app/api/health/route.ts

@@ -245,9 +245,8 @@ async function probeStageOptionGroup(): Promise<CheckResult> {
 async function probeChecksumApi(): Promise<CheckResult> {
   // Tries to call validateChecksum with a deliberately invalid checksum.
   // If the API exists, we get back {valid: false} or similar — that's
-  // success for THIS check (the API responded). If the API doesn't exist
-  // we fall back to a Contact.get probe in verifyChecksum, which will
-  // also fail gracefully.
+  // success for THIS check (the API responded). If the API doesn't exist,
+  // verifyChecksum fails closed and every form link will be rejected.
   try {
     await civi("Contact", "validateChecksum", {
       contactId: 1,
@@ -266,7 +265,7 @@ async function probeChecksumApi(): Promise<CheckResult> {
       return {
         check: "contact_validate_checksum_api",
         ok: false,
-        detail: `validateChecksum action not present in this Civi version. The verifyChecksum() helper falls back to a Contact.get probe with cs param. Detail: ${msg}`,
+        detail: `validateChecksum action not present in this Civi version. verifyChecksum() fails closed, so every form link will be rejected until Civi is upgraded. Detail: ${msg}`,
       };
     }
     return {

lib/civicrm.ts

@@ -297,32 +297,29 @@ export async function civiMultipart<T = unknown>(
 }
 
 /**
- * Validate a contact checksum (cid + cs) against CiviCRM.
+ * Validate a contact checksum (cid + cs) against CiviCRM via APIv4
+ * Contact.validateChecksum.
  *
- * APIv4 exposes Contact.validateChecksum in newer Civi versions. For older
- * versions you may need to call Contact.get with the cs param and verify
- * the contact resolves. We use validateChecksum here and fall back to a
- * Contact.get probe if it returns a "missing API" error.
+ * Fails closed: any API error is treated as an invalid checksum. There is
+ * deliberately no fallback — our API key is privileged, so any probe that
+ * merely checks "does the contact resolve" would accept every checksum.
+ * /api/health confirms validateChecksum is available on the install.
  */
 export async function verifyChecksum(cid: string, cs: string): Promise<boolean> {
   if (isStubMode()) {
     // STUB: any non-empty cs is "valid" so the UI can be exercised locally.
     return Boolean(cid && cs);
   }
+  const contactId = Number(cid);
+  if (!Number.isSafeInteger(contactId) || contactId <= 0) return false;
   try {
     const res = await civi<{ valid: boolean }>("Contact", "validateChecksum", {
-      contactId: Number(cid),
+      contactId,
       checksum: cs,
     });
     return Boolean(res.values?.[0]?.valid);
   } catch (e) {
-    // Fallback: try Contact.get with the checksum as `cs` URL param. If the
-    // contact resolves, the checksum is valid.
-    const res = await civi<{ id: number }>("Contact", "get", {
-      where: [["id", "=", Number(cid)]],
-      select: ["id"],
-      checksum: cs,
-    });
-    return Array.isArray(res.values) && res.values.length === 1;
+    console.error("[civi] validateChecksum failed; treating as invalid:", e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e));
+    return false;
   }
 }