: vi.fn(async () => ({ get: headersGet })),
+  cookies: vi.fn(async () => ({
+    get: () => undefined,
+    set: () => {},
+    delete: () => {},
+  })),
+}));
+
+import {
+  requireFreshMfa,
+  StepUpRequiredError,
+  HttpError,
+  MFA_STEP_UP_MAX_AGE_SECONDS,
+} from "../api-handler";
+import { getSession } from "@/lib/auth/session";
+import { prisma } from "@/lib/db";
+
+const MFA_USER = {
+  id: "user-1",
+  role: "USER" as const,
+  username: "u",
+  totpConfirmedAt: new Date("2020-01-01"),
+};
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  vi.resetAllMocks();
+});
+
+function mockSession(user: unknown) {
+  vi.mocked(getSession).mockResolvedValue({
+    session: { id: "sess-1", expiresAt: new Date(Date.now() + 1e6) },
+    user,
+  } as never);
+}
+
+describe("requireFreshMfa", () => {
+  it("passes for a cookie session verified within the window", async () => {
+    mockSession(MFA_USER);
+    vi.mocked(prisma.session.findUnique).mockResolvedValue({
+      mfaVerifiedAt: new Date(Date.now() - 60_000), // 1 min ago
+    } as never);
+
+    const ctx = await requireFreshMfa(MFA_STEP_UP_MAX_AGE_SECONDS);
+    expect(ctx.user.id).toBe("user-1");
+    expect(ctx.mfaVerifiedAt).toBeInstanceOf(Date);
+  });
+
+  it("rejects a stale verification (outside the window)", async () => {
+    mockSession(MFA_USER);
+    vi.mocked(prisma.session.findUnique).mockResolvedValue({
+      mfaVerifiedAt: new Date(Date.now() - 10 * 60_000), // 10 min ago
+    } as never);
+
+    await expect(requireFreshMfa(5 * 60)).rejects.toMatchObject({
+      name: "StepUpRequiredError",
+      errorCode: "auth.stepup.required",
+      statusCode: 401,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("rejects an absent verification stamp", async () => {
+    mockSession(MFA_USER);
+    vi.mocked(prisma.session.findUnique).mockResolvedValue({
+      mfaVerifiedAt: null,
+    } as never);
+
+    await expect(requireFreshMfa(5 * 60)).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(
+      StepUpRequiredError,
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("rejects a user without an active second factor", async () => {
+    mockSession({ ...MFA_USER, totpConfirmedAt: null });
+    await expect(requireFreshMfa(5 * 60)).rejects.toMatchObject({
+      errorCode: "auth.stepup.mfa_not_enrolled",
+    });
+    // Never even reaches the session-row read.
+    expect(prisma.session.findUnique).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("rejects when there is no cookie session — Bearer can never satisfy it", async () => {
+    // getSession is cookie-only; a Bearer header is irrelevant and never read.
+    headersGet.mockImplementation((n) =>
+      n.toLowerCase() === "authorization" ? "Bearer hlk_xyz" : null,
+    );
+    vi.mocked(getSession).mockResolvedValue(null as never);
+
+    await expect(requireFreshMfa(5 * 60)).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(HttpError);
+    expect(prisma.session.findUnique).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/lib/api-handler.ts b/src/lib/api-handler.ts
index 4733b9ac2..d0761558f 100644
--- a/src/lib/api-handler.ts
+++ b/src/lib/api-handler.ts
@@ -191,6 +191,21 @@ export function apiHandler<T extends (...args: any[]) => Promise<Response>>(
             },
             { status: 403 },
           );
+        } else if (error instanceof StepUpRequiredError) {
+          // v1.23 — step-up gate not satisfied. Same 401 + meta.errorCode
+          // envelope shape as the assistant/consent gates so the client can
+          // branch on the stable code and launch a re-verification flow.
+          // Checked before the generic HttpError branch because
+          // StepUpRequiredError extends it.
+          evt.setError(error);
+          response = NextResponse.json(
+            {
+              data: null,
+              error: error.message,
+              meta: { errorCode: error.errorCode },
+            },
+            { status: error.statusCode },
+          );
         } else if (error instanceof HttpError) {
           evt.setError(error);
           response = NextResponse.json(
@@ -441,6 +456,107 @@ export async function requireAdmin(): Promise<AuthContext> {
   return sessionData;
 }
 
+/**
+ * v1.23 — require a cookie-backed session, refusing Bearer tokens.
+ *
+ * Cookie-only by the same structural argument as `requireAdmin`: it resolves
+ * the session via `getSession()` (which reads only the session cookie) and
+ * never falls through to the Bearer branch. The second-factor management
+ * surfaces (TOTP enroll / confirm / disable / recovery-code regenerate) use
+ * this so an API token — even a wildcard one — can never enrol or tear down
+ * MFA on the account it belongs to. MFA management is a browser-only action.
+ */
+export async function requireCookieAuth(): Promise<AuthContext> {
+  const sessionData = await getSession();
+  if (!sessionData) throw new HttpError(401, "Not authenticated");
+
+  const evt = getEvent();
+  if (evt) {
+    evt.setAuth({
+      user_id: sessionData.user.id,
+      user_role: sessionData.user.role,
+      auth_method: "session",
+    });
+  }
+  return sessionData;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Error thrown when a step-up gate is not satisfied. Carries `errorCode` so
+ * the route can surface a stable machine code (`auth.stepup.required`) the
+ * client branches on to launch a re-verification flow rather than parsing
+ * prose.
+ */
+export class StepUpRequiredError extends HttpError {
+  constructor(
+    public errorCode: string = "auth.stepup.required",
+    message = "Recent second-factor verification required",
+  ) {
+    super(401, message);
+    this.name = "StepUpRequiredError";
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Default step-up freshness window (5 minutes) for sensitive mutations.
+ * Within the 5–15 min band OWASP recommends; tight end because the gated
+ * actions (disable MFA, regenerate codes, and later key rotation / export)
+ * are destructive.
+ */
+export const MFA_STEP_UP_MAX_AGE_SECONDS = 5 * 60;
+
+export type FreshMfaContext = AuthContext & { mfaVerifiedAt: Date };
+
+/**
+ * v1.23 — step-up gate. Passes only for a COOKIE session whose
+ * `Session.mfaVerifiedAt` is within `maxAgeSeconds` AND whose user has an
+ * active second factor (`totpConfirmedAt`). Throws `StepUpRequiredError`
+ * (401, `errorCode: "auth.stepup.required"`) otherwise.
+ *
+ * Bearer tokens can NEVER satisfy this — exactly like `requireAdmin`, the
+ * resolution path is `getSession()` (cookie-only) and there is no Bearer
+ * fall-through. A token transport carries no `mfaVerifiedAt` and cannot
+ * acquire one, so the boundary is structural, not a softenable runtime check.
+ *
+ * Consumed in Phase M by MFA disable + recovery-code regeneration; later
+ * waves gate account deletion, key rotation, and passphrase export on it.
+ */
+export async function requireFreshMfa(
+  maxAgeSeconds: number,
+): Promise<FreshMfaContext> {
+  const sessionData = await getSession();
+  if (!sessionData) throw new HttpError(401, "Not authenticated");
+
+  const evt = getEvent();
+  if (evt) {
+    evt.setAuth({
+      user_id: sessionData.user.id,
+      user_role: sessionData.user.role,
+      auth_method: "session",
+    });
+  }
+
+  // The user must actually have a second factor active. A single-factor
+  // account cannot produce a fresh-MFA proof, so step-up-gated actions are
+  // unreachable for it by design (the management UI gates enrolment first).
+  if (!sessionData.user.totpConfirmedAt) {
+    throw new StepUpRequiredError("auth.stepup.mfa_not_enrolled");
+  }
+
+  // Read the freshness stamp off the live session row — `getSession`'s
+  // projection intentionally omits it.
+  const row = await prisma.session.findUnique({
+    where: { id: sessionData.session.id },
+    select: { mfaVerifiedAt: true },
+  });
+  const verifiedAt = row?.mfaVerifiedAt ?? null;
+  if (!verifiedAt || verifiedAt.getTime() < Date.now() - maxAgeSeconds * 1000) {
+    throw new StepUpRequiredError();
+  }
+
+  return { ...sessionData, mfaVerifiedAt: verifiedAt };
+}
+
 /**
  * Report unhandled errors to GlitchTip (fire-and-forget).
  * Uses dynamic import to avoid circular dependencies and startup cost.
diff --git a/src/lib/auth/session.ts b/src/lib/auth/session.ts
index 34de657f2..7a2c73e77 100644
--- a/src/lib/auth/session.ts
+++ b/src/lib/auth/session.ts
@@ -58,6 +58,11 @@ export async function createSession(
   onboardingPending: boolean,
   ipAddress?: string | null,
   userAgent?: string | null,
+  // v1.23 — set when this session was minted behind a completed second
+  // factor (the `/api/auth/mfa/verify` path) or a fresh factor re-confirm.
+  // `requireFreshMfa` reads it for step-up freshness; a null value means
+  // "single-factor session" and never satisfies step-up.
+  mfaVerifiedAt?: Date | null,
 ): Promise<string> {
   const session = await prisma.session.create({
     data: {
@@ -65,6 +70,7 @@ export async function createSession(
       expiresAt: new Date(Date.now() + SESSION_MAX_AGE_MS),
       ipAddress: ipAddress ?? null,
       userAgent: userAgent ?? null,
+      mfaVerifiedAt: mfaVerifiedAt ?? null,
     },
   });