Chapter 6 Security

Table of Contents

6.1 General Security Issues
6.1.1 Security Guidelines
6.1.2 Keeping Passwords Secure
6.1.3 Making MySQL Secure Against Attackers
6.1.4 Security-Related mysqld Options and Variables
6.1.5 How to Run MySQL as a Normal User
6.1.6 Security Issues with LOAD DATA LOCAL
6.1.7 Client Programming Security Guidelines
6.2 The MySQL Access Privilege System
6.2.1 Privileges Provided by MySQL
6.2.2 Static Versus Dynamic Privileges
6.2.3 Grant Tables
6.2.4 Specifying Account Names
6.2.5 Specifying Role Names
6.2.6 Access Control, Stage 1: Connection Verification
6.2.7 Access Control, Stage 2: Request Verification
6.2.8 When Privilege Changes Take Effect
6.2.9 Troubleshooting Problems Connecting to MySQL
6.3 MySQL User Account Management
6.3.1 User Names and Passwords
6.3.2 Adding User Accounts
6.3.3 Removing User Accounts
6.3.4 Using Roles
6.3.5 Reserved User Accounts
6.3.6 Setting Account Resource Limits
6.3.7 Assigning Account Passwords
6.3.8 Password Expiration Policy
6.3.9 Password Expiration and Sandbox Mode
6.3.10 Pluggable Authentication
6.3.11 Proxy Users
6.3.12 User Account Locking
6.3.13 SQL-Based MySQL Account Activity Auditing
6.4 Using Encrypted Connections
6.4.1 Configuring MySQL to Use Encrypted Connections
6.4.2 Command Options for Encrypted Connections
6.4.3 Creating SSL and RSA Certificates and Keys
6.4.4 OpenSSL Versus yaSSL
6.4.5 Building MySQL with Support for Encrypted Connections
6.4.6 Encrypted Connection Protocols and Ciphers
6.4.7 Connecting to MySQL Remotely from Windows with SSH
6.5 Security Plugins
6.5.1 Authentication Plugins
6.5.2 The Connection-Control Plugins
6.5.3 The Password Validation Plugin
6.5.4 The MySQL Keyring

When thinking about security within a MySQL installation, you should consider a wide range of possible topics and how they affect the security of your MySQL server and related applications:

6.1 General Security Issues

This section describes general security issues to be aware of and what you can do to make your MySQL installation more secure against attack or misuse. For information specifically about the access control system that MySQL uses for setting up user accounts and checking database access, see Section 2.9, “Postinstallation Setup and Testing”.

For answers to some questions that are often asked about MySQL Server security issues, see Section A.9, “MySQL 8.0 FAQ: Security”.

6.1.1 Security Guidelines

Anyone using MySQL on a computer connected to the Internet should read this section to avoid the most common security mistakes.

In discussing security, it is necessary to consider fully protecting the entire server host (not just the MySQL server) against all types of applicable attacks: eavesdropping, altering, playback, and denial of service. We do not cover all aspects of availability and fault tolerance here.

MySQL uses security based on Access Control Lists (ACLs) for all connections, queries, and other operations that users can attempt to perform. There is also support for SSL-encrypted connections between MySQL clients and servers. Many of the concepts discussed here are not specific to MySQL at all; the same general ideas apply to almost all applications.

When running MySQL, follow these guidelines:

  • Do not ever give anyone (except MySQL root accounts) access to the user table in the mysql database! This is critical.

  • Learn how the MySQL access privilege system works (see Section 6.2, “The MySQL Access Privilege System”). Use the GRANT and REVOKE statements to control access to MySQL. Do not grant more privileges than necessary. Never grant privileges to all hosts.

    Checklist:

    • Try mysql -u root. If you are able to connect successfully to the server without being asked for a password, anyone can connect to your MySQL server as the MySQL root user with full privileges! Review the MySQL installation instructions, paying particular attention to the information about setting a root password. See Section 2.9.4, “Securing the Initial MySQL Account”.

    • Use the SHOW GRANTS statement to check which accounts have access to what. Then use the REVOKE statement to remove those privileges that are not necessary.

  • Do not store cleartext passwords in your database. If your computer becomes compromised, the intruder can take the full list of passwords and use them. Instead, use SHA2() or some other one-way hashing function and store the hash value.

    To prevent password recovery using rainbow tables, do not use these functions on a plain password; instead, choose some string to be used as a salt, and use hash(hash(password)+salt) values.

  • Do not choose passwords from dictionaries. Special programs exist to break passwords. Even passwords like xfish98 are very bad. Much better is duag98 which contains the same word fish but typed one key to the left on a standard QWERTY keyboard. Another method is to use a password that is taken from the first characters of each word in a sentence (for example, Four score and seven years ago results in a password of Fsasya). The password is easy to remember and type, but difficult to guess for someone who does not know the sentence. In this case, you can additionally substitute digits for the number words to obtain the phrase 4 score and 7 years ago, yielding the password 4sa7ya which is even more difficult to guess.

  • Invest in a firewall. This protects you from at least 50% of all types of exploits in any software. Put MySQL behind the firewall or in a demilitarized zone (DMZ).

    Checklist:

    • Try to scan your ports from the Internet using a tool such as nmap. MySQL uses port 3306 by default. This port should not be accessible from untrusted hosts. As a simple way to check whether your MySQL port is open, try the following command from some remote machine, where server_host is the host name or IP address of the host on which your MySQL server runs:

      shell> telnet server_host 3306
      

      If telnet hangs or the connection is refused, the port is blocked, which is how you want it to be. If you get a connection and some garbage characters, the port is open, and should be closed on your firewall or router, unless you really have a good reason to keep it open.

  • Applications that access MySQL should not trust any data entered by users, and should be written using proper defensive programming techniques. See Section 6.1.7, “Client Programming Security Guidelines”.

  • Do not transmit plain (unencrypted) data over the Internet. This information is accessible to everyone who has the time and ability to intercept it and use it for their own purposes. Instead, use an encrypted protocol such as SSL or SSH. MySQL supports internal SSL connections. Another technique is to use SSH port-forwarding to create an encrypted (and compressed) tunnel for the communication.

  • Learn to use the tcpdump and strings utilities. In most cases, you can check whether MySQL data streams are unencrypted by issuing a command like the following:

    shell> tcpdump -l -i eth0 -w - src or dst port 3306 | strings
    

    This works under Linux and should work with small modifications under other systems.

    Warning

    If you do not see cleartext data, this does not always mean that the information actually is encrypted. If you need high security, consult with a security expert.

6.1.2 Keeping Passwords Secure

Passwords occur in several contexts within MySQL. The following sections provide guidelines that enable end users and administrators to keep these passwords secure and avoid exposing them. In addition, the validate_password plugin can be used to enforce a policy on acceptable password. See Section 6.5.3, “The Password Validation Plugin”.

6.1.2.1 End-User Guidelines for Password Security

MySQL users should use the following guidelines to keep passwords secure.

When you run a client program to connect to the MySQL server, it is inadvisable to specify your password in a way that exposes it to discovery by other users. The methods you can use to specify your password when you run client programs are listed here, along with an assessment of the risks of each method. In short, the safest methods are to have the client program prompt for the password or to specify the password in a properly protected option file.

  • Use the mysql_config_editor utility, which enables you to store authentication credentials in an encrypted login path file named .mylogin.cnf. The file can be read later by MySQL client programs to obtain authentication credentials for connecting to MySQL Server. See Section 4.6.7, “mysql_config_editor — MySQL Configuration Utility”.

  • Use a -pyour_pass or --password=your_pass option on the command line. For example:

    shell> mysql -u francis -pfrank db_name
    

    This is convenient but insecure. On some systems, your password becomes visible to system status programs such as ps that may be invoked by other users to display command lines. MySQL clients typically overwrite the command-line password argument with zeros during their initialization sequence. However, there is still a brief interval during which the value is visible. Also, on some systems this overwriting strategy is ineffective and the password remains visible to ps. (SystemV Unix systems and perhaps others are subject to this problem.)

    If your operating environment is set up to display your current command in the title bar of your terminal window, the password remains visible as long as the command is running, even if the command has scrolled out of view in the window content area.

  • Use the -p or --password option on the command line with no password value specified. In this case, the client program solicits the password interactively:

    shell> mysql -u francis -p db_name
    Enter password: ********
    

    The * characters indicate where you enter your password. The password is not displayed as you enter it.

    It is more secure to enter your password this way than to specify it on the command line because it is not visible to other users. However, this method of entering a password is suitable only for programs that you run interactively. If you want to invoke a client from a script that runs noninteractively, there is no opportunity to enter the password from the keyboard. On some systems, you may even find that the first line of your script is read and interpreted (incorrectly) as your password.

  • Store your password in an option file. For example, on Unix, you can list your password in the [client] section of the .my.cnf file in your home directory:

    [client]
    password=your_pass
    

    To keep the password safe, the file should not be accessible to anyone but yourself. To ensure this, set the file access mode to 400 or 600. For example:

    shell> chmod 600 .my.cnf
    

    To name from the command line a specific option file containing the password, use the --defaults-file=file_name option, where file_name is the full path name to the file. For example:

    shell> mysql --defaults-file=/home/francis/mysql-opts
    

    Section 4.2.6, “Using Option Files”, discusses option files in more detail.

  • Store your password in the MYSQL_PWD environment variable. See Section 4.9, “MySQL Program Environment Variables”.

    This method of specifying your MySQL password must be considered extremely insecure and should not be used. Some versions of ps include an option to display the environment of running processes. On some systems, if you set MYSQL_PWD, your password is exposed to any other user who runs ps. Even on systems without such a version of ps, it is unwise to assume that there are no other methods by which users can examine process environments.

On Unix, the mysql client writes a record of executed statements to a history file (see Section 4.5.1.3, “mysql Logging”). By default, this file is named .mysql_history and is created in your home directory. Passwords can be written as plain text in SQL statements such as CREATE USER and ALTER USER, so if you use these statements, they are logged in the history file. To keep this file safe, use a restrictive access mode, the same way as described earlier for the .my.cnf file.

If your command interpreter is configured to maintain a history, any file in which the commands are saved will contain MySQL passwords entered on the command line. For example, bash uses ~/.bash_history. Any such file should have a restrictive access mode.

6.1.2.2 Administrator Guidelines for Password Security

Database administrators should use the following guidelines to keep passwords secure.

MySQL stores passwords for user accounts in the mysql.user table. Access to this table should never be granted to any nonadministrative accounts.

Account passwords can be expired so that users must reset them. See Section 6.3.8, “Password Expiration Policy”, and Section 6.3.9, “Password Expiration and Sandbox Mode”.

The validate_password plugin can be used to enforce a policy on acceptable password. See Section 6.5.3, “The Password Validation Plugin”.

A user who has access to modify the plugin directory (the value of the plugin_dir system variable) or the my.cnf file that specifies the plugin directory location can replace plugins and modify the capabilities provided by plugins, including authentication plugins.

Files such as log files to which passwords might be written should be protected. See Section 6.1.2.3, “Passwords and Logging”.

6.1.2.3 Passwords and Logging

Passwords can be written as plain text in SQL statements such as CREATE USER, GRANT, SET PASSWORD, and statements that invoke the PASSWORD() function. If such statements are logged by the MySQL server as written, passwords in them become visible to anyone with access to the logs.

Statement logging avoids writing passwords in cleartext for the following statements:

CREATE USER ... IDENTIFIED BY ...
ALTER USER ... IDENTIFIED BY ...
GRANT ... IDENTIFIED BY ...
SET PASSWORD ...
SLAVE START ... PASSWORD = ...
CREATE SERVER ... OPTIONS(... PASSWORD ...)
ALTER SERVER ... OPTIONS(... PASSWORD ...)

Passwords in those statements are rewritten to not appear literally in statement text written to the general query log, slow query log, and binary log. Rewriting does not apply to other statements. In particular, INSERT or UPDATE statements for the mysql.user table that refer to literal passwords are logged as is, so you should avoid such statements. (Direct manipulation of grant tables is discouraged, anyway.)

For the general query log, password rewriting can be suppressed by starting the server with the --log-raw option. For security reasons, this option is not recommended for production use. For diagnostic purposes, it may be useful to see the exact text of statements as received by the server.

Statements received by the server may be rewritten if a query rewrite plugin is installed (see Query Rewrite Plugins). In this case, the --log-raw option affects statement logging as follows:

  • Without --log-raw, the server logs the statement returned by the query rewrite plugin. This may differ from the statement as received.

  • With --log-raw, the server logs the original statement as received.

An implication of password rewriting is that statements that cannot be parsed (due, for example, to syntax errors) are not written to the general query log because they cannot be known to be password free. Use cases that require logging of all statements including those with errors should use the --log-raw option, bearing in mind that this also bypasses password rewriting.

Password rewriting occurs only when plain text passwords are expected. For statements with syntax that expect a password hash value, no rewriting occurs. If a plain text password is supplied erroneously for such syntax, the password is logged as given, without rewriting. For example, the following statement is logged as shown because a password hash value is expected:

CREATE USER 'user1'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY PASSWORD 'not-so-secret';

To guard log files against unwarranted exposure, locate them in a directory that restricts access to the server and the database administrator. If the server logs to tables in the mysql database, grant access to those tables only to the database administrator.

Replication slaves store the password for the replication master in the master info repository, which can be either a file or a table (see Section 18.2.4, “Replication Relay and Status Logs”). Ensure that the repository can be accessed only by the database administrator. An alternative to storing the password in a file is to use the START SLAVE statement to specify credentials for connecting to the master.

Use a restricted access mode to protect database backups that include log tables or log files containing passwords.

6.1.3 Making MySQL Secure Against Attackers

When you connect to a MySQL server, you should use a password. The password is not transmitted in clear text over the connection.

All other information is transferred as text, and can be read by anyone who is able to watch the connection. If the connection between the client and the server goes through an untrusted network, and you are concerned about this, you can use the compressed protocol to make traffic much more difficult to decipher. You can also use MySQL's internal SSL support to make the connection even more secure. See Section 6.4, “Using Encrypted Connections”. Alternatively, use SSH to get an encrypted TCP/IP connection between a MySQL server and a MySQL client. You can find an Open Source SSH client at http://www.openssh.org/, and a comparison of both Open Source and Commercial SSH clients at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_SSH_clients.

To make a MySQL system secure, you should strongly consider the following suggestions:

  • Require all MySQL accounts to have a password. A client program does not necessarily know the identity of the person running it. It is common for client/server applications that the user can specify any user name to the client program. For example, anyone can use the mysql program to connect as any other person simply by invoking it as mysql -u other_user db_name if other_user has no password. If all accounts have a password, connecting using another user's account becomes much more difficult.

    For a discussion of methods for setting passwords, see Section 6.3.7, “Assigning Account Passwords”.

  • Make sure that the only Unix user account with read or write privileges in the database directories is the account that is used for running mysqld.

  • Never run the MySQL server as the Unix root user. This is extremely dangerous, because any user with the FILE privilege is able to cause the server to create files as root (for example, ~root/.bashrc). To prevent this, mysqld refuses to run as root unless that is specified explicitly using the --user=root option.

    mysqld can (and should) be run as an ordinary, unprivileged user instead. You can create a separate Unix account named mysql to make everything even more secure. Use this account only for administering MySQL. To start mysqld as a different Unix user, add a user option that specifies the user name in the [mysqld] group of the my.cnf option file where you specify server options. For example:

    [mysqld]
    user=mysql
    

    This causes the server to start as the designated user whether you start it manually or by using mysqld_safe or mysql.server. For more details, see Section 6.1.5, “How to Run MySQL as a Normal User”.

    Running mysqld as a Unix user other than root does not mean that you need to change the root user name in the user table. User names for MySQL accounts have nothing to do with user names for Unix accounts.

  • Do not grant the FILE privilege to nonadministrative users. Any user that has this privilege can write a file anywhere in the file system with the privileges of the mysqld daemon. This includes the server's data directory containing the files that implement the privilege tables. To make FILE-privilege operations a bit safer, files generated with SELECT ... INTO OUTFILE do not overwrite existing files and are writable by everyone.

    The FILE privilege may also be used to read any file that is world-readable or accessible to the Unix user that the server runs as. With this privilege, you can read any file into a database table. This could be abused, for example, by using LOAD DATA to load /etc/passwd into a table, which then can be displayed with SELECT.

    To limit the location in which files can be read and written, set the secure_file_priv system to a specific directory. See Section 5.1.5, “Server System Variables”.

  • Do not grant the PROCESS or SUPER privilege to nonadministrative users. The output of mysqladmin processlist and SHOW PROCESSLIST shows the text of any statements currently being executed, so any user who is permitted to see the server process list might be able to see statements issued by other users such as UPDATE user SET password=PASSWORD('not_secure').

    mysqld reserves an extra connection for users who have the CONNECTION_ADMIN or SUPER privilege, so that a MySQL root user can log in and check server activity even if all normal connections are in use.

    The SUPER privilege can be used to terminate client connections, change server operation by changing the value of system variables, and control replication servers.

  • Do not permit the use of symlinks to tables. (This capability can be disabled with the --skip-symbolic-links option.) This is especially important if you run mysqld as root, because anyone that has write access to the server's data directory then could delete any file in the system! See Section 8.12.2.2, “Using Symbolic Links for MyISAM Tables on Unix”.

  • Stored programs and views should be written using the security guidelines discussed in Section 23.6, “Access Control for Stored Programs and Views”.

  • If you do not trust your DNS, you should use IP addresses rather than host names in the grant tables. In any case, you should be very careful about creating grant table entries using host name values that contain wildcards.

  • If you want to restrict the number of connections permitted to a single account, you can do so by setting the max_user_connections variable in mysqld. The GRANT statement also supports resource control options for limiting the extent of server use permitted to an account. See Section 13.7.1.6, “GRANT Syntax”.

  • If the plugin directory is writable by the server, it may be possible for a user to write executable code to a file in the directory using SELECT ... INTO DUMPFILE. This can be prevented by making plugin_dir read only to the server or by setting --secure-file-priv to a directory where SELECT writes can be made safely.

6.1.4 Security-Related mysqld Options and Variables

The following table shows mysqld options and system variables that affect security. For descriptions of each of these, see Section 5.1.4, “Server Command Options”, and Section 5.1.5, “Server System Variables”.

Table 6.1 Security Option/Variable Summary

NameCmd-LineOption FileSystem VarStatus VarVar ScopeDynamic
allow-suspicious-udfsYesYes    
automatic_sp_privileges  Yes GlobalYes
chrootYesYes    
des-key-fileYesYes    
local_infile  Yes GlobalYes
old_passwords  Yes BothYes
safe-user-createYesYes    
secure-authYesYes  GlobalYes
- Variable: secure_auth  Yes GlobalYes
secure-file-privYesYes  GlobalNo
- Variable: secure_file_priv  Yes GlobalNo
skip-grant-tablesYesYes    
skip-name-resolveYesYes  GlobalNo
- Variable: skip_name_resolve  Yes GlobalNo
skip-networkingYesYes  GlobalNo
- Variable: skip_networking  Yes GlobalNo
skip-show-databaseYesYes  GlobalNo
- Variable: skip_show_database  Yes GlobalNo

6.1.5 How to Run MySQL as a Normal User

On Windows, you can run the server as a Windows service using a normal user account.

On Linux, for installations performed using a MySQL repository or RPM packages, the MySQL server mysqld should be started by the local mysql operating system user. Starting by another operating system user is not supported by the init scripts that are included as part of the MySQL repositories.

On Unix (or Linux for installations performed using tar.gz packages) , the MySQL server mysqld can be started and run by any user. However, you should avoid running the server as the Unix root user for security reasons. To change mysqld to run as a normal unprivileged Unix user user_name, you must do the following:

  1. Stop the server if it is running (use mysqladmin shutdown).

  2. Change the database directories and files so that user_name has privileges to read and write files in them (you might need to do this as the Unix root user):

    shell> chown -R user_name /path/to/mysql/datadir
    

    If you do not do this, the server will not be able to access databases or tables when it runs as user_name.

    If directories or files within the MySQL data directory are symbolic links, chown -R might not follow symbolic links for you. If it does not, you will also need to follow those links and change the directories and files they point to.

  3. Start the server as user user_name. Another alternative is to start mysqld as the Unix root user and use the --user=user_name option. mysqld starts up, then switches to run as the Unix user user_name before accepting any connections.

  4. To start the server as the given user automatically at system startup time, specify the user name by adding a user option to the [mysqld] group of the /etc/my.cnf option file or the my.cnf option file in the server's data directory. For example:

    [mysqld]
    user=user_name
    

If your Unix machine itself is not secured, you should assign passwords to the MySQL root account in the grant tables. Otherwise, any user with a login account on that machine can run the mysql client with a --user=root option and perform any operation. (It is a good idea to assign passwords to MySQL accounts in any case, but especially so when other login accounts exist on the server host.) See Section 2.9.4, “Securing the Initial MySQL Account”.

6.1.6 Security Issues with LOAD DATA LOCAL

The LOAD DATA statement can load a file located on the server host, or, if the LOCAL keyword is specified, on the client host.

There are two potential security issues with the LOCAL version of LOAD DATA:

  • The transfer of the file from the client host to the server host is initiated by the MySQL server. In theory, a patched server could be built that would tell the client program to transfer a file of the server's choosing rather than the file named by the client in the LOAD DATA statement. Such a server could access any file on the client host to which the client user has read access. (A patched server could in fact reply with a file-transfer request to any statement, not just LOAD DATA LOCAL, so a more fundamental issue is that clients should not connect to untrusted servers.)

  • In a Web environment where the clients are connecting from a Web server, a user could use LOAD DATA LOCAL to read any files that the Web server process has read access to (assuming that a user could run any statement against the SQL server). In this environment, the client with respect to the MySQL server actually is the Web server, not a remote program being run by users who connect to the Web server.

To avoid LOAD DATA issues, clients should avoid using LOCAL. To avoid connecting to untrusted servers, clients can establish a secure connection and verify the server identity by connecting using the --ssl-mode=VERIFY_IDENTIFY option and the appropriate CA certificate.

To enable adminstrators and applications to manage the local data loading capability, LOCAL configuration works like this:

  • On the server side:

    • The local_infile system variable controls server-side LOCAL capability. Depending on the local_infile setting, the server refuses or permits local data loading by clients that have LOCAL enabled on the client side. By default, local_infile is disabled.

    • To explicitly cause the server to refuse or permit LOAD DATA LOCAL statements (regardless of how client programs and libraries are configured at build time or runtime), start mysqld with local_infile disabled or enabled, respectively. local_infile can also be set at runtime.

  • On the client side:

    • The ENABLED_LOCAL_INFILE CMake option controls the compiled-in default LOCAL capability for the MySQL client library. Clients that make no explicit arrangements therefore have LOCAL capability disabled or enabled according to the ENABLED_LOCAL_INFILE setting specified at MySQL build time.

      By default, the client library in MySQL binary distributions is compiled with ENABLED_LOCAL_INFILE disabled. If you compile MySQL from source, configure it with ENABLED_LOCAL_INFILE disabled or enabled based on whether clients that make no explicit arrangements should have LOCAL capability disabled or enabled, respectively.

    • Client programs that use the C API can control load data loading explicitly by invoking mysql_options() to disable or enable the MYSQL_OPT_LOCAL_INFILE option. See Section 27.7.7.50, “mysql_options()”.

    • For the mysql client, local data loading is disabled by default. To disable or enable it explicitly, use the --local-infile=0 or --local-infile[=1] option.

    • For the mysqlimport client, local data loading is disabled by default. To disable or enable it explicitly, use the --local=0 or --local[=1] option.

    • If you use LOAD DATA LOCAL in Perl scripts or other programs that read the [client] group from option files, you can add an local-infile option setting to that group. To prevent problems for programs that do not understand this option, specify it using the loose- prefix:

      [client]
      loose-local-infile=0
      

      or:

      [client]
      loose-local-infile=1
      
    • In all cases, successful use of a LOCAL load operation by a client also requires that the server permits it.

If LOCAL capability is disabled, on either the server or client side, a client that attempts to issue a LOAD DATA LOCAL statement receives the following error message:

ERROR 1148: The used command is not allowed with this MySQL version

6.1.7 Client Programming Security Guidelines

Applications that access MySQL should not trust any data entered by users, who can try to trick your code by entering special or escaped character sequences in Web forms, URLs, or whatever application you have built. Be sure that your application remains secure if a user enters something like ; DROP DATABASE mysql;. This is an extreme example, but large security leaks and data loss might occur as a result of hackers using similar techniques, if you do not prepare for them.

A common mistake is to protect only string data values. Remember to check numeric data as well. If an application generates a query such as SELECT * FROM table WHERE ID=234 when a user enters the value 234, the user can enter the value 234 OR 1=1 to cause the application to generate the query SELECT * FROM table WHERE ID=234 OR 1=1. As a result, the server retrieves every row in the table. This exposes every row and causes excessive server load. The simplest way to protect from this type of attack is to use single quotation marks around the numeric constants: SELECT * FROM table WHERE ID='234'. If the user enters extra information, it all becomes part of the string. In a numeric context, MySQL automatically converts this string to a number and strips any trailing nonnumeric characters from it.

Sometimes people think that if a database contains only publicly available data, it need not be protected. This is incorrect. Even if it is permissible to display any row in the database, you should still protect against denial of service attacks (for example, those that are based on the technique in the preceding paragraph that causes the server to waste resources). Otherwise, your server becomes unresponsive to legitimate users.

Checklist:

  • Enable strict SQL mode to tell the server to be more restrictive of what data values it accepts. See Section 5.1.8, “Server SQL Modes”.

  • Try to enter single and double quotation marks (' and ") in all of your Web forms. If you get any kind of MySQL error, investigate the problem right away.

  • Try to modify dynamic URLs by adding %22 ("), %23 (#), and %27 (') to them.

  • Try to modify data types in dynamic URLs from numeric to character types using the characters shown in the previous examples. Your application should be safe against these and similar attacks.

  • Try to enter characters, spaces, and special symbols rather than numbers in numeric fields. Your application should remove them before passing them to MySQL or else generate an error. Passing unchecked values to MySQL is very dangerous!

  • Check the size of data before passing it to MySQL.

  • Have your application connect to the database using a user name different from the one you use for administrative purposes. Do not give your applications any access privileges they do not need.

Many application programming interfaces provide a means of escaping special characters in data values. Properly used, this prevents application users from entering values that cause the application to generate statements that have a different effect than you intend:

  • MySQL C API: Use the mysql_real_escape_string_quote() API call.

  • MySQL++: Use the escape and quote modifiers for query streams.

  • PHP: Use either the mysqli or pdo_mysql extensions, and not the older ext/mysql extension. The preferred API's support the improved MySQL authentication protocol and passwords, as well as prepared statements with placeholders. See also Choosing an API.

    If the older ext/mysql extension must be used, then for escaping use the mysql_real_escape_string_quote() function and not mysql_escape_string() or addslashes() because only mysql_real_escape_string_quote() is character set-aware; the other functions can be bypassed when using (invalid) multibyte character sets.

  • Perl DBI: Use placeholders or the quote() method.

  • Ruby DBI: Use placeholders or the quote() method.

  • Java JDBC: Use a PreparedStatement object and placeholders.

Other programming interfaces might have similar capabilities.

6.2 The MySQL Access Privilege System

The primary function of the MySQL privilege system is to authenticate a user who connects from a given host and to associate that user with privileges on a database such as SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE. Additional functionality includes the ability to have anonymous users and to grant privileges for MySQL-specific functions such as LOAD DATA INFILE and administrative operations.

There are some things that you cannot do with the MySQL privilege system:

  • You cannot explicitly specify that a given user should be denied access. That is, you cannot explicitly match a user and then refuse the connection.

  • You cannot specify that a user has privileges to create or drop tables in a database but not to create or drop the database itself.

  • A password applies globally to an account. You cannot associate a password with a specific object such as a database, table, or routine.

The user interface to the MySQL privilege system consists of SQL statements such as CREATE USER, GRANT, and REVOKE. See Section 13.7.1, “Account Management Statements”.

Internally, the server stores privilege information in the grant tables of the mysql database (that is, in the database named mysql). The MySQL server reads the contents of these tables into memory when it starts and bases access-control decisions on the in-memory copies of the grant tables.

The MySQL privilege system ensures that all users may perform only the operations permitted to them. As a user, when you connect to a MySQL server, your identity is determined by the host from which you connect and the user name you specify. When you issue requests after connecting, the system grants privileges according to your identity and what you want to do.

MySQL considers both your host name and user name in identifying you because there is no reason to assume that a given user name belongs to the same person on all hosts. For example, the user joe who connects from office.example.com need not be the same person as the user joe who connects from home.example.com. MySQL handles this by enabling you to distinguish users on different hosts that happen to have the same name: You can grant one set of privileges for connections by joe from office.example.com, and a different set of privileges for connections by joe from home.example.com. To see what privileges a given account has, use the SHOW GRANTS statement. For example:

SHOW GRANTS FOR 'joe'@'office.example.com';
SHOW GRANTS FOR 'joe'@'home.example.com';

MySQL access control involves two stages when you run a client program that connects to the server:

Stage 1: The server accepts or rejects the connection based on your identity and whether you can verify your identity by supplying the correct password.

Stage 2: Assuming that you can connect, the server checks each statement you issue to determine whether you have sufficient privileges to perform it. For example, if you try to select rows from a table in a database or drop a table from the database, the server verifies that you have the SELECT privilege for the table or the DROP privilege for the database.

For a more detailed description of what happens during each stage, see Section 6.2.6, “Access Control, Stage 1: Connection Verification”, and Section 6.2.7, “Access Control, Stage 2: Request Verification”.

If your privileges are changed (either by yourself or someone else) while you are connected, those changes do not necessarily take effect immediately for the next statement that you issue. For details about the conditions under which the server reloads the grant tables, see Section 6.2.8, “When Privilege Changes Take Effect”.

For general security-related advice, see Section 6.1, “General Security Issues”. For help in diagnosing privilege-related problems, see Section 6.2.9, “Troubleshooting Problems Connecting to MySQL”.

6.2.1 Privileges Provided by MySQL

The privileges granted to a MySQL account determine which operations the account can perform. MySQL privileges differ in the contexts in which they apply and at different levels of operation:

  • Administrative privileges enable users to manage operation of the MySQL server. These privileges are global because they are not specific to a particular database.

  • Database privileges apply to a database and to all objects within it. These privileges can be granted for specific databases, or globally so that they apply to all databases.

  • Privileges for database objects such as tables, indexes, views, and stored routines can be granted for specific objects within a database, for all objects of a given type within a database (for example, all tables in a database), or globally for all objects of a given type in all databases).

Privileges also differ in terms of whether they are static (built in to the server) or dynamic (defined at runtime). Whether a privilege is static or dynamic affects its availability to be granted to user accounts and roles. See Section 6.2.2, “Static Versus Dynamic Privileges”.

Information about account privileges is stored in the user, db, tables_priv, columns_priv, procs_priv, and global_grants tables in the mysql system database (see Section 6.2.3, “Grant Tables”). The MySQL server reads the contents of these tables into memory when it starts and reloads them under the circumstances indicated in Section 6.2.8, “When Privilege Changes Take Effect”. Access-control decisions are based on the in-memory copies of the grant tables.

Some MySQL releases introduce changes to the structure of the grant tables to add new privileges or features. To make sure that you can take advantage of any new capabilities, update your grant tables to have the current structure whenever you upgrade MySQL. See Section 4.4.5, “mysql_upgrade — Check and Upgrade MySQL Tables”.

The following tables show the static and dynamic privilege names used in GRANT and REVOKE statements, along with the column name associated with each privilege in the grant tables and the context in which the privilege applies.

Table 6.2 Permissible Static Privileges for GRANT and REVOKE

PrivilegeColumnContext
ALL [PRIVILEGES]Synonym for all privilegesServer administration
ALTERAlter_privTables
ALTER ROUTINEAlter_routine_privStored routines
CREATECreate_privDatabases, tables, or indexes
CREATE ROLECreate_role_privServer administration
CREATE ROUTINECreate_routine_privStored routines
CREATE TABLESPACECreate_tablespace_privServer administration
CREATE TEMPORARY TABLESCreate_tmp_table_privTables
CREATE USERCreate_user_privServer administration
CREATE VIEWCreate_view_privViews
DELETEDelete_privTables
DROPDrop_privDatabases, tables, or views
DROP ROLEDrop_role_privServer administration
EVENTEvent_privDatabases
EXECUTEExecute_privStored routines
FILEFile_privFile access on server host
GRANT OPTIONGrant_privDatabases, tables, or stored routines
INDEXIndex_privTables
INSERTInsert_privTables or columns
LOCK TABLESLock_tables_privDatabases
PROCESSProcess_privServer administration
PROXYSee proxies_priv tableServer administration
REFERENCESReferences_privDatabases or tables
RELOADReload_privServer administration
REPLICATION CLIENTRepl_client_privServer administration
REPLICATION SLAVERepl_slave_privServer administration
SELECTSelect_privTables or columns
SHOW DATABASESShow_db_privServer administration
SHOW VIEWShow_view_privViews
SHUTDOWNShutdown_privServer administration
SUPERSuper_privServer administration
TRIGGERTrigger_privTables
UPDATEUpdate_privTables or columns
USAGESynonym for no privilegesServer administration

Table 6.3 Permissible Dynamic Privileges for GRANT and REVOKE

PrivilegeColumnContext
AUDIT_ADMINSee global_grants tableServer administration
BINLOG_ADMINSee global_grants tableServer administration
CONNECTION_ADMINSee global_grants tableServer administration
ENCRYPTION_KEY_ADMINSee global_grants tableServer administration
FIREWALL_ADMINSee global_grants tableServer administration
FIREWALL_USERSee global_grants tableServer administration
GROUP_REPLICATION_ADMINSee global_grants tableServer administration
PERSIST_RO_VARIABLES_ADMINSee global_grants tableServer administration
REPLICATION_SLAVE_ADMINSee global_grants tableServer administration
ROLE_ADMINSee global_grants tableServer administration
SET_USER_IDSee global_grants tableServer administration
SYSTEM_VARIABLES_ADMINSee global_grants tableServer administration
VERSION_TOKEN_ADMINSee global_grants tableServer administration
XA_RECOVER_ADMINSee global_grants tableServer administration

It is a good idea to grant to an account only those privileges that it needs. You should exercise particular caution in granting the FILE and administrative privileges:

  • The FILE privilege can be abused to read into a database table any files that the MySQL server can read on the server host. This includes all world-readable files and files in the server's data directory. The table can then be accessed using SELECT to transfer its contents to the client host.

  • The GRANT OPTION privilege enables users to give their privileges to other users. Two users that have different privileges and with the GRANT OPTION privilege are able to combine privileges.

  • The ALTER privilege may be used to subvert the privilege system by renaming tables.

  • The SHUTDOWN privilege can be abused to deny service to other users entirely by terminating the server.

  • The PROCESS privilege can be used to view the plain text of currently executing statements, including statements that set or change passwords.

  • The SUPER privilege can be used to terminate other sessions or change how the server operates.

  • Privileges granted for the mysql database itself can be used to change passwords and other access privilege information. Passwords are stored encrypted, so a malicious user cannot simply read them to know the plain text password. However, a user with write access to the user table authentication_string column can change an account's password, and then connect to the MySQL server using that account.

    The SELECT privilege is also needed for tables or views being used with EXPLAIN, including any underlying tables of views.

The following sections provide general descriptions of the static and dynamic privileges available in MySQL. (For information about the differences between these two types of privileges, see Section 6.2.2, “Static Versus Dynamic Privileges”.) Particular SQL statements might have more specific privilege requirements than indicated here. If so, the description for the statement in question provides the details.

Static Privileges

Static privileges are built in to the server, in contrast to dynamic privileges, which are defined at runtime. The following list describes the static privileges available in MySQL.

  • The ALL or ALL PRIVILEGES privilege specifier is shorthand. It stands for all privileges available at a given privilege level (except GRANT OPTION). For example, granting ALL at the global or table level grants all global privileges or all table-level privileges.

  • The ALTER privilege enables use of the ALTER TABLE statement to change the structure of tables. ALTER TABLE also requires the CREATE and INSERT privileges. Renaming a table requires ALTER and DROP on the old table, CREATE, and INSERT on the new table.

  • The ALTER ROUTINE privilege is needed to alter or drop stored routines (procedures and functions).

  • The CREATE privilege enables creation of new databases and tables.

  • The CREATE ROLE privilege enables use of the CREATE ROLE statement. (The CREATE USER privilege also enables use of the CREATE ROLE statement.)

  • The CREATE ROUTINE privilege is needed to create stored routines (procedures and functions).

  • The CREATE TABLESPACE privilege is needed to create, alter, or drop tablespaces and log file groups.

  • The CREATE TEMPORARY TABLES privilege enables the creation of temporary tables using the CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE statement.

    After a session has created a temporary table, the server performs no further privilege checks on the table. The creating session can perform any operation on the table, such as DROP TABLE, INSERT, UPDATE, or SELECT. For more information, see Section 13.1.16.3, “CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE Syntax”.

  • The CREATE USER privilege enables use of the ALTER USER, CREATE ROLE, CREATE USER, DROP ROLE, DROP USER, RENAME USER, and REVOKE ALL PRIVILEGES statements.

  • The CREATE VIEW privilege enables use of the CREATE VIEW statement.

  • The DELETE privilege enables rows to be deleted from tables in a database.

  • The DROP privilege enables you to drop (remove) existing databases, tables, and views. The DROP privilege is required in order to use the statement ALTER TABLE ... DROP PARTITION on a partitioned table. The DROP privilege is also required for TRUNCATE TABLE. If you grant the DROP privilege for the mysql database to a user, that user can drop the database in which the MySQL access privileges are stored.

  • The DROP ROLE privilege enables use of the DROP ROLE statement. (The CREATE USER privilege also enables use of the DROP ROLE statement.)

  • The EVENT privilege is required to create, alter, drop, or see events for the Event Scheduler.

  • The EXECUTE privilege is required to execute stored routines (procedures and functions).

  • The FILE privilege gives you permission to read and write files on the server host using the LOAD DATA INFILE and SELECT ... INTO OUTFILE statements and the LOAD_FILE() function. A user who has the FILE privilege can read any file on the server host that is either world-readable or readable by the MySQL server. (This implies the user can read any file in any database directory, because the server can access any of those files.) The FILE privilege also enables the user to create new files in any directory where the MySQL server has write access. This includes the server's data directory containing the files that implement the privilege tables. As a security measure, the server will not overwrite existing files. The FILE privilege is required to use the DATA DIRECTORY or INDEX DIRECTORY table option for the CREATE TABLE statement.

    To limit the location in which files can be read and written, set the secure_file_priv system to a specific directory. See Section 5.1.5, “Server System Variables”.

  • The GRANT OPTION privilege enables you to give to other users or remove from other users those privileges that you yourself possess.

  • The INDEX privilege enables you to create or drop (remove) indexes. INDEX applies to existing tables. If you have the CREATE privilege for a table, you can include index definitions in the CREATE TABLE statement.

  • The INSERT privilege enables rows to be inserted into tables in a database. INSERT is also required for the ANALYZE TABLE, OPTIMIZE TABLE, and REPAIR TABLE table-maintenance statements.

  • The LOCK TABLES privilege enables the use of explicit LOCK TABLES statements to lock tables for which you have the SELECT privilege. This includes the use of write locks, which prevents other sessions from reading the locked table.

  • The PROCESS privilege pertains to display of information about the threads executing within the server (that is, information about the statements being executed by sessions). The privilege enables use of SHOW PROCESSLIST or mysqladmin processlist to see threads belonging to other accounts; you can always see your own threads. The PROCESS privilege also enables use of SHOW ENGINE.

  • The PROXY privilege enables a user to impersonate or become known as another user. See Section 6.3.11, “Proxy Users”.

  • The creation of a foreign key constraint requires the REFERENCES privilege for the parent table.

  • The RELOAD privilege enables use of the FLUSH statement. It also enables mysqladmin commands that are equivalent to FLUSH operations: flush-hosts, flush-logs, flush-privileges, flush-status, flush-tables, flush-threads, refresh, and reload.

    The reload command tells the server to reload the grant tables into memory. flush-privileges is a synonym for reload. The refresh command closes and reopens the log files and flushes all tables. The other flush-xxx commands perform functions similar to refresh, but are more specific and may be preferable in some instances. For example, if you want to flush just the log files, flush-logs is a better choice than refresh.

  • The REPLICATION CLIENT privilege enables the use of the SHOW MASTER STATUS, SHOW SLAVE STATUS, and SHOW BINARY LOGS statements.

  • The REPLICATION SLAVE privilege should be granted to accounts that are used by slave servers to connect to the current server as their master. Without this privilege, the slave cannot request updates that have been made to databases on the master server.

  • The SELECT privilege enables you to select rows from tables in a database. SELECT statements require the SELECT privilege only if they actually retrieve rows from a table. Some SELECT statements do not access tables and can be executed without permission for any database. For example, you can use SELECT as a simple calculator to evaluate expressions that make no reference to tables:

    SELECT 1+1;
    SELECT PI()*2;
    

    The SELECT privilege is also needed for other statements that read column values. For example, SELECT is needed for columns referenced on the right hand side of col_name=expr assignment in UPDATE statements or for columns named in the WHERE clause of DELETE or UPDATE statements.

  • The SHOW DATABASES privilege enables the account to see database names by issuing the SHOW DATABASE statement. Accounts that do not have this privilege see only databases for which they have some privileges, and cannot use the statement at all if the server was started with the --skip-show-database option. Note that any global privilege is a privilege for the database.

  • The SHOW VIEW privilege enables use of the SHOW CREATE VIEW statement. This privilege is also needed for views being used with EXPLAIN.

  • The SHUTDOWN privilege enables use of the SHUTDOWN statement, the mysqladmin shutdown command, and the mysql_shutdown() C API function.

  • The SUPER privilege enables these operations and server behaviors:

    You may also need the SUPER privilege to create or alter stored functions if binary logging is enabled, as described in Section 23.7, “Binary Logging of Stored Programs”.

  • The TRIGGER privilege enables trigger operations. You must have this privilege for a table to create, drop, execute, or display triggers for that table.

    When a trigger is activated (by a user who has privileges to execute INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statements for the table associated with the trigger), trigger execution requires that the user who defined the trigger still have the TRIGGER privilege.

  • The UPDATE privilege enables rows to be updated in tables in a database.

  • The USAGE privilege specifier stands for no privileges. It is used at the global level with GRANT to modify account attributes such as resource limits or SSL characteristics without naming specific account privileges. SHOW GRANTS displays USAGE to indicate that an account has no privileges at a privilege level.

Dynamic Privileges

Dynamic privileges are defined at runtime, in contrast to static privileges, which are built in to the server. The following list describes the dynamic privileges available in MySQL.

  • AUDIT_ADMIN: Enables audit log configuration.

  • BINLOG_ADMIN: Enables binary log control by means of the PURGE BINARY LOGS and BINLOG statements. Defined at server startup.

  • CONNECTION_ADMIN: Enables setting system variables related to client connections, or circumventing restrictions related to client connections. Defined at server startup.

    CONNECTION_ADMIN applies to the effects of these system variables:

  • ENCRYPTION_KEY_ADMIN: Enables InnoDB encryption key rotation. Defined at server startup.

  • FIREWALL_ADMIN: Enables a user to administer firewall rules for any user.

  • FIREWALL_USER: Enables users to update their own firewall rules.

  • GROUP_REPLICATION_ADMIN: On a slave server, enables starting and stopping Group Replication. Defined at server startup.

  • PERSIST_RO_VARIABLES_ADMIN: Enables use of SET PERSIST_ONLY to persist global system variables to the mysqld-auto.cnf option file in the data directory. This statement is similar to SET PERSIST but does not modify the runtime global system variable value, making it suitable for configuring read-only system variables that can be set only at server startup. Defined at server startup.

  • REPLICATION_SLAVE_ADMIN: On a slave server, enables connecting to and disconnecting from the master server, starting and stopping replication, and use of the CHANGE MASTER TO and CHANGE REPLICATION FILTER statements. Defined at server startup. This privilege does not apply to Group Replication; use GROUP_REPLICATION_ADMIN for that.

  • ROLE_ADMIN: Enables use of the WITH ADMIN OPTION clause of the GRANT statement. Enables nonempty <graphml> element content in the result from the ROLES_GRAPHML() function. Defined at server startup.

  • SET_USER_ID: Enables setting the effective authorization ID when executing a view or stored program. A user with this privilege can specify any account in the DEFINER attribute of a view or stored program. Defined at server startup.

  • SYSTEM_VARIABLES_ADMIN: Enables configuration changes by modifying or persisting global system variables. For some system variables, setting the session value also requires the SYSTEM_VARIABLES_ADMIN privilege; if so, it is indicated in the variable description. Examples include binlog_format, sql_log_bin, and sql_log_off. Defined at server startup.

  • VERSION_TOKEN_ADMIN: Enables execution of Version Tokens user-defined functions. Defined by the version_tokens plugin; see Section 5.6.4, “Version Tokens”.

  • XA_RECOVER_ADMIN: Enables execution of the XA RECOVER statement; see Section 13.3.7.1, “XA Transaction SQL Syntax”. Defined at server startup.

    Prior to MySQL 8.0, any user could execute the XA RECOVER statement to discover the XID values for outstanding prepared XA transactions, possibly leading to commit or rollback of an XA transaction by a user other than the one who started it. In MySQL 8.0, XA RECOVER is permitted only to users who have the XA_RECOVER_ADMIN privilege, which is expected to be granted only to administrative users who have need for it. This might be the case, for example, for administrators of an XA application if it has crashed and it is necessary to find outstanding transactions started by the application so they can be rolled back. This privilege requirement prevents users from discovering the XID values for outstanding prepared XA transactions other than their own. It does not affect normal commit or rollback of an XA transaction because the user who started it knows its XID.

6.2.2 Static Versus Dynamic Privileges

MySQL supports static and dynamic privileges:

  • Static privileges are built in to the server. They are always available to be granted to user accounts and cannot be unregistered.

  • Dynamic privileges can be registered and unregistered at runtime. This affects their availability: A dynamic privilege that has not been registered cannot be granted.

For example, the SELECT and INSERT privileges are static and always available, whereas a dynamic privilege becomes available only if the server component that implements it has been enabled.

The remainder of this section describes how dynamic privileges work in MySQL. The discussion uses the term components but applies equally to plugins.

Note

Server administrators should be aware of which server components define dynamic privileges. For MySQL distributions, documentation of components that define dynamic privileges describes those privileges.

Third-party components may also define dynamic privileges; an administrator should understand those privileges and not install components that might conflict or compromise server operation. For example, one component conflicts with another if both define a privilege with the same name. Component developers can reduce the likelihood of this occurrence by choosing privilege names having a prefix based on the component name.

The server maintains the set of registered dynamic privileges internally in memory. Unregistration occurs at server shutdown.

Normally, a server component that defines dynamic privileges registers them when it is installed, during its initialization sequence. When uninstalled, a server component does not unregister its registered dynamic privileges. (This is current practice, not a requirement. That is, components could, but do not, unregister at any time privileges they register.)

No warning or error occurs for attempts to register an already registered dynamic privilege. Consider the following sequence of statements:

INSTALL COMPONENT 'my_component';
UNINSTALL COMPONENT 'my_component';
INSTALL COMPONENT 'my_component';

The first INSTALL COMPONENT statement registers any privileges defined by server component my_component, but UNINSTALL COMPONENT does not unregister them. For the second INSTALL COMPONENT statement, the component privileges it registers are found to be already registered, but no warnings or errors occur.

Dynamic privileges apply only at the global level. The server stores information about current assignments of dynamic privileges to user accounts in the mysql.global_grants system table:

  • The server automatically registers privileges named in global_grants during server startup (unless the --skip-grant-tables option is given).

  • The GRANT and REVOKE statements modify the contents of global_grants.

  • Dynamic privilege assignments listed in global_grants are persistent. They are not removed at server shutdown.

Example: The following statement grants to user u1 the privileges required to control replication (including Group Replication) on a slave server, and to modify system variables:

GRANT REPLICATION_SLAVE_ADMIN, GROUP_REPLICATION_ADMIN, BINLOG_ADMIN
ON *.* TO 'u1'@'localhost';

Granted dynamic privileges appear in the output from the SHOW GRANTS statement and the INFORMATION_SCHEMA USER_PRIVILEGES table.

For GRANT and REVOKE at the global level, any named privileges not recognized as static are checked against the current set of registered dynamic privileges and granted if found. Otherwise, an error occurs to indicate an unknown privilege identifier.

For GRANT and REVOKE the meaning of ALL [PRIVILEGES] at the global level includes all static global privileges, as well as all currently registered dynamic privileges:

  • GRANT ALL at the global level grants all static global privileges and all currently registered dynamic privileges. A dynamic privilege registered subsequent to execution of the GRANT statement is not granted retroactively to any account.

  • REVOKE ALL at the global level revokes all granted static global privileges and all granted dynamic privileges.

The FLUSH PRIVILEGES statement reads the global_grants table for dynamic privilege assignments and registers any unregistered privileges found there.

For descriptions of the dynamic privileges provided by MySQL Server and server components included in MySQL distributions, see Section 6.2.1, “Privileges Provided by MySQL”.

Migrating Accounts from SUPER to Dynamic Privileges

In MySQL 8.0, many operations that previously required the SUPER privilege are also associated with a dynamic privilege of more limited scope. (For descriptions of these privileges, see Section 6.2.1, “Privileges Provided by MySQL”.) Each such operation can be permitted to an account by granting the associated dynamic privilege rather than SUPER. This change improves security by enabling DBAs to avoid granting SUPER and tailor user privileges more closely to the operations permitted. SUPER is now deprecated and will be removed in a future version of MySQL.

When removal of SUPER occurs, operations that formerly required SUPER will fail unless accounts granted SUPER are migrated to the appropriate dynamic privileges. Use the following instructions to accomplish that goal so that accounts are ready prior to SUPER removal:

  1. Execute this query to identify accounts that are granted SUPER:

    SELECT GRANTEE FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.USER_PRIVILEGES
    WHERE PRIVILEGE_TYPE = 'SUPER';
    
  2. For each account identified by the preceding query, determine the operations for which it needs SUPER. Then grant the dynamic privileges corresponding to those operations, and revoke SUPER.

    For example, if 'u1'@'localhost' requires SUPER for binary log purging and system variable modification, these statements make the required changes to the account:

    GRANT BINLOG_ADMIN, SYSTEM_VARIABLES_ADMIN ON *.* TO 'u1'@'localhost';
    REVOKE SUPER ON *.* FROM 'u1'@'localhost';
    

    After you have modified all applicable accounts, the INFORMATION_SCHEMA query in the first step should produce an empty result set.

6.2.3 Grant Tables

The mysql system database includes several grant tables that contain information about user accounts and the privileges held by them. This section describes those tables. For information about other tables in the system database, see Section 5.3, “The mysql System Database”.

Normally, to manipulate the contents of grant tables, you modify them indirectly by using account-management statements such as CREATE USER, GRANT, and REVOKE to set up accounts and control the privileges available to each one. See Section 13.7.1, “Account Management Statements”. The discussion here describes the underlying structure of the grant tables and how the server uses their contents when interacting with clients.

Note

Direct modification of grant tables using statements such as INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE is discouraged and done at your own risk. The server is free to ignore rows that become malformed as a result of such modifications.

For any operation that modifies a grant table, the server checks whether the table has the expected structure and produces an error if not. mysql_upgrade must be run to update the tables to the expected structure.

These mysql database tables contain grant information:

  • user: User accounts, global privileges, and other non-privilege columns

  • global_grants: Assignments of dynamic global privileges to users; see Section 6.2.2, “Static Versus Dynamic Privileges”.

  • db: Database-level privileges

  • tables_priv: Table-level privileges

  • columns_priv: Column-level privileges

  • procs_priv: Stored procedure and function privileges

  • proxies_priv: Proxy-user privileges

  • default_roles: Default user roles

  • role_edges: Edges for role subgraphs

In MySQL 8.0, grant tables use the InnoDB storage engine and are transactional. Before MySQL 8.0, grant tables used the MyISAM storage engine and were nontransactional. This change of grant table storage engine enables an accompanying change to the behavior of account-management statements such as CREATE USER or GRANT. Previously, an account-management statement that named multiple users could succeed for some users and fail for others. Now, each statement is transactional and either succeeds for all named users or rolls back and has no effect if any error occurs.

Each grant table contains scope columns and privilege columns:

  • Scope columns determine the scope of each row in the tables; that is, the context in which the row applies. For example, a user table row with Host and User values of 'thomas.loc.gov' and 'bob' applies to authenticating connections made to the server from the host thomas.loc.gov by a client that specifies a user name of bob. Similarly, a db table row with Host, User, and Db column values of 'thomas.loc.gov', 'bob' and 'reports' applies when bob connects from the host thomas.loc.gov to access the reports database. The tables_priv and columns_priv tables contain scope columns indicating tables or table/column combinations to which each row applies. The procs_priv scope columns indicate the stored routine to which each row applies.

  • Privilege columns indicate which privileges a table row grants; that is, which operations it permits to be performed. The server combines the information in the various grant tables to form a complete description of a user's privileges. Section 6.2.7, “Access Control, Stage 2: Request Verification”, describes the rules for this.

The server uses the grant tables in the following manner:

  • The user table scope columns determine whether to reject or permit incoming connections. For permitted connections, any privileges granted in the user table indicate the user's global privileges. Any privileges granted in this table apply to all databases on the server.

    Caution

    Because any global privilege is considered a privilege for all databases, any global privilege enables a user to see all database names with SHOW DATABASES or by examining the SCHEMATA table of INFORMATION_SCHEMA.

  • The db table scope columns determine which users can access which databases from which hosts. The privilege columns determine the permitted operations. A privilege granted at the database level applies to the database and to all objects in the database, such as tables and stored programs.

  • The tables_priv and columns_priv tables are similar to the db table, but are more fine-grained: They apply at the table and column levels rather than at the database level. A privilege granted at the table level applies to the table and to all its columns. A privilege granted at the column level applies only to a specific column.

  • The procs_priv table applies to stored routines (procedures and functions). A privilege granted at the routine level applies only to a single procedure or function.

  • The proxies_priv table indicates which users can act as proxies for other users and whether a user can grant the PROXY privilege to other users.

The server uses the user and db tables in the mysql database at both the first and second stages of access control (see Section 6.2, “The MySQL Access Privilege System”). The columns in the user and db tables are shown here.

Table 6.4 user and db Table Columns

Table Nameuserdb
Scope columnsHostHost
 UserDb
  User
Privilege columnsSelect_privSelect_priv
 Insert_privInsert_priv
 Update_privUpdate_priv
 Delete_privDelete_priv
 Index_privIndex_priv
 Alter_privAlter_priv
 Create_privCreate_priv
 Drop_privDrop_priv
 Grant_privGrant_priv
 Create_view_privCreate_view_priv
 Show_view_privShow_view_priv
 Create_routine_privCreate_routine_priv
 Alter_routine_privAlter_routine_priv
 Execute_privExecute_priv
 Trigger_privTrigger_priv
 Event_privEvent_priv
 Create_tmp_table_privCreate_tmp_table_priv
 Lock_tables_privLock_tables_priv
 References_privReferences_priv
 Reload_priv 
 Shutdown_priv 
 Process_priv 
 File_priv 
 Show_db_priv 
 Super_priv 
 Repl_slave_priv 
 Repl_client_priv 
 Create_user_priv 
 Create_tablespace_priv 
 Create_role_priv 
 Drop_role_priv 
Security columnsssl_type 
 ssl_cipher 
 x509_issuer 
 x509_subject 
 plugin 
 authentication_string 
 password_expired 
 password_last_changed 
 password_lifetime 
 account_locked 
Resource control columnsmax_questions 
 max_updates 
 max_connections 
 max_user_connections 

The user table plugin and authentication_string columns store authentication plugin and credential information.

The server uses the plugin named in the plugin column of an account row to authenticate connection attempts for the account.

The plugin column must be nonempty. At startup, and at runtime when FLUSH PRIVILEGES is executed, the server checks user table rows. For any row with an empty plugin column, the server writes a warning to the error log of this form:

[Warning] User entry 'user_name'@'host_name' has an empty plugin
value. The user will be ignored and no one can login with this user
anymore.

The password_expired column permits DBAs to expire account passwords and require users to reset their password. The default password_expired value is 'N', but can be set to 'Y' with the ALTER USER statement. After an account's password has been expired, all operations performed by the account in subsequent connections to the server result in an error until the user issues an ALTER USER statement to establish a new account password.

It is possible after password expiration to reset a password by setting it to its current value. As a matter of good policy, it is preferable to choose a different password.

password_last_changed is a TIMESTAMP column indicating when the password was last changed. The value is non-NULL only for accounts that use MySQL built-in authentication methods (accounts that use an authentication plugin of mysql_native_password or sha256_password). The value is NULL for other accounts, such as those authenticated using an external authentication system.

password_last_changed is updated by the CREATE USER, ALTER USER, and SET PASSWORD statements, and by GRANT statements that create an account or change an account password.

password_lifetime indicates the account password lifetime, in days. If the password is past its lifetime (assessed using the password_last_changed column), the server considers the password expired when clients connect using the account. A value of N greater than zero means that the password must be changed every N days. A value of 0 disables automatic password expiration. If the value is NULL (the default), the global expiration policy applies, as defined by the default_password_lifetime system variable.

account_locked indicates whether the account is locked (see Section 6.3.12, “User Account Locking”).

During the second stage of access control, the server performs request verification to ensure that each client has sufficient privileges for each request that it issues. In addition to the user and db grant tables, the server may also consult the tables_priv and columns_priv tables for requests that involve tables. The latter tables provide finer privilege control at the table and column levels. They have the columns shown in the following table.

Table 6.5 tables_priv and columns_priv Table Columns

Table Nametables_privcolumns_priv
Scope columnsHostHost
 DbDb
 UserUser
 Table_nameTable_name
  Column_name
Privilege columnsTable_privColumn_priv
 Column_priv 
Other columnsTimestampTimestamp
 Grantor 

The Timestamp and Grantor columns are set to the current timestamp and the CURRENT_USER value, respectively, but are otherwise unused.

For verification of requests that involve stored routines, the server may consult the procs_priv table, which has the columns shown in the following table.

Table 6.6 procs_priv Table Columns

Table Nameprocs_priv
Scope columnsHost
 Db
 User
 Routine_name
 Routine_type
Privilege columnsProc_priv
Other columnsTimestamp
 Grantor

The Routine_type column is an ENUM column with values of 'FUNCTION' or 'PROCEDURE' to indicate the type of routine the row refers to. This column enables privileges to be granted separately for a function and a procedure with the same name.

The Timestamp and Grantor columns are unused.

The proxies_priv table records information about proxy accounts. It has these columns:

  • Host, User: The proxy account; that is, the account that has the PROXY privilege for the proxied account.

  • Proxied_host, Proxied_user: The proxied account.

  • Grantor, Timestamp: Unused.

  • With_grant: Whether the proxy account can grant the PROXY privilege to other accounts.

For an account to be able to grant the PROXY privilege to other accounts, it must have a row in the proxies_priv table with With_grant set to 1 and Proxied_host and Proxied_user set to indicate the account or accounts for which the privilege can be granted. For example, the 'root'@'localhost' account created during MySQL installation has a row in the proxies_priv table that enables granting the PROXY privilege for ''@'', that is, for all users and all hosts. This enables root to set up proxy users, as well as to delegate to other accounts the authority to set up proxy users. See Section 6.3.11, “Proxy Users”.

The global_grants table lists current assignments of dynamic privileges to user accounts. These privileges are global. The table has these columns:

  • USER, HOST: The user name and host name of the account to which the privilege is granted.

  • PRIV: The privilege name.

  • WITH_GRANT_OPTION: Whether the account can grant the privilege to other accounts.

The default_roles table lists default user roles. It has these columns:

  • HOST, USER: The account or role to which the default role applies.

  • DEFAULT_ROLE_HOST, DEFAULT_ROLE_USER: The default role.

The role_edges table lists edges for role subgraphs. It has these columns:

  • FROM_HOST, FROM_USER: The account that is granted a role.

  • TO_HOST, TO_USER: The role that is granted to the account.

  • WITH_ADMIN_OPTION: Whether the account can grant the role to and revoke it from other accounts by using WITH ADMIN OPTION.

Scope columns in the grant tables contain strings. The default value for each is the empty string. The following table shows the number of characters permitted in each column.

Table 6.7 Grant Table Scope Column Lengths

Column NameMaximum Permitted Characters
Host, Proxied_host60
User, Proxied_user32
Db64
Table_name64
Column_name64
Routine_name64

For access-checking purposes, comparisons of User, Proxied_user, authentication_string, Db, and Table_name values are case sensitive. Comparisons of Host, Proxied_host, Column_name, and Routine_name values are not case sensitive.

The user and db tables list each privilege in a separate column that is declared as ENUM('N','Y') DEFAULT 'N'. In other words, each privilege can be disabled or enabled, with the default being disabled.

The tables_priv, columns_priv, and procs_priv tables declare the privilege columns as SET columns. Values in these columns can contain any combination of the privileges controlled by the table. Only those privileges listed in the column value are enabled.

Table 6.8 Set-Type Privilege Column Values

Table NameColumn NamePossible Set Elements
tables_privTable_priv'Select', 'Insert', 'Update', 'Delete', 'Create', 'Drop', 'Grant', 'References', 'Index', 'Alter', 'Create View', 'Show view', 'Trigger'
tables_privColumn_priv'Select', 'Insert', 'Update', 'References'
columns_privColumn_priv'Select', 'Insert', 'Update', 'References'
procs_privProc_priv'Execute', 'Alter Routine', 'Grant'

Only the user table specifies administrative privileges, such as RELOAD and SHUTDOWN. Administrative operations are operations on the server itself and are not database-specific, so there is no reason to list these privileges in the other grant tables. Consequently, the server need consult only the user table to determine whether a user can perform an administrative operation.

The FILE privilege also is specified only in the user table. It is not an administrative privilege as such, but a user's ability to read or write files on the server host is independent of the database being accessed.

The server reads the contents of the grant tables into memory when it starts. You can tell it to reload the tables by issuing a FLUSH PRIVILEGES statement or executing a mysqladmin flush-privileges or mysqladmin reload command. Changes to the grant tables take effect as indicated in Section 6.2.8, “When Privilege Changes Take Effect”.

When you modify an account, it is a good idea to verify that your changes have the intended effect. To check the privileges for a given account, use the SHOW GRANTS statement. For example, to determine the privileges that are granted to an account with user name and host name values of bob and pc84.example.com, use this statement:

SHOW GRANTS FOR 'bob'@'pc84.example.com';

To display nonprivilege properties of an account, use SHOW CREATE USER:

SHOW CREATE USER 'bob'@'pc84.example.com';

6.2.4 Specifying Account Names

MySQL account names consist of a user name and a host name. This enables creation of accounts for users with the same name who can connect from different hosts. This section describes how to write account names, including special values and wildcard rules.

MySQL role names are similar to account names, with some differences described at Section 6.2.5, “Specifying Role Names”.

In SQL statements such as CREATE USER, GRANT, and SET PASSWORD, account names follow these rules:

  • Account name syntax is 'user_name'@'host_name'.

  • An account name consisting only of a user name is equivalent to 'user_name'@'%'. For example, 'me' is equivalent to 'me'@'%'.

  • The user name and host name need not be quoted if they are legal as unquoted identifiers. Quotes are necessary to specify a user_name string containing special characters (such as space or -), or a host_name string containing special characters or wildcard characters (such as . or %); for example, 'test-user'@'%.com'.

  • Quote user names and host names as identifiers or as strings, using either backticks (`), single quotation marks ('), or double quotation marks ("). For string-quoting and identifier-quoting guidelines, see Section 9.1.1, “String Literals”, and Section 9.2, “Schema Object Names”.

  • The user name and host name parts, if quoted, must be quoted separately. That is, write 'me'@'localhost', not 'me@localhost'; the latter is actually equivalent to 'me@localhost'@'%'.

  • A reference to the CURRENT_USER or CURRENT_USER() function is equivalent to specifying the current client's user name and host name literally.

MySQL stores account names in grant tables in the mysql system database using separate columns for the user name and host name parts:

  • The user table contains one row for each account. The User and Host columns store the user name and host name. This table also indicates which global privileges the account has.

  • Other grant tables indicate privileges an account has for databases and objects within databases. These tables have User and Host columns to store the account name. Each row in these tables associates with the account in the user table that has the same User and Host values.

  • For access-checking purposes, comparisons of User values are case sensitive. Comparisons of Host values are not case sensitive.

For additional detail about grant table structure, see Section 6.2.3, “Grant Tables”.

User names and host names have certain special values or wildcard conventions, as described following.

The user name part of an account name is either a nonblank value that literally matches the user name for incoming connection attempts, or a blank value (empty string) that matches any user name. An account with a blank user name is an anonymous user. To specify an anonymous user in SQL statements, use a quoted empty user name part, such as ''@'localhost'.

The host name part of an account name can take many forms, and wildcards are permitted:

  • A host value can be a host name or an IP address (IPv4 or IPv6). The name 'localhost' indicates the local host. The IP address '127.0.0.1' indicates the IPv4 loopback interface. The IP address '::1' indicates the IPv6 loopback interface.

  • The % and _ wildcard characters are permitted in host name or IP address values. These have the same meaning as for pattern-matching operations performed with the LIKE operator. For example, a host value of '%' matches any host name, whereas a value of '%.mysql.com' matches any host in the mysql.com domain. '192.168.1.%' matches any host in the 192.168.1 class C network.

    Because IP wildcard values are permitted in host values (for example, '192.168.1.%' to match every host on a subnet), someone could try to exploit this capability by naming a host 192.168.1.somewhere.com. To foil such attempts, MySQL does not perform matching on host names that start with digits and a dot. For example, if a host is named 1.2.example.com, its name never matches the host part of account names. An IP wildcard value can match only IP addresses, not host names.

  • For a host value specified as an IPv4 address, a netmask can be given to indicate how many address bits to use for the network number. Netmask notation cannot be used for IPv6 addresses.

    The syntax is host_ip/netmask. For example:

    CREATE USER 'david'@'192.58.197.0/255.255.255.0';
    

    This enables david to connect from any client host having an IP address client_ip for which the following condition is true:

    client_ip & netmask = host_ip
    

    That is, for the CREATE USER statement just shown:

    client_ip & 255.255.255.0 = 192.58.197.0
    

    IP addresses that satisfy this condition range from 192.58.197.0 to 192.58.197.255.

    A netmask typically begins with bits set to 1, followed by bits set to 0. Examples:

    • 192.0.0.0/255.0.0.0: Any host on the 192 class A network

    • 192.168.0.0/255.255.0.0: Any host on the 192.168 class B network

    • 192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0: Any host on the 192.168.1 class C network

    • 192.168.1.1: Only the host with this specific IP address

The server performs matching of host values in account names against the client host using the value returned by the system DNS resolver for the client host name or IP address. Except in the case that the account host value is specified using netmask notation, the server performs this comparison as a string match, even for an account host value given as an IP address. This means that you should specify account host values in the same format used by DNS. Here are examples of problems to watch out for:

  • Suppose that a host on the local network has a fully qualified name of host1.example.com. If DNS returns name lookups for this host as host1.example.com, use that name in account host values. If DNS returns just host1, use host1 instead.

  • If DNS returns the IP address for a given host as 192.168.1.2, that will match an account host value of 192.168.1.2 but not 192.168.01.2. Similarly, it will match an account host pattern like 192.168.1.% but not 192.168.01.%.

To avoid problems like these, it is advisable to check the format in which your DNS returns host names and addresses. Use values in the same format in MySQL account names.

6.2.5 Specifying Role Names

MySQL role names refer to roles, which are named collections of privileges. For role usage examples, see Section 6.3.4, “Using Roles”.

Role names have syntax and semantics similar to account names (Section 6.2.4, “Specifying Account Names”). Role names differ from account names in these respects:

  • The user part of role names cannot be blank. Thus, there is no anonymous role analogous to the concept of anonymous user.

  • As for an account name, omitting the host part of a role name results in a host part of '%'. But unlike '%' in an account name, a host part of '%' in a role name has no wildcard properties. For example, for a name 'me'@'%' used as a role name, the host part ('%') is just a literal value; it has no any host matching property.

  • Netmask notation in the host part of a role name has no significance.

  • An account name is permitted to be CURRENT_USER() in several contexts. A role name is not.

It is possible for a row in the mysql.user system table to serve as both an account and a role. In this case, any special user or host name matching properties do not apply in contexts for which the name is used as a role name. For example, you cannot execute the following statement with the expectation that it will set the current session roles using all roles that have a user part of myrole and any host name:

SET ROLE 'myrole'@'%';

Instead, the statement sets the active role for the session to the role with exactly the name 'myrole'@'%'.

For this reason, role names are often specified using only the user name part and letting the host name part implicitly be '%'. Specifying a role with a non-'%' host part can be useful if you intend to create a name that works both as a role an as a user account that is permitted to connect from the given host.

6.2.6 Access Control, Stage 1: Connection Verification

When you attempt to connect to a MySQL server, the server accepts or rejects the connection based on these conditions:

  • Your identity and whether you can verify your identity by supplying the correct password

  • Whether your account is locked or unlocked

The server checks credentials first, then account locking state. A failure for either step causes the server to deny access to you completely. Otherwise, the server accepts the connection, and then enters Stage 2 and waits for requests.

Credential checking is performed using the three user table scope columns (Host, User, and authentication_string). Locking state is recorded in the user table account_locked column. The server accepts the connection only if the Host and User columns in some user table row match the client host name and user name, the client supplies the password specified in that row, and the account_locked value is 'N'. The rules for permissible Host and User values are given in Section 6.2.4, “Specifying Account Names”. Account locking can be changed with the ALTER USER statement.

Your identity is based on two pieces of information:

  • The client host from which you connect

  • Your MySQL user name

If the User column value is nonblank, the user name in an incoming connection must match exactly. If the User value is blank, it matches any user name. If the user table row that matches an incoming connection has a blank user name, the user is considered to be an anonymous user with no name, not a user with the name that the client actually specified. This means that a blank user name is used for all further access checking for the duration of the connection (that is, during Stage 2).

The authentication_string column can be blank. This is not a wildcard and does not mean that any password matches. It means that the user must connect without specifying a password. If the server authenticates a client using a plugin, the authentication method that the plugin implements may or may not use the password in the authentication_string column. In this case, it is possible that an external password is also used to authenticate to the MySQL server.

Nonblank authentication_string values in the user table represent encrypted passwords. MySQL does not store passwords in cleartext form for anyone to see. Rather, the password supplied by a user who is attempting to connect is encrypted (using the password hashing method implemented by the account authentication plugin). The encrypted password then is used during the connection process when checking whether the password is correct. This is done without the encrypted password ever traveling over the connection. See Section 6.3.1, “User Names and Passwords”.

From MySQL's point of view, the encrypted password is the real password, so you should never give anyone access to it. In particular, do not give nonadministrative users read access to tables in the mysql database.

The following table shows how various combinations of User and Host values in the user table apply to incoming connections.

User ValueHost ValuePermissible Connections
'fred''thomas.loc.gov'fred, connecting from thomas.loc.gov
'''thomas.loc.gov'Any user, connecting from thomas.loc.gov
'fred''%'fred, connecting from any host
'''%'Any user, connecting from any host
'fred''%.loc.gov'fred, connecting from any host in the loc.gov domain
'fred''x.y.%'fred, connecting from x.y.net, x.y.com, x.y.edu, and so on; this is probably not useful
'fred''192.168.10.177'fred, connecting from the host with IP address 192.168.10.177
'fred''192.168.10.%'fred, connecting from any host in the 192.168.10 class C subnet
'fred''192.168.10.0/255.255.255.0'Same as previous example

It is possible for the client host name and user name of an incoming connection to match more than one row in the user table. The preceding set of examples demonstrates this: Several of the entries shown match a connection from thomas.loc.gov by fred.

When multiple matches are possible, the server must determine which of them to use. It resolves this issue as follows:

  • Whenever the server reads the user table into memory, it sorts the rows.

  • When a client attempts to connect, the server looks through the rows in sorted order.

  • The server uses the first row that matches the client host name and user name.

The server uses sorting rules that order rows with the most-specific Host values first. Literal host names and IP addresses are the most specific. (The specificity of a literal IP address is not affected by whether it has a netmask, so 192.168.1.13 and 192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0 are considered equally specific.) The pattern '%' means any host and is least specific. The empty string '' also means any host but sorts after '%'. Rows with the same Host value are ordered with the most-specific User values first (a blank User value means any user and is least specific). For rows with equally-specific Host and User values, the order is indeterminate.

To see how this works, suppose that the user table looks like this:

+-----------+----------+-
| Host      | User     | ...
+-----------+----------+-
| %         | root     | ...
| %         | jeffrey  | ...
| localhost | root     | ...
| localhost |          | ...
+-----------+----------+-

When the server reads the table into memory, it sorts the rows using the rules just described. The result after sorting looks like this:

+-----------+----------+-
| Host      | User     | ...
+-----------+----------+-
| localhost | root     | ...
| localhost |          | ...
| %         | jeffrey  | ...
| %         | root     | ...
+-----------+----------+-

When a client attempts to connect, the server looks through the sorted rows and uses the first match found. For a connection from localhost by jeffrey, two of the rows from the table match: the one with Host and User values of 'localhost' and '', and the one with values of '%' and 'jeffrey'. The 'localhost' row appears first in sorted order, so that is the one the server uses.

Here is another example. Suppose that the user table looks like this:

+----------------+----------+-
| Host           | User     | ...
+----------------+----------+-
| %              | jeffrey  | ...
| thomas.loc.gov |          | ...
+----------------+----------+-

The sorted table looks like this:

+----------------+----------+-
| Host           | User     | ...
+----------------+----------+-
| thomas.loc.gov |          | ...
| %              | jeffrey  | ...
+----------------+----------+-

A connection by jeffrey from thomas.loc.gov is matched by the first row, whereas a connection by jeffrey from any host is matched by the second.

Note

It is a common misconception to think that, for a given user name, all rows that explicitly name that user are used first when the server attempts to find a match for the connection. This is not true. The preceding example illustrates this, where a connection from thomas.loc.gov by jeffrey is first matched not by the row containing 'jeffrey' as the User column value, but by the row with no user name. As a result, jeffrey is authenticated as an anonymous user, even though he specified a user name when connecting.

If you are able to connect to the server, but your privileges are not what you expect, you probably are being authenticated as some other account. To find out what account the server used to authenticate you, use the CURRENT_USER() function. (See Section 12.14, “Information Functions”.) It returns a value in user_name@host_name format that indicates the User and Host values from the matching user table row. Suppose that jeffrey connects and issues the following query:

mysql> SELECT CURRENT_USER();
+----------------+
| CURRENT_USER() |
+----------------+
| @localhost     |
+----------------+

The result shown here indicates that the matching user table row had a blank User column value. In other words, the server is treating jeffrey as an anonymous user.

Another way to diagnose authentication problems is to print out the user table and sort it by hand to see where the first match is being made.

6.2.7 Access Control, Stage 2: Request Verification

After you establish a connection, the server enters Stage 2 of access control. For each request that you issue through that connection, the server determines what operation you want to perform, then checks whether you have sufficient privileges to do so. This is where the privilege columns in the grant tables come into play. These privileges can come from any of the user, db, tables_priv, columns_priv, or procs_priv tables. (You may find it helpful to refer to Section 6.2.3, “Grant Tables”, which lists the columns present in each of the grant tables.)

The user table grants privileges that are assigned to you on a global basis and that apply no matter what the default database is. For example, if the user table grants you the DELETE privilege, you can delete rows from any table in any database on the server host! It is wise to grant privileges in the user table only to people who need them, such as database administrators. For other users, you should leave all privileges in the user table set to 'N' and grant privileges at more specific levels only. You can grant privileges for particular databases, tables, columns, or routines.

The db table grants database-specific privileges. Values in the scope columns of this table can take the following forms:

  • A blank User value matches the anonymous user. A nonblank value matches literally; there are no wildcards in user names.

  • The wildcard characters % and _ can be used in the Host and Db columns. These have the same meaning as for pattern-matching operations performed with the LIKE operator. If you want to use either character literally when granting privileges, you must escape it with a backslash. For example, to include the underscore character (_) as part of a database name, specify it as \_ in the GRANT statement.

  • A '%' or blank Host value means any host.

  • A '%' or blank Db value means any database.

The server reads the db table into memory and sorts it at the same time that it reads the user table. The server sorts the db table based on the Host, Db, and User scope columns. As with the user table, sorting puts the most-specific values first and least-specific values last, and when the server looks for matching rows, it uses the first match that it finds.

The tables_priv, columns_priv, and procs_priv tables grant table-specific, column-specific, and routine-specific privileges. Values in the scope columns of these tables can take the following forms:

  • The wildcard characters % and _ can be used in the Host column. These have the same meaning as for pattern-matching operations performed with the LIKE operator.

  • A '%' or blank Host value means any host.

  • The Db, Table_name, Column_name, and Routine_name columns cannot contain wildcards or be blank.

The server sorts the tables_priv, columns_priv, and procs_priv tables based on the Host, Db, and User columns. This is similar to db table sorting, but simpler because only the Host column can contain wildcards.

The server uses the sorted tables to verify each request that it receives. For requests that require administrative privileges such as SHUTDOWN or RELOAD, the server checks only the user table row because that is the only table that specifies administrative privileges. The server grants access if the row permits the requested operation and denies access otherwise. For example, if you want to execute mysqladmin shutdown but your user table row does not grant the SHUTDOWN privilege to you, the server denies access without even checking the db table. (It contains no Shutdown_priv column, so there is no need to do so.)

For database-related requests (INSERT, UPDATE, and so on), the server first checks the user's global privileges by looking in the user table row. If the row permits the requested operation, access is granted. If the global privileges in the user table are insufficient, the server determines the user's database-specific privileges by checking the db table:

The server looks in the db table for a match on the Host, Db, and User columns. The Host and User columns are matched to the connecting user's host name and MySQL user name. The Db column is matched to the database that the user wants to access. If there is no row for the Host and User, access is denied.

After determining the database-specific privileges granted by the db table rows, the server adds them to the global privileges granted by the user table. If the result permits the requested operation, access is granted. Otherwise, the server successively checks the user's table and column privileges in the tables_priv and columns_priv tables, adds those to the user's privileges, and permits or denies access based on the result. For stored-routine operations, the server uses the procs_priv table rather than tables_priv and columns_priv.

Expressed in boolean terms, the preceding description of how a user's privileges are calculated may be summarized like this:

global privileges
OR (database privileges AND host privileges)
OR table privileges
OR column privileges
OR routine privileges

It may not be apparent why, if the global user row privileges are initially found to be insufficient for the requested operation, the server adds those privileges to the database, table, and column privileges later. The reason is that a request might require more than one type of privilege. For example, if you execute an INSERT INTO ... SELECT statement, you need both the INSERT and the SELECT privileges. Your privileges might be such that the user table row grants one privilege and the db table row grants the other. In this case, you have the necessary privileges to perform the request, but the server cannot tell that from either table by itself; the privileges granted by the rows in both tables must be combined.

6.2.8 When Privilege Changes Take Effect

When mysqld starts, it reads all grant table contents into memory. The in-memory tables become effective for access control at that point.

If you modify the grant tables indirectly using account-management statements such as GRANT, REVOKE, SET PASSWORD, or RENAME USER, the server notices these changes and loads the grant tables into memory again immediately.

If you modify the grant tables directly using statements such as INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE, your changes have no effect on privilege checking until you either restart the server or tell it to reload the tables. If you change the grant tables directly but forget to reload them, your changes have no effect until you restart the server. This may leave you wondering why your changes seem to make no difference!

To tell the server to reload the grant tables, perform a flush-privileges operation. This can be done by issuing a FLUSH PRIVILEGES statement or by executing a mysqladmin flush-privileges or mysqladmin reload command.

A grant table reload affects privileges for each existing client connection as follows:

  • Table and column privilege changes take effect with the client's next request.

  • Database privilege changes take effect the next time the client executes a USE db_name statement.

    Note

    Client applications may cache the database name; thus, this effect may not be visible to them without actually changing to a different database.

  • Global privileges and passwords are unaffected for a connected client. These changes take effect only for subsequent connections.

If the server is started with the --skip-grant-tables option, it does not read the grant tables or implement any access control. Anyone can connect and do anything, which is insecure. To cause a server thus started to read the tables and enable access checking, flush the privileges.

6.2.9 Troubleshooting Problems Connecting to MySQL

If you encounter problems when you try to connect to the MySQL server, the following items describe some courses of action you can take to correct the problem.

  • Make sure that the server is running. If it is not, clients cannot connect to it. For example, if an attempt to connect to the server fails with a message such as one of those following, one cause might be that the server is not running:

    shell> mysql
    ERROR 2003: Can't connect to MySQL server on 'host_name' (111)
    shell> mysql
    ERROR 2002: Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket
    '/tmp/mysql.sock' (111)
    
  • It might be that the server is running, but you are trying to connect using a TCP/IP port, named pipe, or Unix socket file different from the one on which the server is listening. To correct this when you invoke a client program, specify a --port option to indicate the proper port number, or a --socket option to indicate the proper named pipe or Unix socket file. To find out where the socket file is, you can use this command:

    shell> netstat -ln | grep mysql
    
  • Make sure that the server has not been configured to ignore network connections or (if you are attempting to connect remotely) that it has not been configured to listen only locally on its network interfaces. If the server was started with --skip-networking, it will not accept TCP/IP connections at all. If the server was started with --bind-address=127.0.0.1, it will listen for TCP/IP connections only locally on the loopback interface and will not accept remote connections.

  • Check to make sure that there is no firewall blocking access to MySQL. Your firewall may be configured on the basis of the application being executed, or the port number used by MySQL for communication (3306 by default). Under Linux or Unix, check your IP tables (or similar) configuration to ensure that the port has not been blocked. Under Windows, applications such as ZoneAlarm or Windows Firewall may need to be configured not to block the MySQL port.

  • The grant tables must be properly set up so that the server can use them for access control. For some distribution types (such as binary distributions on Windows, or RPM distributions on Linux), the installation process initializes the MySQL data directory, including the mysql database containing the grant tables. For distributions that do not do this, you must initialize the data directory manually. For details, see Section 2.9, “Postinstallation Setup and Testing”.

    To determine whether you need to initialize the grant tables, look for a mysql directory under the data directory. (The data directory normally is named data or var and is located under your MySQL installation directory.) Make sure that you have a file named user.MYD in the mysql database directory. If not, initialize the data directory. After doing so and starting the server, test the initial privileges by executing this command:

    shell> mysql -u root
    

    The server should let you connect without error.

  • After a fresh installation, you should connect to the server and set up your users and their access permissions:

    shell> mysql -u root mysql
    

    The server should let you connect with no password if you initialized MySQL using mysqld --initialize-secure to not create a password for the initial root account (see Section 2.9.1.1, “Initializing the Data Directory Manually Using mysqld”). That is a security risk, so setting the password for the root account is something you should do while you're setting up your other MySQL accounts. For instructions on setting the initial password, see Section 2.9.4, “Securing the Initial MySQL Account”.

  • If you have updated an existing MySQL installation to a newer version, did you run the mysql_upgrade script? If not, do so. The structure of the grant tables changes occasionally when new capabilities are added, so after an upgrade you should always make sure that your tables have the current structure. For instructions, see Section 4.4.5, “mysql_upgrade — Check and Upgrade MySQL Tables”.

  • If a client program receives the following error message when it tries to connect, it means that the server expects passwords in a newer format than the client is capable of generating:

    shell> mysql
    Client does not support authentication protocol requested
    by server; consider upgrading MySQL client
    
  • Remember that client programs use connection parameters specified in option files or environment variables. If a client program seems to be sending incorrect default connection parameters when you have not specified them on the command line, check any applicable option files and your environment. For example, if you get Access denied when you run a client without any options, make sure that you have not specified an old password in any of your option files!

    You can suppress the use of option files by a client program by invoking it with the --no-defaults option. For example:

    shell> mysqladmin --no-defaults -u root version
    

    The option files that clients use are listed in Section 4.2.6, “Using Option Files”. Environment variables are listed in Section 4.9, “MySQL Program Environment Variables”.

  • If you get the following error, it means that you are using an incorrect root password:

    shell> mysqladmin -u root -pxxxx ver
    Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost' (using password: YES)
    

    If the preceding error occurs even when you have not specified a password, it means that you have an incorrect password listed in some option file. Try the --no-defaults option as described in the previous item.

    For information on changing passwords, see Section 6.3.7, “Assigning Account Passwords”.

    If you have lost or forgotten the root password, see Section B.5.3.2, “How to Reset the Root Password”.

  • If you change a password by using SET PASSWORD, INSERT, or UPDATE, you must encrypt the password using the PASSWORD() function. If you do not use PASSWORD() for these statements, the password will not work. For example, the following statement assigns a password, but fails to encrypt it, so the user is not able to connect afterward:

    SET PASSWORD FOR 'abe'@'host_name' = 'eagle';
    

    Instead, set the password like this:

    SET PASSWORD FOR 'abe'@'host_name' = PASSWORD('eagle');
    

    The PASSWORD() function is unnecessary when you specify a password using the CREATE USER or GRANT statements or the mysqladmin password command. Each of those automatically uses PASSWORD() to encrypt the password. See Section 6.3.7, “Assigning Account Passwords”, and Section 13.7.1.3, “CREATE USER Syntax”.

  • localhost is a synonym for your local host name, and is also the default host to which clients try to connect if you specify no host explicitly.

    You can use a --host=127.0.0.1 option to name the server host explicitly. This will make a TCP/IP connection to the local mysqld server. You can also use TCP/IP by specifying a --host option that uses the actual host name of the local host. In this case, the host name must be specified in a user table row on the server host, even though you are running the client program on the same host as the server.

  • The Access denied error message tells you who you are trying to log in as, the client host from which you are trying to connect, and whether you were using a password. Normally, you should have one row in the user table that exactly matches the host name and user name that were given in the error message. For example, if you get an error message that contains using password: NO, it means that you tried to log in without a password.

  • If you get an Access denied error when trying to connect to the database with mysql -u user_name, you may have a problem with the user table. Check this by executing mysql -u root mysql and issuing this SQL statement:

    SELECT * FROM user;
    

    The result should include a row with the Host and User columns matching your client's host name and your MySQL user name.

  • If the following error occurs when you try to connect from a host other than the one on which the MySQL server is running, it means that there is no row in the user table with a Host value that matches the client host:

    Host ... is not allowed to connect to this MySQL server
    

    You can fix this by setting up an account for the combination of client host name and user name that you are using when trying to connect.

    If you do not know the IP address or host name of the machine from which you are connecting, you should put a row with '%' as the Host column value in the user table. After trying to connect from the client machine, use a SELECT USER() query to see how you really did connect. Then change the '%' in the user table row to the actual host name that shows up in the log. Otherwise, your system is left insecure because it permits connections from any host for the given user name.

    On Linux, another reason that this error might occur is that you are using a binary MySQL version that is compiled with a different version of the glibc library than the one you are using. In this case, you should either upgrade your operating system or glibc, or download a source distribution of MySQL version and compile it yourself. A source RPM is normally trivial to compile and install, so this is not a big problem.

  • If you specify a host name when trying to connect, but get an error message where the host name is not shown or is an IP address, it means that the MySQL server got an error when trying to resolve the IP address of the client host to a name:

    shell> mysqladmin -u root -pxxxx -h some_hostname ver
    Access denied for user 'root'@'' (using password: YES)
    

    If you try to connect as root and get the following error, it means that you do not have a row in the user table with a User column value of 'root' and that mysqld cannot resolve the host name for your client:

    Access denied for user ''@'unknown'
    

    These errors indicate a DNS problem. To fix it, execute mysqladmin flush-hosts to reset the internal DNS host cache. See Section 8.12.4.2, “DNS Lookup Optimization and the Host Cache”.

    Some permanent solutions are:

    • Determine what is wrong with your DNS server and fix it.

    • Specify IP addresses rather than host names in the MySQL grant tables.

    • Put an entry for the client machine name in /etc/hosts on Unix or \windows\hosts on Windows.

    • Start mysqld with the --skip-name-resolve option.

    • Start mysqld with the --skip-host-cache option.

    • On Unix, if you are running the server and the client on the same machine, connect to localhost. For connections to localhost, MySQL programs attempt to connect to the local server by using a Unix socket file, unless there are connection parameters specified to ensure that the client makes a TCP/IP connection. For more information, see Section 4.2.2, “Connecting to the MySQL Server”.

    • On Windows, if you are running the server and the client on the same machine and the server supports named pipe connections, connect to the host name . (period). Connections to . use a named pipe rather than TCP/IP.

  • If mysql -u root works but mysql -h your_hostname -u root results in Access denied (where your_hostname is the actual host name of the local host), you may not have the correct name for your host in the user table. A common problem here is that the Host value in the user table row specifies an unqualified host name, but your system's name resolution routines return a fully qualified domain name (or vice versa). For example, if you have a row with host 'pluto' in the user table, but your DNS tells MySQL that your host name is 'pluto.example.com', the row does not work. Try adding a row to the user table that contains the IP address of your host as the Host column value. (Alternatively, you could add a row to the user table with a Host value that contains a wildcard; for example, 'pluto.%'. However, use of Host values ending with % is insecure and is not recommended!)

  • If mysql -u user_name works but mysql -u user_name some_db does not, you have not granted access to the given user for the database named some_db.

  • If mysql -u user_name works when executed on the server host, but mysql -h host_name -u user_name does not work when executed on a remote client host, you have not enabled access to the server for the given user name from the remote host.

  • If you cannot figure out why you get Access denied, remove from the user table all rows that have Host values containing wildcards (rows that contain '%' or '_' characters). A very common error is to insert a new row with Host='%' and User='some_user', thinking that this enables you to specify localhost to connect from the same machine. The reason that this does not work is that the default privileges include a row with Host='localhost' and User=''. Because that row has a Host value 'localhost' that is more specific than '%', it is used in preference to the new row when connecting from localhost! The correct procedure is to insert a second row with Host='localhost' and User='some_user', or to delete the row with Host='localhost' and User=''. After deleting the row, remember to issue a FLUSH PRIVILEGES statement to reload the grant tables. See also Section 6.2.6, “Access Control, Stage 1: Connection Verification”.

  • If you are able to connect to the MySQL server, but get an Access denied message whenever you issue a SELECT ... INTO OUTFILE or LOAD DATA INFILE statement, your row in the user table does not have the FILE privilege enabled.

  • If you change the grant tables directly (for example, by using INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statements) and your changes seem to be ignored, remember that you must execute a FLUSH PRIVILEGES statement or a mysqladmin flush-privileges command to cause the server to reload the privilege tables. Otherwise, your changes have no effect until the next time the server is restarted. Remember that after you change the root password with an UPDATE statement, you will not need to specify the new password until after you flush the privileges, because the server will not know you've changed the password yet!

  • If your privileges seem to have changed in the middle of a session, it may be that a MySQL administrator has changed them. Reloading the grant tables affects new client connections, but it also affects existing connections as indicated in Section 6.2.8, “When Privilege Changes Take Effect”.

  • If you have access problems with a Perl, PHP, Python, or ODBC program, try to connect to the server with mysql -u user_name db_name or mysql -u user_name -pyour_pass db_name. If you are able to connect using the mysql client, the problem lies with your program, not with the access privileges. (There is no space between -p and the password; you can also use the --password=your_pass syntax to specify the password. If you use the -p or --password option with no password value, MySQL prompts you for the password.)

  • For testing purposes, start the mysqld server with the --skip-grant-tables option. Then you can change the MySQL grant tables and use the SHOW GRANTS statement to check whether your modifications have the desired effect. When you are satisfied with your changes, execute mysqladmin flush-privileges to tell the mysqld server to reload the privileges. This enables you to begin using the new grant table contents without stopping and restarting the server.

  • If everything else fails, start the mysqld server with a debugging option (for example, --debug=d,general,query). This prints host and user information about attempted connections, as well as information about each command issued. See Section 28.5.3, “The DBUG Package”.

  • If you have any other problems with the MySQL grant tables and feel you must post the problem to the mailing list, always provide a dump of the MySQL grant tables. You can dump the tables with the mysqldump mysql command. To file a bug report, see the instructions at Section 1.7, “How to Report Bugs or Problems”. In some cases, you may need to restart mysqld with --skip-grant-tables to run mysqldump.

6.3 MySQL User Account Management

This section describes how to set up accounts for clients of your MySQL server. It discusses the following topics:

  • The meaning of account names and passwords as used in MySQL and how that compares to names and passwords used by your operating system

  • How to set up new accounts and remove existing accounts

  • How to use roles, which are named collections of privileges

  • How to change passwords

  • Guidelines for using passwords securely

See also Section 13.7.1, “Account Management Statements”, which describes the syntax and use for all user-management SQL statements.

6.3.1 User Names and Passwords

MySQL stores accounts in the user table of the mysql system database. An account is defined in terms of a user name and the client host or hosts from which the user can connect to the server. For information about account representation in the user table, see Section 6.2.3, “Grant Tables”.

The account may also have a password. MySQL supports authentication plugins, so it is possible that an account authenticates using some external authentication method. See Section 6.3.10, “Pluggable Authentication”.

There are several distinctions between the way user names and passwords are used by MySQL and your operating system:

  • User names, as used by MySQL for authentication purposes, have nothing to do with user names (login names) as used by Windows or Unix. On Unix, most MySQL clients by default try to log in using the current Unix user name as the MySQL user name, but that is for convenience only. The default can be overridden easily, because client programs permit any user name to be specified with a -u or --user option. This means that anyone can attempt to connect to the server using any user name, so you cannot make a database secure in any way unless all MySQL accounts have passwords. Anyone who specifies a user name for an account that has no password is able to connect successfully to the server.

  • MySQL user names can be up to 32 characters long. Operating system user names may be of a different maximum length. For example, Unix user names typically are limited to eight characters.

    Warning

    The limit on MySQL user name length is hardcoded in MySQL servers and clients, and trying to circumvent it by modifying the definitions of the tables in the mysql database does not work.

    You should never alter the structure of tables in the mysql database in any manner whatsoever except by means of the procedure that is described in Section 4.4.5, “mysql_upgrade — Check and Upgrade MySQL Tables”. Attempting to redefine MySQL's system tables in any other fashion results in undefined (and unsupported!) behavior. The server is free to ignore rows that become malformed as a result of such modifications.

  • To authenticate client connections for accounts that use MySQL native authentication (implemented by the mysql_native_password authentication plugin), the server uses passwords stored in the user table. These passwords are distinct from passwords for logging in to your operating system. There is no necessary connection between the external password you use to log in to a Windows or Unix machine and the password you use to access the MySQL server on that machine.

    If the server authenticates a client using some other plugin, the authentication method that the plugin implements may or may not use a password stored in the user table. In this case, it is possible that an external password is also used to authenticate to the MySQL server.

  • Passwords stored in the user table are encrypted using plugin-specific algorithms.

  • If the user name and password contain only ASCII characters, it is possible to connect to the server regardless of character set settings. To connect when the user name or password contain non-ASCII characters, the client should call the mysql_options() C API function with the MYSQL_SET_CHARSET_NAME option and appropriate character set name as arguments. This causes authentication to take place using the specified character set. Otherwise, authentication will fail unless the server default character set is the same as the encoding in the authentication defaults.

    Standard MySQL client programs support a --default-character-set option that causes mysql_options() to be called as just described. In addition, character set autodetection is supported as described in Section 10.1.4, “Connection Character Sets and Collations”. For programs that use a connector that is not based on the C API, the connector may provide an equivalent to mysql_options() that can be used instead. Check the connector documentation.

    The preceding notes do not apply for ucs2, utf16, and utf32, which are not permitted as client character sets.

The MySQL installation process populates the grant tables with an initial root account, as described in Section 2.9.4, “Securing the Initial MySQL Account”, which also discusses how to assign passwords to it. Thereafter, you normally set up, modify, and remove MySQL accounts using statements such as CREATE USER, DROP USER, GRANT, and REVOKE. See Section 13.7.1, “Account Management Statements”.

To connect to a MySQL server with a command-line client, specify user name and password options as necessary for the account that you want to use:

shell> mysql --user=monty --password db_name

If you prefer short options, the command looks like this:

shell> mysql -u monty -p db_name

If you omit the password value following the --password or -p option on the command line (as just shown), the client prompts for one. Alternatively, the password can be specified on the command line:

shell> mysql --user=monty --password=password db_name
shell> mysql -u monty -ppassword db_name

If you use the -p option, there must be no space between -p and the following password value.

Specifying a password on the command line should be considered insecure. See Section 6.1.2.1, “End-User Guidelines for Password Security”. You can use an option file or a login path file to avoid giving the password on the command line. See Section 4.2.6, “Using Option Files”, and Section 4.6.7, “mysql_config_editor — MySQL Configuration Utility”.

For additional information about specifying user names, passwords, and other connection parameters, see Section 4.2.2, “Connecting to the MySQL Server”.

6.3.2 Adding User Accounts

You can create MySQL accounts two ways:

  • By using account-management statements intended for creating accounts and establishing their privileges, such as CREATE USER and GRANT. These statements cause the server to make appropriate modifications to the underlying grant tables.

  • By manipulating the MySQL grant tables directly with statements such as INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE.

The preferred method is to use account-management statements because they are more concise and less error-prone than manipulating the grant tables directly. All such statements are described in Section 13.7.1, “Account Management Statements”. Direct grant table manipulation is discouraged, and is not described here. The server is free to ignore rows that become malformed as a result of such modifications.

Another option for creating accounts is to use the GUI tool MySQL Workbench. Also, several third-party programs offer capabilities for MySQL account administration. phpMyAdmin is one such program.

The following examples show how to use the mysql client program to set up new accounts. These examples assume that privileges have been set up according to the defaults described in Section 2.9.4, “Securing the Initial MySQL Account”. This means that to make changes, you must connect to the MySQL server as the MySQL root user, which has the CREATE USER privilege.

First, use the mysql program to connect to the server as the MySQL root user:

shell> mysql --user=root mysql

If you have assigned a password to the root account, you must also supply a --password or -p option.

After connecting to the server as root, you can add new accounts. The following example uses CREATE USER and GRANT statements to set up four accounts:

mysql> CREATE USER 'monty'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'some_pass';
mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'monty'@'localhost'
    ->     WITH GRANT OPTION;
mysql> CREATE USER 'monty'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'some_pass';
mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'monty'@'%'
    ->     WITH GRANT OPTION;
mysql> CREATE USER 'admin'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'admin_pass';
mysql> GRANT RELOAD,PROCESS ON *.* TO 'admin'@'localhost';
mysql> CREATE USER 'dummy'@'localhost';

The accounts created by those statements have the following properties:

  • Two accounts have a user name of monty and a password of some_pass. Both are superuser accounts with full privileges to do anything. The 'monty'@'localhost' account can be used only when connecting from the local host. The 'monty'@'%' account uses the '%' wildcard for the host part, so it can be used to connect from any host.

    The 'monty'@'localhost' account is necessary if there is an anonymous-user account for localhost. Without the 'monty'@'localhost' account, that anonymous-user account takes precedence when monty connects from the local host and monty is treated as an anonymous user. The reason for this is that the anonymous-user account has a more specific Host column value than the 'monty'@'%' account and thus comes earlier in the user table sort order. (user table sorting is discussed in Section 6.2.6, “Access Control, Stage 1: Connection Verification”.)

  • The 'admin'@'localhost' account has a password of admin_pass. This account can be used only by admin to connect from the local host. It is granted the RELOAD and PROCESS administrative privileges. These privileges enable the admin user to execute the mysqladmin reload, mysqladmin refresh, and mysqladmin flush-xxx commands, as well as mysqladmin processlist . No privileges are granted for accessing any databases. You could add such privileges using GRANT statements.

  • The 'dummy'@'localhost' account has no password (which is insecure and not recommended). This account can be used only to connect from the local host. No privileges are granted. It is assumed that you will grant specific privileges to the account using GRANT statements.

To see the privileges for an account, use SHOW GRANTS:

mysql> SHOW GRANTS FOR 'admin'@'localhost';
+-----------------------------------------------------+
| Grants for admin@localhost                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------+
| GRANT RELOAD, PROCESS ON *.* TO 'admin'@'localhost' |
+-----------------------------------------------------+

To see nonprivilege properties for an account, use SHOW CREATE USER:

mysql> SHOW CREATE USER 'admin'@'localhost'\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
CREATE USER for admin@localhost: CREATE USER 'admin'@'localhost'
IDENTIFIED WITH 'mysql_native_password'
AS '*67ACDEBDAB923990001F0FFB017EB8ED41861105'
REQUIRE NONE PASSWORD EXPIRE DEFAULT ACCOUNT UNLOCK

The next examples create three accounts and grant them access to specific databases. Each of them has a user name of custom and password of obscure:

mysql> CREATE USER 'custom'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'obscure';
mysql> GRANT SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE,DELETE,CREATE,DROP
    ->     ON bankaccount.*
    ->     TO 'custom'@'localhost';
mysql> CREATE USER 'custom'@'host47.example.com' IDENTIFIED BY 'obscure';
mysql> GRANT SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE,DELETE,CREATE,DROP
    ->     ON expenses.*
    ->     TO 'custom'@'host47.example.com';
mysql> CREATE USER 'custom'@'%.example.com' IDENTIFIED BY 'obscure';
mysql> GRANT SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE,DELETE,CREATE,DROP
    ->     ON customer.*
    ->     TO 'custom'@'%.example.com';

The three accounts can be used as follows:

  • The first account can access the bankaccount database, but only from the local host.

  • The second account can access the expenses database, but only from the host host47.example.com.

  • The third account can access the customer database, from any host in the example.com domain. This account has access from all machines in the domain due to use of the % wildcard character in the host part of the account name.

6.3.3 Removing User Accounts

To remove an account, use the DROP USER statement, which is described in Section 13.7.1.5, “DROP USER Syntax”. For example:

mysql> DROP USER 'jeffrey'@'localhost';

6.3.4 Using Roles

A MySQL role is a named collection of privileges. Like user accounts, roles can have privileges granted to and revoked from them.

A user account can be granted roles, which grants to the account the privileges associated with each role. This enables assignment of sets of privileges to accounts and provides a convenient alternative to granting individual privileges, both for conceptualizing desired privilege assignments and implementing them.

The following list summarizes role management capabilities provided by MySQL:

  • CREATE ROLE and DROP ROLE enable roles to be created and removed.

  • GRANT and REVOKE enable privilege assignment and revocation for user accounts and roles.

  • SHOW GRANTS displays privilege and role assignments for user accounts and roles.

  • SET DEFAULT ROLE specifies which account roles are active by default.

  • SET ROLE changes the active roles within the current session.

  • The CURRENT_ROLE() function displays the active roles within the current session.

  • The mandatory_roles and activate_all_roles_on_login system variables enable defining mandatory roles and automatic activation of granted roles when users log in to the server.

For descriptions of individual role-manipulation statements, see Section 13.7.1, “Account Management Statements”. The following discussion provides examples of role usage. Unless otherwise specified, SQL statements shown here should be executed using a MySQL account with administrative privileges, such as the root account.

Creating Roles and Granting Privileges to Them

Consider this scenario:

  • An application uses a database named app_db.

  • Associated with the application, there can be accounts for developers who create and maintain the application, and for users who interact with it.

  • Developers need full access to the database. Some users need only read access, others need read/write access.

To avoid granting privileges individually to possibly many user accounts, create roles as names for the required privilege sets. This makes it easy to grant the required privileges to user accounts, by granting the appropriate roles.

To create the roles, use CREATE ROLE:

CREATE ROLE 'app_developer', 'app_read', 'app_write';

Role names are much like user account names and consist of a user part and host part in 'user_name'@'host_name' format. The host part, if omitted, defaults to '%'. The user and host parts can be unquoted unless they contain special characters such as - or %. Unlike account names, the user part of role names cannot be blank. For additional information, see Section 6.2.5, “Specifying Role Names”.

To assign privileges to the roles, execute GRANT using the same syntax as for assigning privileges to user accounts:

GRANT ALL ON app_db.* TO 'app_developer';
GRANT SELECT ON app_db.* TO 'app_read';
GRANT INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON app_db.* TO 'app_write';

Now suppose that initially you require one developer account, two user accounts that need read-only access, and one user account that needs read/write access. Use CREATE USER to create the accounts:

CREATE USER 'dev1'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'dev1pass';
CREATE USER 'read_user1'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'read_user1pass';
CREATE USER 'read_user2'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'read_user2pass';
CREATE USER 'rw_user1'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'rw_user1pass';

To assign each user account its required privileges, you could use GRANT statements of the same form as just shown, but that requires enumerating individual privileges for each user. Instead, use an alternative GRANT syntax that permits granting roles rather than privileges:

GRANT 'app_developer' TO 'dev1'@'localhost';
GRANT 'app_read' TO 'read_user1'@'localhost', 'read_user2'@'localhost';
GRANT 'app_read', 'app_write' TO 'rw_user1'@'localhost';

The GRANT statement for the rw_user1 account grants the read and write roles, which combine to provide the required read and write privileges.

The GRANT syntax for granting roles to an account differs from the syntax for granting privileges: There is an ON clause to assign privileges, whereas there is no ON clause to assign roles. Because the syntaxes are distinct, you cannot mix assigning privileges and roles in the same statement. (It is permitted to assign both privileges and roles to an account, but you must use separate GRANT statements, each with syntax appropriate to what is to be granted.)

Defining Mandatory Roles

It is possible to specify roles as mandatory by naming them in the value of the mandatory_roles system variable. The server treats a mandatory role as granted to all users, so that it need not be granted explicitly to any account.

To specify mandatory roles at server startup, define mandatory_roles in your server my.cnf file:

[mysqld]
mandatory_roles='role1,role2@localhost,r3@%.example.com'

To set mandatory_roles at runtime, use a statement like this:

SET PERSIST mandatory_roles = 'role1,role2@localhost,r3@%.example.com';

SET PERSIST sets the value for the running MySQL instance. It also saves the value to be used for subsequent server restarts; see Section 13.7.4.1, “SET Syntax for Variable Assignment”. To change a value only for the running MySQL instance without saving it for subsequent restarts, use the GLOBAL keyword rather than PERSIST.

Mandatory roles, like explicitly granted roles, do not take effect until activated (see Activating Roles). At login time, role activation occurs for all granted roles if the activate_all_roles_on_login system variable is enabled, or only for roles that are set as default roles otherwise. At runtime, SET ROLE activates roles.

Roles named in the value of mandatory_roles cannot be revoked with REVOKE or dropped with DROP ROLE or DROP USER.

If a role named in mandatory_roles is not present in the mysql.user system table, the role is not granted to users. When the server attempts role activation for a user, it does not treat the nonexistent role as mandatory and writes a warning to the error log. If the role is created later and thus becomes valid, FLUSH PRIVILEGES may be necessary to cause the server to treat it as mandatory.

SHOW GRANTS displays mandatory roles according to the rules described in Section 13.7.5.21, “SHOW GRANTS Syntax”.

Checking Role Privileges

To verify the privileges assigned to an account, use SHOW GRANTS. For example:

mysql> SHOW GRANTS FOR 'dev1'@'localhost';
+-------------------------------------------------+
| Grants for dev1@localhost                       |
+-------------------------------------------------+
| GRANT USAGE ON *.* TO `dev1`@`localhost`        |
| GRANT `app_developer`@`%` TO `dev1`@`localhost` |
+-------------------------------------------------+

However, that shows each granted role without expanding it to the privileges the role represents. To show role privileges as well, add a USING clause naming the granted roles for which to display privileges:

mysql> SHOW GRANTS FOR 'dev1'@'localhost' USING 'app_developer';
+----------------------------------------------------------+
| Grants for dev1@localhost                                |
+----------------------------------------------------------+
| GRANT USAGE ON *.* TO `dev1`@`localhost`                 |
| GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON `app_db`.* TO `dev1`@`localhost` |
| GRANT `app_developer`@`%` TO `dev1`@`localhost`          |
+----------------------------------------------------------+

Verify each other type of user similarly:

mysql> SHOW GRANTS FOR 'read_user1'@'localhost' USING 'app_read';
+--------------------------------------------------------+
| Grants for read_user1@localhost                        |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
| GRANT USAGE ON *.* TO `read_user1`@`localhost`         |
| GRANT SELECT ON `app_db`.* TO `read_user1`@`localhost` |
| GRANT `app_read`@`%` TO `read_user1`@`localhost`       |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
mysql> SHOW GRANTS FOR 'rw_user1'@'localhost' USING 'app_read', 'app_write';
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Grants for rw_user1@localhost                                                |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| GRANT USAGE ON *.* TO `rw_user1`@`localhost`                                 |
| GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON `app_db`.* TO `rw_user1`@`localhost` |
| GRANT `app_read`@`%`,`app_write`@`%` TO `rw_user1`@`localhost`               |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

SHOW GRANTS displays mandatory roles according to the rules described in Section 13.7.5.21, “SHOW GRANTS Syntax”.

Activating Roles

Roles granted to a user account can be active or inactive within account sessions. If a granted role is active within a session, its privileges apply; otherwise, they do not. To determine which roles are active within the current session, use the CURRENT_ROLE() function.

By default, granting a role to an account or naming it in the mandatory_roles system variable value does not automatically cause the role to become active within account sessions. For example, because thus far in the preceding discussion no rw_user1 roles have been activated, if you connect to the server as rw_user1 and invoke the CURRENT_ROLE() function, the result is NONE (no active roles):

mysql> SELECT CURRENT_ROLE();
+----------------+
| CURRENT_ROLE() |
+----------------+
| NONE           |
+----------------+

To specify which roles should become active each time a user connects to the server and authenticates, use SET DEFAULT ROLE. To set the default to all assigned roles for each account created earlier, use this statement:

SET DEFAULT ROLE ALL TO
  'dev1'@'localhost',
  'read_user1'@'localhost',
  'read_user2'@'localhost',
  'rw_user1'@'localhost';

Now if you connect as rw_user1, the initial value of CURRENT_ROLE() reflects the new default role assignments:

mysql> SELECT CURRENT_ROLE();
+--------------------------------+
| CURRENT_ROLE()                 |
+--------------------------------+
| `app_read`@`%`,`app_write`@`%` |
+--------------------------------+

To cause all explicitly granted and mandatory roles to be automatically activated when users connect to the server, enable the activate_all_roles_on_login system variable. By default, automatic role activation is disabled.

Within a session, a user can execute SET ROLE to change the set of active roles. For example, for rw_user1:

mysql> SET ROLE NONE; SELECT CURRENT_ROLE();
+----------------+
| CURRENT_ROLE() |
+----------------+
| NONE           |
+----------------+
mysql> SET ROLE ALL EXCEPT 'app_write'; SELECT CURRENT_ROLE();
+----------------+
| CURRENT_ROLE() |
+----------------+
| `app_read`@`%` |
+----------------+
mysql> SET ROLE DEFAULT; SELECT CURRENT_ROLE();
+--------------------------------+
| CURRENT_ROLE()                 |
+--------------------------------+
| `app_read`@`%`,`app_write`@`%` |
+--------------------------------+

The first SET ROLE statement deactivates all roles. The second makes rw_user1 effectively read only. The third restores the default roles.

The effective user for stored program and view objects is subject to the DEFINER and SQL SECURITY attributes, which determine whether execution occurs in invoker or definer context (see Section 23.6, “Access Control for Stored Programs and Views”):

  • Stored program and view objects that execute in invoker context execute with the active roles within the current session.

  • Stored program and view objects that execute in definer context execute with the default roles of the user named in their DEFINER attribute. If activate_all_roles_on_login is enabled, such objects execute with all roles granted to the DEFINER user, including mandatory roles. For stored programs, if execution should occur with roles different from the default, the program body should execute SET ROLE to activate the required roles.

Revoking Roles or Role Privileges

Just as roles can be granted to an account, they can be revoked from an account:

REVOKE role FROM user;

Roles named in the mandatory_roles system variable value cannot be revoked.

REVOKE can also be applied to a role to modify the privileges granted to it. This affects not only the role itself, but any account granted that role. Suppose that you want to temporarily make all application users read only. To do this, use REVOKE to revoke the modification privileges from the app_write role:

REVOKE INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON app_db.* FROM 'app_write';

As it happens, that leaves the role with no privileges at all, as can be seen using SHOW GRANTS (which demonstrates that this statement can be used with roles, not just users):

mysql> SHOW GRANTS FOR 'app_write';
+---------------------------------------+
| Grants for app_write@%                |
+---------------------------------------+
| GRANT USAGE ON *.* TO `app_write`@`%` |
+---------------------------------------+

Because revoking privileges from a role affects the privileges for any user who is assigned the modified role, rw_user1 now has no table modification privileges (INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE are no longer present):

mysql> SHOW GRANTS FOR 'rw_user1'@'localhost'
       USING 'app_read', 'app_write';
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Grants for rw_user1@localhost                                  |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| GRANT USAGE ON *.* TO `rw_user1`@`localhost`                   |
| GRANT SELECT ON `app_db`.* TO `rw_user1`@`localhost`           |
| GRANT `app_read`@`%`,`app_write`@`%` TO `rw_user1`@`localhost` |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

In effect, the rw_user1 read/write user has become a read-only user. This also occurs for any other accounts that are granted the app_write role, illustrating how use of roles makes it unnecessary to modify privileges for individual accounts.

To restore modification privileges to the role, simply re-grant them:

GRANT INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON app_db.* TO 'app_write';

Now rw_user1 again has modification privileges, as do any other accounts granted the app_write role.

Removing Roles

To remove roles, use DROP ROLE:

DROP ROLE 'app_read', 'app_write';

Dropping a role revokes it from every account to which it was granted.

Roles named in the mandatory_roles system variable value cannot be dropped.

User and Role Interchangeability

As has been hinted at earlier for SHOW GRANTS, which displays grants for user accounts or roles, accounts and roles can be used interchangeably. You can treat a user account like a role and grant that account to another user or a role. The effect is to grant the account's privileges and roles to the other user or role.

This set of statements demonstrates that you can grant a user to a user, a role to a user, a user to a role, or a role to a role:

CREATE USER 'u1';
CREATE ROLE 'r1';
GRANT SELECT ON db1.* TO 'u1';
GRANT SELECT ON db2.* TO 'r1';
CREATE USER 'u2';
CREATE ROLE 'r2';
GRANT 'u1', 'r1' TO 'u2';
GRANT 'u1', 'r1' TO 'r2';

The result in each case is to grant to the grantee object the privileges associated with the granted object. After executing those statements, each of u2 and r2 have been granted privileges from a user (u1) and a role (r1):

mysql> SHOW GRANTS FOR 'u2' USING 'u1', 'r1';
+-------------------------------------+
| Grants for u2@%                     |
+-------------------------------------+
| GRANT USAGE ON *.* TO `u2`@`%`      |
| GRANT SELECT ON `db1`.* TO `u2`@`%` |
| GRANT SELECT ON `db2`.* TO `u2`@`%` |
| GRANT `u1`@`%`,`r1`@`%` TO `u2`@`%` |
+-------------------------------------+
mysql> SHOW GRANTS FOR 'r2' USING 'u1', 'r1';
+-------------------------------------+
| Grants for r2@%                     |
+-------------------------------------+
| GRANT USAGE ON *.* TO `r2`@`%`      |
| GRANT SELECT ON `db1`.* TO `r2`@`%` |
| GRANT SELECT ON `db2`.* TO `r2`@`%` |
| GRANT `u1`@`%`,`r1`@`%` TO `r2`@`%` |
+-------------------------------------+

The preceding example is illustrative only, but interchangeability of user accounts and roles has practical application, such as in the following situation: Suppose that a legacy application development project began before the advent of roles in MySQL, so all user accounts associated with the project are granted privileges directly (rather than granted privileges by virtue of being granted roles). One of these accounts is a developer account that was originally granted privileges as follows:

CREATE USER 'old_app_dev'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'old_app_devpass';
GRANT ALL ON old_app.* TO 'old_app_dev'@'localhost';

If this developer leaves the project, it becomes necessary to assign the privileges to another user, or perhaps multiple users if development activies have expanded. Here are some ways to deal with the issue:

  • Without using roles: Change the account password so the original developer cannot use it, and have a new developer use the account instead:

    ALTER USER 'old_app_dev'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password';
    
  • Using roles: Lock the account to prevent anyone from using it to connect to the server:

    ALTER USER 'old_app_dev'@'localhost' ACCOUNT LOCK;
    

    Then treat the account as a role. For each developer new to the project, create a new account and grant to it the original developer account:

    CREATE USER 'new_app_dev1'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password';
    GRANT 'old_app_dev'@'localhost' TO 'new_app_dev1'@'localhost';
    

    The effect is to assign the original developer account privileges to the new account.

6.3.5 Reserved User Accounts

One part of the MySQL installation process is data directory initialization (see Section 2.9.1.1, “Initializing the Data Directory Manually Using mysqld”). During data directory initialization, MySQL creates user accounts that should be considered reserved:

  • 'root'@'localhost: Used for administrative purposes. This account has all privileges and can perform any operation.

    Strictly speaking, this account name is not reserved, in the sense that some installations rename the root account to something else to avoid exposing a highly privileged account with a well-known name.

  • 'mysql.sys'@'localhost': Used as the DEFINER for sys schema objects. Use of the mysql.sys account avoids problems that occur if a DBA renames or removes the root account. This account is locked so that it cannot be used for client connections.

  • 'mysql.session'@'localhost': Used internally by plugins to access the server. This account is locked so that it cannot be used for client connections.

6.3.6 Setting Account Resource Limits

One means of restricting client use of MySQL server resources is to set the global max_user_connections system variable to a nonzero value. This limits the number of simultaneous connections that can be made by any given account, but places no limits on what a client can do once connected. In addition, setting max_user_connections does not enable management of individual accounts. Both types of control are of interest to MySQL administrators.

To address such concerns, MySQL permits limits for individual accounts on use of these server resources:

  • The number of queries an account can issue per hour

  • The number of updates an account can issue per hour

  • The number of times an account can connect to the server per hour

  • The number of simultaneous connections to the server by an account

Any statement that a client can issue counts against the query limit. Only statements that modify databases or tables count against the update limit.

An account in this context corresponds to a row in the mysql.user table. That is, a connection is assessed against the User and Host values in the user table row that applies to the connection. For example, an account 'usera'@'%.example.com' corresponds to a row in the user table that has User and Host values of usera and %.example.com, to permit usera to connect from any host in the example.com domain. In this case, the server applies resource limits in this row collectively to all connections by usera from any host in the example.com domain because all such connections use the same account.

Before MySQL 5.0.3, an account was assessed against the actual host from which a user connects. This older method of accounting may be selected by starting the server with the --old-style-user-limits option. In this case, if usera connects simultaneously from host1.example.com and host2.example.com, the server applies the account resource limits separately to each connection. If usera connects again from host1.example.com, the server applies the limits for that connection together with the existing connection from that host.

To establish resource limits for an account at account-creation time, use the CREATE USER statement. To modify the limits for an existing account, use ALTER USER. Provide a WITH clause that names each resource to be limited. The default value for each limit is zero (no limit). For example, to create a new account that can access the customer database, but only in a limited fashion, issue these statements:

mysql> CREATE USER 'francis'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'frank'
    ->     WITH MAX_QUERIES_PER_HOUR 20
    ->          MAX_UPDATES_PER_HOUR 10
    ->          MAX_CONNECTIONS_PER_HOUR 5
    ->          MAX_USER_CONNECTIONS 2;

The limit types need not all be named in the WITH clause, but those named can be present in any order. The value for each per-hour limit should be an integer representing a count per hour. For MAX_USER_CONNECTIONS, the limit is an integer representing the maximum number of simultaneous connections by the account. If this limit is set to zero, the global max_user_connections system variable value determines the number of simultaneous connections. If max_user_connections is also zero, there is no limit for the account.

To modify limits for an existing account, use an ALTER USER statement. The following statement changes the query limit for francis to 100:

mysql> ALTER USER 'francis'@'localhost' WITH MAX_QUERIES_PER_HOUR 100;

The statement modifies only the limit value specified and leaves the account otherwise unchanged.

To remove a limit, set its value to zero. For example, to remove the limit on how many times per hour francis can connect, use this statement:

mysql> ALTER USER 'francis'@'localhost' WITH MAX_CONNECTIONS_PER_HOUR 0;

As mentioned previously, the simultaneous-connection limit for an account is determined from the MAX_USER_CONNECTIONS limit and the max_user_connections system variable. Suppose that the global max_user_connections value is 10 and three accounts have individual resource limits specified as follows:

ALTER USER 'user1'@'localhost' WITH MAX_USER_CONNECTIONS 0;
ALTER USER 'user2'@'localhost' WITH MAX_USER_CONNECTIONS 5;
ALTER USER 'user3'@'localhost' WITH MAX_USER_CONNECTIONS 20;

user1 has a connection limit of 10 (the global max_user_connections value) because it has a MAX_USER_CONNECTIONS limit of zero. user2 and user3 have connection limits of 5 and 20, respectively, because they have nonzero MAX_USER_CONNECTIONS limits.

The server stores resource limits for an account in the user table row corresponding to the account. The max_questions, max_updates, and max_connections columns store the per-hour limits, and the max_user_connections column stores the MAX_USER_CONNECTIONS limit. (See Section 6.2.3, “Grant Tables”.)

Resource-use counting takes place when any account has a nonzero limit placed on its use of any of the resources.

As the server runs, it counts the number of times each account uses resources. If an account reaches its limit on number of connections within the last hour, the server rejects further connections for the account until that hour is up. Similarly, if the account reaches its limit on the number of queries or updates, the server rejects further queries or updates until the hour is up. In all such cases, the server issues appropriate error messages.

Resource counting occurs per account, not per client. For example, if your account has a query limit of 50, you cannot increase your limit to 100 by making two simultaneous client connections to the server. Queries issued on both connections are counted together.

The current per-hour resource-use counts can be reset globally for all accounts, or individually for a given account:

  • To reset the current counts to zero for all accounts, issue a FLUSH USER_RESOURCES statement. The counts also can be reset by reloading the grant tables (for example, with a FLUSH PRIVILEGES statement or a mysqladmin reload command).

  • The counts for an individual account can be reset to zero by setting any of its limits again. Specify a limit value equal to the value currently assigned to the account.

Per-hour counter resets do not affect the MAX_USER_CONNECTIONS limit.

All counts begin at zero when the server starts. Counts do not carry over through server restarts.

For the MAX_USER_CONNECTIONS limit, an edge case can occur if the account currently has open the maximum number of connections permitted to it: A disconnect followed quickly by a connect can result in an error (ER_TOO_MANY_USER_CONNECTIONS or ER_USER_LIMIT_REACHED) if the server has not fully processed the disconnect by the time the connect occurs. When the server finishes disconnect processing, another connection will once more be permitted.

6.3.7 Assigning Account Passwords

Required credentials for clients that connect to the MySQL server can include a password. This section describes how to assign passwords for MySQL accounts.

MySQL stores passwords in the user table in the mysql system database. Operations that assign or modify passwords are permitted only to users with the CREATE USER privilege, or, alternatively, privileges for the mysql database (INSERT privilege to create new accounts, UPDATE privilege to modify existing accounts). If the read_only system variable is enabled, use of account-modification statements such as CREATE USER or ALTER USER additionally requires the CONNECTION_ADMIN or SUPER privilege.

The discussion here summarizes syntax only for the most common password-assignment statements. For complete details on other possibilities, see Section 13.7.1.3, “CREATE USER Syntax”, Section 13.7.1.1, “ALTER USER Syntax”, Section 13.7.1.6, “GRANT Syntax”, and Section 13.7.1.10, “SET PASSWORD Syntax”.

MySQL hashes passwords stored in the mysql.user table to obfuscate them. For the statements described here, MySQL automatically hashes the password specified. There are also syntaxes for CREATE USER and ALTER USER that permit hashed values to be specified literally; for details, see the descriptions of those statements.

MySQL uses plugins to perform client authentication; see Section 6.3.10, “Pluggable Authentication”. The authentication plugin associated with an account determines the algorithm used to hash passwords for that account.

To assign a password when you create a new account, use CREATE USER and include an IDENTIFIED BY clause:

CREATE USER 'jeffrey'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'mypass';

For this CREATE USER syntax, MySQL automatically hashes the password before storing it in the mysql.user table.

CREATE USER also supports syntax for specifying the account authentication plugin. See Section 13.7.1.3, “CREATE USER Syntax”.

To assign or change a password for an existing account, use one of the following methods:

  • Use the ALTER USER statement with an IDENTIFIED BY clause:

    ALTER USER 'jeffrey'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'mypass';
    

    If you are not connected as an anonymous user, you can change your own password without naming your own account literally:

    ALTER USER USER() IDENTIFIED BY 'mypass';
    

    For these ALTER USER syntaxes, MySQL automatically hashes the password before storing it in the mysql.user table.

  • To change an account password from the command line, use the mysqladmin command:

    mysqladmin -u user_name -h host_name password "new_password"
    

    The account for which this command sets the password is the one with a mysql.user table row that matches user_name in the User column and the client host from which you connect in the Host column.

    For password changes made using mysqladmin, MySQL automatically hashes the password before storing it in the mysql.user table.

If you are using MySQL Replication, be aware that, currently, a password used by a replication slave as part of a CHANGE MASTER TO statement is effectively limited to 32 characters in length; if the password is longer, any excess characters are truncated. This is not due to any limit imposed by the MySQL Server generally, but rather is an issue specific to MySQL Replication. (For more information, see Bug #43439.)

6.3.8 Password Expiration Policy

Account passwords have an age, assessed from the date and time of the most recent password change.

MySQL enables database administrators to expire account passwords manually, and to establish a policy for automatic password expiration.

For example, to expire an account password manually, use the ALTER USER statement:

ALTER USER 'jeffrey'@'localhost' PASSWORD EXPIRE;

This operation marks the password expired in the corresponding mysql.user table row. The mysql.user table indicates for each account when its password was last changed, and the server automatically treats the password as expired at client connection time if its age is greater than its permitted lifetime. This works with no explicit manual password expiration.

The default_password_lifetime system variable defines the global automatic password expiration policy. It applies to accounts that use MySQL built-in authentication methods (accounts that use an authentication plugin of mysql_native_password or sha256_password).

The default default_password_lifetime value is 0, which disables automatic password expiration. If the value of default_password_lifetime is a positive integer N, it indicates the permitted password lifetime; passwords must be changed every N days.

Examples:

  • To establish a global policy that passwords have a lifetime of approximately six months, start the server with these lines in an option file:

    [mysqld]
    default_password_lifetime=180
    
  • To establish a global policy such that passwords never expire, set default_password_lifetime to 0:

    [mysqld]
    default_password_lifetime=0
    
  • default_password_lifetime can also be changed at runtime (this requires the SYSTEM_VARIABLES_ADMIN or SUPER privilege):

    SET GLOBAL default_password_lifetime = 180;
    SET GLOBAL default_password_lifetime = 0;
    

No matter the global policy, it can be established with CREATE USER or changed with ALTER USER for individual accounts:

  • Require the password to be changed every 90 days:

    CREATE USER 'jeffrey'@'localhost' PASSWORD EXPIRE INTERVAL 90 DAY;
    ALTER USER 'jeffrey'@'localhost' PASSWORD EXPIRE INTERVAL 90 DAY;
    
  • Disable password expiration:

    CREATE USER 'jeffrey'@'localhost' PASSWORD EXPIRE NEVER;
    ALTER USER 'jeffrey'@'localhost' PASSWORD EXPIRE NEVER;
    
  • Defer to the global expiration policy:

    CREATE USER 'jeffrey'@'localhost' PASSWORD EXPIRE DEFAULT;
    ALTER USER 'jeffrey'@'localhost' PASSWORD EXPIRE DEFAULT;
    

    PASSWORD EXPIRE DEFAULT defers to the global exipration policy and in the mysql.user table sets the password_lifetime field to NULL for the named account.

When a client successfully connects, the server determines whether the account password is expired:

  • The server checks whether the password has been manually expired and, if so, restricts the session.

  • Otherwise, the server checks whether the password age is greater than its permitted lifetime according to the automatic password expiration policy. If so, the server considers the password expired and restricts the session.

A restricted client operates in sandbox mode,, which limits the operations permitted to the client (see Section 6.3.9, “Password Expiration and Sandbox Mode”). Operations performed by a restricted client result in an error until the user establishes a new account password:

mysql> SELECT 1;
ERROR 1820 (HY000): You must reset your password using ALTER USER
statement before executing this statement.

mysql> ALTER USER USER() IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.01 sec)

mysql> SELECT 1;
+---+
| 1 |
+---+
| 1 |
+---+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

This restricted mode of operation permits SET statements, which is useful if the deprecated SET PASSWORD is used instead of ALTER USER and the account password has a hashing format that requires old_passwords to be set to a value different from its default.

It is possible for an administrative user to reset the account password, but any existing sessions for that account remain restricted. A client using the account must disconnect and reconnect before statements can be executed successfully.

Note

It is possible to reset a password by setting it to its current value. As a matter of good policy, it is preferable to choose a different password.

6.3.9 Password Expiration and Sandbox Mode

MySQL provides password-expiration capability to enable database administrators to expire account passwords and require users to reset their password. This section describes how password expiration works.

To expire an account password, use the ALTER USER statement. For example:

ALTER USER 'myuser'@'localhost' PASSWORD EXPIRE;

This statement modifies the row of the mysql.user table associated with the named account, setting the password_expired column to 'Y'. This does not affect any current connections the account has open. For each subsequent connection that uses the account, the server either disconnects the client or handles the client in sandbox mode, in which the server permits to the client only those operations necessary to reset the expired password. The action taken by the server depends on both client and server settings.

If the server disconnects the client, it returns an ER_MUST_CHANGE_PASSWORD_LOGIN error:

shell> mysql -u myuser -p
Password: ******
ERROR 1862 (HY000): Your password has expired. To log in you must
change it using a client that supports expired passwords.

If the server puts the client in sandbox mode, these operations are permitted within the client session:

  • The client can reset the account password with ALTER USER or SET PASSWORD. This modifies the row of the mysql.user table associated with the current account, setting the password_expired column to 'N'. After the password has been reset, the server restores normal access for the session, as well as for subsequent connections that use the account.

    It is possible to reset a password by setting it to its current value. As a matter of good policy, it is preferable to choose a different password.

  • The client can use SET statements, which is useful if the deprecated SET PASSWORD is used instead of ALTER USER and the account password has a hashing format that requires old_passwords to be set to a value different from its default.

For any operation not permitted within the session, the server returns an ER_MUST_CHANGE_PASSWORD error:

mysql> USE performance_schema;
ERROR 1820 (HY000): You must reset your password using ALTER USER
statement before executing this statement.

mysql> SELECT 1;
ERROR 1820 (HY000): You must reset your password using ALTER USER
statement before executing this statement.

For noninteractive invocations of the mysql client (for example, in batch mode), the server normally disconnects the client if the password is expired. To permit noninteractive mysql invocations to stay connected so that the password can be changed (using the statements just described), add the --connect-expired-password option to the mysql command.

As mentioned previously, whether the server disconnects an expired-password client or puts it in sandbox mode depends on a combination of client and server settings. The following discussion describes the relevant settings and how they interact.

On the client side, a given client indicates whether it can handle sandbox mode for expired passwords. For clients that use the C client library, there are two ways to do this:

  • Pass the MYSQL_OPT_CAN_HANDLE_EXPIRED_PASSWORDS flag to mysql_options() prior to connecting:

    arg = 1;
    result = mysql_options(mysql,
                           MYSQL_OPT_CAN_HANDLE_EXPIRED_PASSWORDS, &arg);
    

    The mysql client enables MYSQL_OPT_CAN_HANDLE_EXPIRED_PASSWORDS if invoked interactively or the --connect-expired-password option is given.

  • Pass the CLIENT_CAN_HANDLE_EXPIRED_PASSWORDS flag to mysql_real_connect() at connection time:

    mysql = mysql_real_connect(mysql,
                               host, user, password, "test",
                               port, unix_socket,
                               CLIENT_CAN_HANDLE_EXPIRED_PASSWORDS);
    

Other MySQL Connectors have their own conventions for indicating readiness to handle sandbox mode. See the relevant Connector documentation.

On the server side, if a client indicates that it can handle expired passwords, the server puts it in sandbox mode.

If a client does not indicate that it can handle expired passwords (or uses an older version of the client library that cannot so indicate), the server action depends on the value of the disconnect_on_expired_password system variable:

The preceding client and server settings apply only for accounts with expired passwords. If a client connects using a nonexpired password, the server handles the client normally.

6.3.10 Pluggable Authentication

When a client connects to the MySQL server, the server uses the user name provided by the client and the client host to select the appropriate account row from the mysql.user table. The server then authenticates the client, determining from the account row which authentication plugin applies to the client. The server invokes that plugin to authenticate the user, and the plugin returns a status to the server indicating whether the user is permitted to connect. If the server cannot find the plugin, an error occurs and the connection attempt is rejected.

Pluggable authentication enables two important capabilities:

  • External authentication: Pluggable authentication makes it possible for clients to connect to the MySQL server with credentials that are appropriate for authentication methods that store credentials elsewhere than in the mysql.user table. For example, plugins can be created to use external authentication methods such as PAM, Windows login IDs, LDAP, or Kerberos.

  • Proxy users: If a user is permitted to connect, an authentication plugin can return to the server a user name different from the name of the connecting user, to indicate that the connecting user is a proxy for another user (the proxied user). While the connection lasts, the proxy user is treated, for purposes of access control, as having the privileges of the proxied user. In effect, one user impersonates another. For more information, see Section 6.3.11, “Proxy Users”.

Several authentication plugins are available in MySQL:

  • A plugin that performs native authentication; that is, authentication based on the password hashing method in use from before the introduction of pluggable authentication in MySQL. The mysql_native_password plugin implements authentication based on this native password hashing method. See Section 6.5.1.1, “Native Pluggable Authentication”. Native authentication using mysql_native_password is the default for new accounts, unless the default_authentication_plugin system variable is set otherwise.

  • A plugin that performs authentication using SHA-256 password hashing. This encryption is stronger than that available with native authentication. See Section 6.5.1.2, “SHA-256 Pluggable Authentication”.

  • A client-side plugin that sends the password to the server without hashing or encryption. This plugin is used in conjunction with server-side plugins that require access to the password exactly as provided by the client user. See Section 6.5.1.3, “Client-Side Cleartext Pluggable Authentication”.

  • A plugin prevents all client connections to any account that uses it. Use cases for this plugin include accounts that must be able to execute stored programs and views with elevated privileges without exposing those privileges to ordinary users, and proxied accounts that should never permit direct login but are accessed only through proxy accounts. See Section 6.5.1.4, “No-Login Pluggable Authentication”.

  • A plugin that authenticates clients that connect from the local host through the Unix socket file. See Section 6.5.1.5, “Socket Peer-Credential Pluggable Authentication”.

  • A test plugin that checks account credentials and logs success or failure to the server error log. This plugin is intended for testing and development purposes, and as an example of how to write an authentication plugin. See Section 6.5.1.6, “Test Pluggable Authentication”.

Note

For information about current restrictions on the use of pluggable authentication, including which connectors support which plugins, see Section C.9, “Restrictions on Pluggable Authentication”.

Third-party connector developers should read that section to determine the extent to which a connector can take advantage of pluggable authentication capabilities and what steps to take to become more compliant.

If you are interested in writing your own authentication plugins, see Section 28.2.4.9, “Writing Authentication Plugins”.

Authentication Plugin Usage Instructions

This section provides general instructions for installing and using authentication plugins. For instructions specific to a given plugin, see the section that describes that plugin.

In general, pluggable authentication uses corresponding plugins on the server and client sides, so you use a given authentication method like this:

  • If necessary, install the plugin library or libraries containing the appropriate plugins. On the server host, install the library containing the server-side plugin, so that the server can use it to authenticate client connections. Similarly, on each client host, install the library containing the client-side plugin for use by client programs. Authentication plugins that are built in need not be installed.

  • For each MySQL account that you create, specify the appropriate server-side plugin to use for authentication.

  • When a client connects, the server-side plugin tells the client program which client-side plugin to use for authentication.

In the case that an account uses an authentication method that is the default for both the server and the client program, the server need not communicate to the client which client-side plugin to use, and a round trip in client/server negotiation can be avoided. This is true for accounts that use native MySQL authentication (mysql_native_password).

The --default-auth=plugin_name option can be specified on the mysql command line as a hint about which client-side plugin the program can expect to use, although the server will override this if the server-side plugin associated with the user account requires a different client-side plugin.

If the client program does not find the client-side plugin, specify a --plugin-dir=dir_name option to indicate where the plugin is located.

Note

If you start the server with the --skip-grant-tables option, authentication plugins are not used even if loaded because the server performs no client authentication and permits any client to connect. Because this is insecure, you might want to use --skip-grant-tables in conjunction with --skip-networking to prevent remote clients from connecting. As of MySQL 8.0.3, if the server is started with the --skip-grant-tables option, the server enables --skip-networking automatically to prevent remote connections.

6.3.11 Proxy Users

The MySQL server authenticates client connections using authentication plugins. The plugin that authenticates a given connection may request that the connecting (external) user be treated as a different user for privilege-checking purposes. This enables the external user to be a proxy for the second user; that is, to assume the privileges of the second user:

  • The external user is a proxy user (a user who can impersonate or become known as another user).

  • The second user is a proxied user (a user whose identity and privileges can be assumed by a proxy user).

This section describes how the proxy user capability works. For general information about authentication plugins, see Section 6.3.10, “Pluggable Authentication”. For information about specific plugins, see Section 6.5.1, “Authentication Plugins”. For information about writing authentication plugins that support proxy users, see Section 28.2.4.9.4, “Implementing Proxy User Support in Authentication Plugins”.

Requirements for Proxy User Support

For proxying to occur for a given authentication plugin, these conditions must be satisfied:

  • Proxying must be supported, either by the plugin itself, or by the MySQL server on behalf of the plugin. In the latter case, server support may need to be enabled explicitly; see Server Support for Proxy User Mapping.

  • The proxy user account must be set up to be authenticated by the plugin. Use the CREATE USER statement to associate an account with an authentication plugin, or ALTER USER to change its plugin.

  • The proxied user account must be created and granted the privileges to be assumed by the proxy user. Use the CREATE USER and GRANT statements for this.

  • The proxy user account must have the PROXY privilege for the proxied account. Use the GRANT statement for this.

  • For a client connecting to the proxy account to be treated as a proxy user, the authentication plugin must return a user name different from the client user name, to indicate the user name of the proxied account that defines the privileges to be assumed by the proxy user.

    Alternatively, for plugins that are provided proxy mapping by the server, the proxied user is determined from the PROXY privilege held by the proxy user.

The proxy mechanism permits mapping only the client user name to the proxied user name. There is no provision for mapping host names. When a connecting client matches a proxy account, the server attempts to find a match for a proxied account using the user name returned by the authentication plugin and the host name of the proxy account.

Consider the following account definitions:

-- create proxy account
CREATE USER 'employee_ext'@'localhost'
  IDENTIFIED WITH my_auth_plugin AS 'my_auth_string';

-- create proxied account and grant its privileges
CREATE USER 'employee'@'localhost'
  IDENTIFIED BY 'employee_pass';
GRANT ALL ON employees.*
  TO 'employee'@'localhost';

-- grant PROXY privilege to proxy account for proxied account
GRANT PROXY
  ON 'employee'@'localhost'
  TO 'employee_ext'@'localhost';

When a client connects as employee_ext from the local host, MySQL uses the plugin named my_auth_plugin to perform authentication. Suppose that my_auth_plugin returns a user name of employee to the server, based on the content of 'my_auth_string' and perhaps by consulting some external authentication system. The name employee differs from employee_ext, so returning employee serves as a request to the server to treat the employee_ext client, for purposes of privilege checking, as the employee local user.

In this case, employee_ext is the proxy user and employee is the proxied user.

The server verifies that proxy authentication for employee is possible for the employee_ext user by checking whether employee_ext (the proxy user) has the PROXY privilege for employee (the proxied user). If this privilege has not been granted, an error occurs. Otherwise, employee_ext assumes the privileges of employee. The server checks statements executed during the client session by employee_ext against the privileges granted to employee. In this case, employee_ext can access tables in the employees database.

When proxying occurs, the USER() and CURRENT_USER() functions can be used to see the difference between the connecting user (the proxy user) and the account whose privileges apply during the current session (the proxied user). For the example just described, those functions return these values:

mysql> SELECT USER(), CURRENT_USER();
+------------------------+--------------------+
| USER()                 | CURRENT_USER()     |
+------------------------+--------------------+
| employee_ext@localhost | employee@localhost |
+------------------------+--------------------+

In the CREATE USER statement that creates the proxy user account, the IDENTIFIED WITH clause that names the authentication plugin is optionally followed by an AS 'auth_string' clause specifying a string that the server passes to the plugin when the user connects. If present, the string provides information that helps the plugin determine how to map the external client user name to a proxied user name. It is up to each plugin whether it requires the AS clause. If so, the format of the authentication string depends on how the plugin intends to use it. Consult the documentation for a given plugin for information about the authentication string values it accepts.

Granting the Proxy Privilege

The PROXY privilege is needed to enable an external user to connect as and have the privileges of another user. To grant this privilege, use the GRANT statement. For example:

GRANT PROXY ON 'proxied_user' TO 'proxy_user';

The statement creates a row in the mysql.proxies_priv grant table.

At connection time, proxy_user must represent a valid externally authenticated MySQL user, and proxied_user must represent a valid locally authenticated user. Otherwise, the connection attempt fails.

The corresponding REVOKE syntax is:

REVOKE PROXY ON 'proxied_user' FROM 'proxy_user';

MySQL GRANT and REVOKE syntax extensions work as usual. For example:

GRANT PROXY ON 'a' TO 'b', 'c', 'd';
GRANT PROXY ON 'a' TO 'd' WITH GRANT OPTION;
GRANT PROXY ON 'a' TO ''@'';
REVOKE PROXY ON 'a' FROM 'b', 'c', 'd';

The PROXY privilege can be granted in these cases:

  • By a user that has GRANT PROXY ... WITH GRANT OPTION for proxied_user.

  • By proxied_user for itself: The value of USER() must exactly match CURRENT_USER() and proxied_user, for both the user name and host name parts of the account name.

The initial root account created during MySQL installation has the PROXY ... WITH GRANT OPTION privilege for ''@'', that is, for all users and all hosts. This enables root to set up proxy users, as well as to delegate to other accounts the authority to set up proxy users. For example, root can do this:

CREATE USER 'admin'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'test';
GRANT PROXY ON ''@'' TO 'admin'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Those statements create an admin user that can manage all GRANT PROXY mappings. For example, admin can do this:

GRANT PROXY ON sally TO joe;

Default Proxy Users

To specify that some or all users should connect using a given authentication plugin, create a blank MySQL account (''@''), associate it with that plugin, and let the plugin return the real authenticated user name (if different from the blank user). For example, suppose that there exists a plugin named ldap_auth that implements LDAP authentication and maps connecting users onto either a developer or manager account. To set up proxying of users onto these accounts, use the following statements:

-- create default proxy account
CREATE USER ''@'' IDENTIFIED WITH ldap_auth AS 'O=Oracle, OU=MySQL';

-- create proxied accounts
CREATE USER 'developer'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'developer_pass';
CREATE USER 'manager'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'manager_pass';

-- grant PROXY privilege to default proxy account for proxied accounts
GRANT PROXY ON 'manager'@'localhost' TO ''@'';
GRANT PROXY ON 'developer'@'localhost' TO ''@'';

Now assume that a client connects as follows:

shell> mysql --user=myuser --password ...
Enter password: myuser_pass

The server will not find myuser defined as a MySQL user. But because there is a blank user account (''@'') that matches the client user name and host name, the server authenticates the client against that account: The server invokes the ldap_auth authentication plugin and passes myuser and myuser_pass to it as the user name and password.

If the ldap_auth plugin finds in the LDAP directory that myuser_pass is not the correct password for myuser, authentication fails and the server rejects the connection.

If the password is correct and ldap_auth finds that myuser is a developer, it returns the user name developer to the MySQL server, rather than myuser. Returning a user name different from the client user name of myuser signals to the server that it should treat myuser as a proxy. The server verifies that ''@'' can authenticate as developer (because that account has the PROXY privilege to do so) and accepts the connection. The session proceeds with myuser having the privileges of developer, the proxied user. (These privileges should be set up by the DBA using GRANT statements, not shown.) The USER() and CURRENT_USER() functions return these values:

mysql> SELECT USER(), CURRENT_USER();
+------------------+---------------------+
| USER()           | CURRENT_USER()      |
+------------------+---------------------+
| myuser@localhost | developer@localhost |
+------------------+---------------------+

If the plugin instead finds in the LDAP directory that myuser is a manager, it returns manager as the user name and the session proceeds with myuser having the privileges of manager.

mysql> SELECT USER(), CURRENT_USER();
+------------------+-------------------+
| USER()           | CURRENT_USER()    |
+------------------+-------------------+
| myuser@localhost | manager@localhost |
+------------------+-------------------+

For simplicity, external authentication cannot be multilevel: Neither the credentials for developer nor those for manager are taken into account in the preceding example. However, they are still used if a client tries to connect and authenticate directly as the developer or manager account, which is why those accounts should be assigned passwords.

Default Proxy User and Anonymous User Conflicts

If you intend to create a default proxy user, check for other existing match any user accounts that take precedence over the default proxy user because they can prevent that user from working as intended.

In the preceding discussion, the default proxy user account has '' in the host part, which matches any host. If you set up a default proxy user, take care to also check whether nonproxy accounts exist with the same user part and '%' in the host part, because '%' also matches any host, but has precedence over '' by the rules that the server uses to sort account rows internally (see Section 6.2.6, “Access Control, Stage 1: Connection Verification”).

Suppose that a MySQL installation includes these two accounts:

-- create default proxy account
CREATE USER ''@''
  IDENTIFIED WITH some_plugin AS 'some_auth_string';
-- create anonymous account
CREATE USER ''@'%'
  IDENTIFIED BY 'some_password';

The first account (''@'') is intended as the default proxy user, used to authenticate connections for users who do not otherwise match a more-specific account. The second account (''@'%') is an anonymous-user account, which might have been created, for example, to enable users without their own account to connect anonymously.

Both accounts have the same user part (''), which matches any user. And each account has a host part that matches any host. Nevertheless, there is a priority in account matching for connection attempts because the matching rules sort a host of '%' ahead of ''. For accounts that do not match any more-specific account, the server attempts to authenticate them against ''@'%' (the anonymous user) rather than ''@'' (the default proxy user). The result is that the default proxy account is never used.

To avoid this problem, use one of the following strategies:

  • Remove the anonymous account so that it does not conflict with the default proxy user. This might be a good idea anyway if you want to associate every connection with a named user.

  • Use a more-specific default proxy user that matches ahead of the anonymous user. For example, to permit only localhost proxy connections, use ''@'localhost':

    CREATE USER ''@'localhost'
      IDENTIFIED WITH some_plugin AS 'some_auth_string';
    

    In addition, modify any GRANT PROXY statements to name ''@'localhost' rather than ''@'' as the proxy user.

    Be aware that this strategy prevents anonymous-user connections from localhost.

  • Create multiple proxy users, one for local connections and one for everything else (remote connections). This can be useful particularly when local users should have different privileges from remote users.

    Create the proxy users:

    -- create proxy user for local connections
    CREATE USER ''@'localhost'
      IDENTIFIED WITH some_plugin AS 'some_auth_string';
    -- create proxy user for remote connections
    CREATE USER ''@'%'
      IDENTIFIED WITH some_plugin AS 'some_auth_string';
    

    Create the proxied users:

    -- create proxied user for local connections
    CREATE USER 'developer'@'localhost'
      IDENTIFIED BY 'some_password';
    -- create proxied user for remote connections
    CREATE USER 'developer'@'%'
      IDENTIFIED BY 'some_password';
    

    Grant the proxy privilege to each proxy user for the corresponding proxied user:

    GRANT PROXY ON 'developer'@'localhost' TO ''@'localhost';
    GRANT PROXY ON 'developer'@'%' TO ''@'%';
    

    Finally, grant appropriate privileges to the local and remote proxied users (not shown).

    Assume that the some_plugin/'some_auth_string' combination causes some_plugin to map the client user name to developer. Local connections match the ''@'localhost' proxy user, which maps to the 'developer'@'localhost' proxied user. Remote connections match the ''@'%' proxy user, which maps to the 'developer'@'%' proxied user.

Server Support for Proxy User Mapping

Some authentication plugins implement proxy user mapping for themselves. For certain others, the MySQL server itself can map proxy users according to granted proxy privileges. If the check_proxy_users system variable is enabled, the server performs proxy user mapping for any authentication plugins that request it:

Proxy user mapping performed by the server is subject to these restrictions:

  • The server will not proxy to or from an anonymous user, even if the associated PROXY privilege is granted.

  • When a single account has been granted proxy privileges for more than one proxied account, server proxy user mapping is nondeterministic. Therefore, granting to a single account proxy privileges for multiple proxied accounts is discouraged.

Proxy User System Variables

Two system variables help trace the proxy login process:

  • proxy_user: This value is NULL if proxying is not used. Otherwise, it indicates the proxy user account. For example, if a client authenticates through the ''@'' proxy account, this variable is set as follows:

    mysql> SELECT @@proxy_user;
    +--------------+
    | @@proxy_user |
    +--------------+
    | ''@''        |
    +--------------+
    
  • external_user: Sometimes the authentication plugin may use an external user to authenticate to the MySQL server. For example, when using Windows native authentication, a plugin that authenticates using the windows API does not need the login ID passed to it. However, it still uses a Windows user ID to authenticate. The plugin may return this external user ID (or the first 512 UTF-8 bytes of it) to the server using the external_user read-only session variable. If the plugin does not set this variable, its value is NULL.

6.3.12 User Account Locking

MySQL supports locking and unlocking user accounts using the ACCOUNT LOCK and ACCOUNT UNLOCK clauses for the CREATE USER and ALTER USER statements:

  • When used with CREATE USER, these clauses specify the initial locking state for a new account. In the absence of either clause, the account is created in an unlocked state.

  • When used with ALTER USER, these clauses specify the new locking state for an existing account. In the absence of either clause, the account locking state remains unchanged.

Account locking state is recorded in the account_locked column of the mysql.user table. The output from SHOW CREATE USER indicates whether an account is locked or unlocked.

If a client attempts to connect to a locked account, the attempt fails. The server increments the Locked_connects status variable that indicates the number of attempts to connect to a locked account, returns an ER_ACCOUNT_HAS_BEEN_LOCKED error, and writes a message to the error log:

Access denied for user 'user_name'@'host_name'.
Account is locked.

Locking an account does not affect being able to connect using a proxy user that assumes the identity of the locked account. It also does not affect the ability to execute stored programs or views that have a DEFINER clause naming the locked account. That is, the ability to use a proxied account or stored programs or views is not affected by locking the account.

The account-locking capability depends on the presence of the account_locked column in the mysql.user table. For upgrades to MySQL 5.7.6 and later from older versions, run mysql_upgrade to ensure that this column exists. For nonupgraded installations that have no account_locked column, the server treats all accounts as unlocked, and using the ACCOUNT LOCK or ACCOUNT UNLOCK clauses produces an error.

6.3.13 SQL-Based MySQL Account Activity Auditing

Applications can use the following guidelines to perform SQL-based auditing that ties database activity to MySQL accounts.

MySQL accounts correspond to rows in the mysql.user table. When a client connects successfully, the server authenticates the client to a particular row in this table. The User and Host column values in this row uniquely identify the account and correspond to the 'user_name'@'host_name' format in which account names are written in SQL statements.

The account used to authenticate a client determines which privileges the client has. Normally, the CURRENT_USER() function can be invoked to determine which account this is for the client user. Its value is constructed from the User and Host columns of the user table row for the account.

However, there are circumstances under which the CURRENT_USER() value corresponds not to the client user but to a different account. This occurs in contexts when privilege checking is not based the client's account:

  • Stored routines (procedures and functions) defined with the SQL SECURITY DEFINER characteristic

  • Views defined with the SQL SECURITY DEFINER characteristic

  • Triggers and events

In those contexts, privilege checking is done against the DEFINER account and CURRENT_USER() refers to that account, not to the account for the client who invoked the stored routine or view or who caused the trigger to activate. To determine the invoking user, you can call the USER() function, which returns a value indicating the actual user name provided by the client and the host from which the client connected. However, this value does not necessarily correspond directly to an account in the user table, because the USER() value never contains wildcards, whereas account values (as returned by CURRENT_USER()) may contain user name and host name wildcards.

For example, a blank user name matches any user, so an account of ''@'localhost' enables clients to connect as an anonymous user from the local host with any user name. In this case, if a client connects as user1 from the local host, USER() and CURRENT_USER() return different values:

mysql> SELECT USER(), CURRENT_USER();
+-----------------+----------------+
| USER()          | CURRENT_USER() |
+-----------------+----------------+
| user1@localhost | @localhost     |
+-----------------+----------------+

The host name part of an account can contain wildcards, too. If the host name contains a '%' or '_' pattern character or uses netmask notation, the account can be used for clients connecting from multiple hosts and the CURRENT_USER() value will not indicate which one. For example, the account 'user2'@'%.example.com' can be used by user2 to connect from any host in the example.com domain. If user2 connects from remote.example.com, USER() and CURRENT_USER() return different values:

mysql> SELECT USER(), CURRENT_USER();
+--------------------------+---------------------+
| USER()                   | CURRENT_USER()      |
+--------------------------+---------------------+
| user2@remote.example.com | user2@%.example.com |
+--------------------------+---------------------+

If an application must invoke USER() for user auditing (for example, if it does auditing from within triggers) but must also be able to associate the USER() value with an account in the user table, it is necessary to avoid accounts that contain wildcards in the User or Host column. Specifically, do not permit User to be empty (which creates an anonymous-user account), and do not permit pattern characters or netmask notation in Host values. All accounts must have a nonempty User value and literal Host value.

With respect to the previous examples, the ''@'localhost' and 'user2'@'%.example.com' accounts should be changed not to use wildcards:

RENAME USER ''@'localhost' TO 'user1'@'localhost';
RENAME USER 'user2'@'%.example.com' TO 'user2'@'remote.example.com';

If user2 must be able to connect from several hosts in the example.com domain, there should be a separate account for each host.

To extract the user name or host name part from a CURRENT_USER() or USER() value, use the SUBSTRING_INDEX() function:

mysql> SELECT SUBSTRING_INDEX(CURRENT_USER(),'@',1);
+---------------------------------------+
| SUBSTRING_INDEX(CURRENT_USER(),'@',1) |
+---------------------------------------+
| user1                                 |
+---------------------------------------+

mysql> SELECT SUBSTRING_INDEX(CURRENT_USER(),'@',-1);
+----------------------------------------+
| SUBSTRING_INDEX(CURRENT_USER(),'@',-1) |
+----------------------------------------+
| localhost                              |
+----------------------------------------+

6.4 Using Encrypted Connections

With an unencrypted connection between the MySQL client and the server, someone with access to the network could watch all your traffic and inspect the data being sent or received between client and server.

When you must move information over a network in a secure fashion, an unencrypted connection is unacceptable. To make any kind of data unreadable, use encryption. Encryption algorithms must include security elements to resist many kinds of known attacks such as changing the order of encrypted messages or replaying data twice.

MySQL supports encrypted connections between clients and the server using the TLS (Transport Layer Security) protocol. TLS is sometimes referred to as SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) but MySQL does not actually use the SSL protocol for encrypted connections because its encryption is weak (see Section 6.4.6, “Encrypted Connection Protocols and Ciphers”).

TLS uses encryption algorithms to ensure that data received over a public network can be trusted. It has mechanisms to detect data change, loss, or replay. TLS also incorporates algorithms that provide identity verification using the X509 standard.

X509 makes it possible to identify someone on the Internet. In basic terms, there should be some entity called a Certificate Authority (or CA) that assigns electronic certificates to anyone who needs them. Certificates rely on asymmetric encryption algorithms that have two encryption keys (a public key and a secret key). A certificate owner can present the certificate to another party as proof of identity. A certificate consists of its owner's public key. Any data encrypted using this public key can be decrypted only using the corresponding secret key, which is held by the owner of the certificate.

MySQL can be compiled for encrypted-connection support using OpenSSL or yaSSL. For a comparison of the two packages, see Section 6.4.4, “OpenSSL Versus yaSSL” For information about the encryption protocols and ciphers each package supports, see Section 6.4.6, “Encrypted Connection Protocols and Ciphers”.

By default, MySQL programs attempt to connect using encryption if the server supports encrypted connections, falling back to an unencrypted connection if an encrypted connection cannot be established. For information about options that affect use of encrypted connections, see Section 6.4.1, “Configuring MySQL to Use Encrypted Connections” and Section 6.4.2, “Command Options for Encrypted Connections”.

MySQL performs encryption on a per-connection basis, and use of encryption for a given user can be optional or mandatory. This enables you to choose an encrypted or unencrypted connection according to the requirements of individual applications. For information on how to require users to use encrypted connections, see the discussion of the REQUIRE clause of the CREATE USER statement in Section 13.7.1.3, “CREATE USER Syntax”. See also the description of the require_secure_transport system variable at Section 5.1.5, “Server System Variables”

Encrypted connections can be used between master and slave replication servers. See Section 18.3.9, “Setting Up Replication to Use Encrypted Connections”.

For information about using encrypted connections from the MySQL C API, see Section 27.7.18, “C API Encrypted Connection Support”.

It is also possible to connect using encryption from within an SSH connection to the MySQL server host. For an example, see Section 6.4.7, “Connecting to MySQL Remotely from Windows with SSH”.

6.4.1 Configuring MySQL to Use Encrypted Connections

Several options are available to indicate whether to use encrypted connections, and to specify the appropriate certificate and key files. This section provides general guidance about configuring the server and clients for encrypted connections:

For a complete list of options related to establishment of encrypted connections, see Section 6.4.2, “Command Options for Encrypted Connections”. If you need to create the required certificate and key files, see Section 6.4.3, “Creating SSL and RSA Certificates and Keys”.

Encrypted connections can be used between master and slave replication servers. See Section 18.3.9, “Setting Up Replication to Use Encrypted Connections”.

Encrypted connections are available through the MySQL C API. See Section 27.7.18, “C API Encrypted Connection Support”.

Server-Side Configuration for Encrypted Connections

On the server side, the --ssl option specifies that the server permits but does not require encrypted connections. This option is enabled by default.

These options on the server side identify the certificate and key files the server uses when permitting clients to establish encrypted connections:

  • --ssl-ca identifies the Certificate Authority (CA) certificate.

  • --ssl-cert identifies the server public key certificate. This can be sent to the client and authenticated against the CA certificate that it has.

  • --ssl-key identifies the server private key.

For example, to enable the server for encrypted connections, start it with these lines in the my.cnf file, changing the file names as necessary:

[mysqld]
ssl-ca=ca.pem
ssl-cert=server-cert.pem
ssl-key=server-key.pem

Each option names a file in PEM format. If you need to create the required certificate and key files, see Section 6.4.3, “Creating SSL and RSA Certificates and Keys”. Alternatively, if you have a MySQL source distribution, you can test your setup using the demonstration certificate and key files in its mysql-test/std_data directory.

MySQL servers compiled using OpenSSL can generate missing certificate and key files automatically at startup. See Section 6.4.3.1, “Creating SSL and RSA Certificates and Keys using MySQL”.

The server performs certificate and key file autodiscovery. If --ssl is enabled (possibly along with --ssl-cipher) and other --ssl-xxx options are not given to configure encrypted connections explicitly, the server attempts to enable support for encrypted connections automatically at startup:

  • If the server discovers valid certificate and key files named ca.pem, server-cert.pem, and server-key.pem in the data directory, it enables support for encrypted connections by clients. (The files need not have been generated automatically; what matters is that they have the indicated names and are valid.)

  • If the server does not find valid certificate and key files in the data directory, it continues executing but without support for encrypted connections.

If the server automatically enables support for encrypted connections, it writes a note to the error log. If the server discovers that the CA certificate is self-signed, it writes a warning to the error log. (The certificate is self-signed if created automatically by the server, or manually using mysql_ssl_rsa_setup.)

The server uses the names of any automatically discovered and used certificate and key files to set the corresponding system variables (ssl_ca, ssl_cert, ssl_key).

For further control over whether clients must connect using encryption, use the require_secure_transport system variable; see Section 5.1.5, “Server System Variables”. To specify permitted encryption protocols explicitly, use the tls_version system variable; see Section 6.4.6, “Encrypted Connection Protocols and Ciphers”.

Client-Side Configuration for Encrypted Connections

By default, MySQL client programs attempt to establish an encrypted connection if the server supports encrypted connections, with further control available through the --ssl-mode option:

  • In the absence of an --ssl-mode option, clients attempt to connect using encryption, falling back to an unencrypted connection if an encrypted connection cannot be established. This is also the behavior with an explicit --ssl-mode=PREFFERED option.

  • With --ssl-mode=REQUIRED, clients require an encrypted connection and fail if one cannot be established.

  • With --ssl-mode=DISABLED, clients use an unencrypted connection.

For additional security, the following options on the client side identify the certificate and key files clients use when establishing encrypted connections to the server. They are similar to the options used on the server side, but --ssl-cert and --ssl-key identify the client public and private key:

  • --ssl-ca identifies the Certificate Authority (CA) certificate. This option, if used, must specify the same certificate used by the server.

  • --ssl-cert identifies the client public key certificate.

  • --ssl-key identifies the client private key.

Depending on the encryption requirements of the MySQL account used by a client, the client may be required to specify certain options to connect using encryption to a MySQL server that supports encrypted connections.

Suppose that you want to connect using an account that has no special encryption requirements or was created using a CREATE USER statement that includes the REQUIRE SSL option. Assuming that the server supports encrypted connections, a client can connect using encryption with no --ssl-mode option or with an explicit --ssl-mode=PREFFERED option:

mysql

Or:

mysql --ssl-mode=PREFERRED

For an account with REQUIRE SSL, the connection attempt fails if an encrypted connection cannot be established. For an account with no special encryption requirements, the attempt falls back to an unencrypted connection if an encrypted connection cannot be established. To prevent fallback and fail if an encrypted connection cannot be obtained, connect like this:

mysql --ssl-mode=REQUIRED

If the account has more stringent security requirements, other options must be specified to establish an encrypted connection:

  • For accounts with REQUIRE X509, clients must specify at least --ssl-cert and --ssl-key. In addition, --ssl-ca is recommended so that the public certificate provided by the server can be verified. For example:

    mysql --ssl-ca=ca.pem \
          --ssl-cert=client-cert.pem \
          --ssl-key=client-key.pem
    
  • For accounts that have REQUIRE ISSUER or REQUIRE SUBJECT, the option requirements are the same as for REQUIRE X509, but the certificate must match the issue or subject, respectively, specified in the account definition.

For additional information about the REQUIRE clause, see the discussion in Section 13.7.1.3, “CREATE USER Syntax”.

To prevent use of encryption and override other --ssl-xxx options, invoke the client program with --ssl-mode=DISABLED:

mysql --ssl-mode=DISABLED

To specify permitted encryption protocols explicitly, use the --tls-version option; see Section 6.4.6, “Encrypted Connection Protocols and Ciphers”.

To determine whether the current connection with the server uses encryption, check the value of the Ssl_cipher status variable. If the value is empty, the connection is not encrypted. Otherwise, the connection is encrypted and the value indicates the encryption cipher. For example:

mysql> SHOW SESSION STATUS LIKE 'Ssl_cipher';
+---------------+---------------------------+
| Variable_name | Value                     |
+---------------+---------------------------+
| Ssl_cipher    | DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 |
+---------------+---------------------------+

For the mysql client, an alternative is to use the STATUS or \s command and check the SSL line:

mysql> \s
...
SSL: Not in use
...

Or:

mysql> \s
...
SSL: Cipher in use is DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
...

6.4.2 Command Options for Encrypted Connections

This section describes options that specify whether to use encrypted connections, the names of certificate and key files, and other parameters related to encrypted-connection support. These options can be given on the command line or in an option file. For examples of suggested use and how to check whether a connection is encrypted, see Section 6.4.1, “Configuring MySQL to Use Encrypted Connections”.

For information about using encrypted connections from the MySQL C API, see Section 27.7.18, “C API Encrypted Connection Support”.

Table 6.9 Encrypted-Connection Option Summary

FormatDescription
--skip-sslDo not use encrypted connection
--sslEnable encrypted connection
--ssl-caPath of file that contains list of trusted SSL CAs
--ssl-capathPath of directory that contains trusted SSL CA certificates in PEM format
--ssl-certPath of file that contains X509 certificate in PEM format
--ssl-cipherList of permitted ciphers to use for connection encryption
--ssl-crlPath of file that contains certificate revocation lists
--ssl-crlpathPath of directory that contains certificate revocation list files
--ssl-keyPath of file that contains X509 key in PEM format
--ssl-modeSecurity state of connection to server
--tls-versionProtocols permitted for encrypted connections

  • --ssl

    Note

    The client-side --ssl option is removed in MySQL 8.0. For client programs, use --ssl-mode instead.

    On the server side, the --ssl option specifies that the server permits but does not require encrypted connections. The option is enabled on the server side by default. --ssl is implied by other --ssl-xxx options, as indicated in the descriptions for those options.

    The --ssl option in negated form indicates that encryption should not be used and overrides other --ssl-xxx options. Specify the option as --ssl=0 or a synonym (--skip-ssl, --disable-ssl).

    To specify additional parameters for encrypted connections, use at least --ssl-cert and --ssl-key on the server side and --ssl-ca on the client side. See Section 6.4.1, “Configuring MySQL to Use Encrypted Connections”. That section also describes server capabilities for certificate and key file autogeneration and autodiscovery.

  • --ssl-ca=file_name

    The path to a file in PEM format that contains a list of trusted SSL certificate authorities. On the server side, this option implies --ssl.

    If you use encryption when establishing a client connection, to tell the client not to authenticate the server certificate, specify neither --ssl-ca nor --ssl-capath. The server still verifies the client according to any applicable requirements established for the client account, and it still uses any --ssl-ca or --ssl-capath option values specified at server startup.

  • --ssl-capath=dir_name

    The path to a directory that contains trusted SSL certificate authority certificates in PEM format. On the server side, this option implies --ssl.

    If you use encryption when establishing a client connection, to tell the client not to authenticate the server certificate, specify neither --ssl-ca nor --ssl-capath. The server still verifies the client according to any applicable requirements established for the client account, and it still uses any --ssl-ca or --ssl-capath option values specified at server startup.

    MySQL distributions compiled using OpenSSL support the --ssl-capath option (see Section 6.4.4, “OpenSSL Versus yaSSL”). Distributions compiled using yaSSL do not because yaSSL does not look in any directory and does not follow a chained certificate tree. yaSSL requires that all components of the CA certificate tree be contained within a single CA certificate tree and that each certificate in the file has a unique SubjectName value. To work around this yaSSL limitation, concatenate the individual certificate files comprising the certificate tree into a new file and specify that file as the value of the --ssl-ca option.

  • --ssl-cert=file_name

    The name of the SSL certificate file in PEM format to use for establishing an encrypted connection. On the server side, this option implies --ssl.

  • --ssl-cipher=cipher_list

    A list of permissible ciphers to use for connection encryption. If no cipher in the list is supported, encrypted connections will not work. On the server side, this option implies --ssl.

    For greatest portability, cipher_list should be a list of one or more cipher names, separated by colons. This format is understood both by OpenSSL and yaSSL. Examples:

    --ssl-cipher=AES128-SHA
    --ssl-cipher=DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:AES128-SHA
    

    OpenSSL supports a more flexible syntax for specifying ciphers, as described in the OpenSSL documentation at https://www.openssl.org/docs/manmaster/man1/ciphers.html. yaSSL does not, so attempts to use that extended syntax fail for a MySQL distribution compiled using yaSSL.

    For information about which encryption ciphers MySQL supports, see Section 6.4.6, “Encrypted Connection Protocols and Ciphers”.

  • --ssl-crl=file_name

    The path to a file containing certificate revocation lists in PEM format. On the server side, this option implies --ssl.

    If neither --ssl-crl nor --ssl-crlpath is given, no CRL checks are performed, even if the CA path contains certificate revocation lists.

    MySQL distributions compiled using OpenSSL support the --ssl-crl option (see Section 6.4.4, “OpenSSL Versus yaSSL”). Distributions compiled using yaSSL do not because revocation lists do not work with yaSSL.

  • --ssl-crlpath=dir_name

    The path to a directory that contains files containing certificate revocation lists in PEM format. On the server side, this option implies --ssl.

    If neither --ssl-crl nor --ssl-crlpath is given, no CRL checks are performed, even if the CA path contains certificate revocation lists.

    MySQL distributions compiled using OpenSSL support the --ssl-crlpath option (see Section 6.4.4, “OpenSSL Versus yaSSL”). Distributions compiled using yaSSL do not because revocation lists do not work with yaSSL.

  • --ssl-key=file_name

    The name of the SSL key file in PEM format to use for establishing an encrypted connection. On the server side, this option implies --ssl.

    If the key file is protected by a passphrase, the program prompts the user for the passphrase. The password must be given interactively; it cannot be stored in a file. If the passphrase is incorrect, the program continues as if it could not read the key.

    For better security, use a certificate with an RSA key size of at least 2048 bits.

  • --ssl-mode=mode

    This option is available only for client programs, not the server. It specifies the security state of the connection to the server. These option values are permitted:

    • PREFERRED: Establish an encrypted connection if the server supports encrypted connections, falling back to an unencrypted connection if an encrypted connection cannot be established. This is the default if --ssl-mode is not specified.

    • REQUIRED: Establish an encrypted connection if the server supports encrypted connections. The connection attempt fails if an encrypted connection cannot be established.

    • VERIFY_CA: Like REQUIRED, but additionally verify the server TLS certificate against the configured Certificate Authority (CA) certificates. The connection attempt fails if no valid matching CA certificates are found.

    • VERIFY_IDENTITY: Like VERIFY_CA, but additionally verify that the server certificate matches the host to which the connection is attempted. The connection attempt fails if there is a mismatch.

    • DISABLED: Establish an unencrypted connection.

    If --ssl-mode is not explicitly set otherwise, use of the --ssl-ca or --ssl-capath option implies --ssl-mode=VERIFY_CA. However, if --ssl-mode is explicit, use of values other than VERIFY_CA or VERIFY_IDENTITY together with an explicit --ssl-ca or --ssl-capath option produces a warning that no verification of the server certificate will be done, despite CA certificate options being specified.

    To require use of encrypted connections by a MySQL account, use CREATE USER to create the account with a REQUIRE SSL clause, or use ALTER USER for an existing account to add a REQUIRE SSL clause. Connection attempts by clients that use the account will be rejected unless MySQL supports encrypted connections and an encrypted connection can be established.

    The REQUIRE clause permits other encryption-related options, which can be used to enforce security requirements stricter than REQUIRE SSL. For additional details about which command options may or must be specified by clients that connect using accounts configured using the various REQUIRE options, see the description of REQUIRE in Section 13.7.1.3, “CREATE USER Syntax”.

  • --tls-version=protocol_list

    For client programs, the protocols permitted by the client for encrypted connections. The value is a comma-separated list containing one or more protocol names. For example:

    mysql --tls-version="TLSv1.1,TLSv1.2"
    

    The protocols that can be named for this option depend on the SSL library used to compile MySQL. For details, see Section 6.4.6, “Encrypted Connection Protocols and Ciphers”.

    On the server side, use the tls_version system variable instead.

6.4.3 Creating SSL and RSA Certificates and Keys

The following discussion describes how to create the files required for SSL and RSA support in MySQL. File creation can be performed using facilities provided by MySQL itself, or by invoking the openssl command directly.

SSL certificate and key files enable MySQL to support sencrypted connections using SSL. See Section 6.4.1, “Configuring MySQL to Use Encrypted Connections”.

RSA key files enable MySQL to support secure password exchange over unencrypted connections for accounts authenticated by the sha256_password plugin. See Section 6.5.1.2, “SHA-256 Pluggable Authentication”.

6.4.3.1 Creating SSL and RSA Certificates and Keys using MySQL

MySQL provides these ways to create the SSL certificate and key files and RSA key-pair files required to support encrypted connections using SSL and secure password exchange using RSA over unencrypted connections, if those files are missing:

  • The server can autogenerate these files at startup, for MySQL distributions compiled using OpenSSL.

  • Users can invoke the mysql_ssl_rsa_setup utility manually.

  • For some distribution types, such as RPM packages, mysql_ssl_rsa_setup invocation occurs during data directory initialization. In this case, the MySQL distribution need not have been compiled using OpenSSL as long as the openssl command is available.

Important

Server autogeneration and mysql_ssl_rsa_setup help lower the barrier to using SSL by making it easier to generate the required files. However, certificates generated by these methods are self-signed, which may not be very secure. After you gain experience using such files, consider obtaining certificate/key material from a registered certificate authority.

Automatic SSL and RSA File Generation

MySQL servers have the capability of automatically generating missing SSL and RSA files at startup, for MySQL distributions compiled using OpenSSL. The auto_generate_certs and sha256_password_auto_generate_rsa_keys system variables control automatic generation of these files. Both variables are enabled by default. They can be enabled at startup and inspected but not set at runtime.

At startup, the server automatically generates server-side and client-side SSL certificate and key files in the data directory if the auto_generate_certs system variable is enabled, no SSL options other than --ssl are specified, and the server-side SSL files are missing from the data directory. These files enable encrypted client connections using SSL; see Section 6.4.1, “Configuring MySQL to Use Encrypted Connections”.

  1. The server checks the data directory for SSL files with the following names:

    ca.pem
    server-cert.pem
    server-key.pem
    
  2. If any of those files are present, the server creates no SSL files. Otherwise, it creates them, plus some additional files:

    ca.pem               Self-signed CA certificate
    ca-key.pem           CA private key
    server-cert.pem      Server certificate
    server-key.pem       Server private key
    client-cert.pem      Client certificate
    client-key.pem       Client private key
    
  3. If the server autogenerates SSL files, it uses the names of the ca.pem, server-cert.pem, and server-key.pem files to set the corresponding system variables (ssl_ca, ssl_cert, ssl_key).

At startup, the server automatically generates RSA private/public key-pair files in the data directory if the sha256_password_auto_generate_rsa_keys system variable is enabled, no RSA options are specified, and the RSA files are missing from the data directory. These files enable secure password exchange using RSA over unencrypted connections for accounts authenticated by the sha256_password plugin; see Section 6.5.1.2, “SHA-256 Pluggable Authentication”.

  1. The server checks the data directory for RSA files with the following names:

    private_key.pem      Private member of private/public key pair
    public_key.pem       Public member of private/public key pair
    
  2. If any of these files are present, the server creates no RSA files. Otherwise, it creates them.

  3. If the server autogenerates the RSA files, it uses their names to set the corresponding system variables (sha256_password_private_key_path, sha256_password_public_key_path).

Manual SSL and RSA File Generation Using mysql_ssl_rsa_setup

MySQL distributions include a mysql_ssl_rsa_setup utility that can be invoked manually to generate SSL and RSA files. This utility is included with all MySQL distributions (whether compiled using OpenSSL or yaSSL), but it does require that the openssl command be available. For usage instructions, see Section 4.4.3, “mysql_ssl_rsa_setup — Create SSL/RSA Files”.

SSL and RSA File Characteristics

SSL and RSA files created automatically by the server or by invoking mysql_ssl_rsa_setup have these characteristics:

  • SSL and RSA keys are have a size of 2048 bits.

  • The SSL CA certificate is self signed.

  • The SSL server and client certificates are signed with the CA certificate and key, using the sha256WithRSAEncryption signature algorithm.

  • SSL certificates use these Common Name (CN) values, with the appropriate certificate type (CA, Server, Client):

    ca.pem:         MySQL_Server_suffix_Auto_Generated_CA_Certificate
    server-cert.pm: MySQL_Server_suffix_Auto_Generated_Server_Certificate
    client-cert.pm: MySQL_Server_suffix_Auto_Generated_Client_Certificate
    

    The suffix value is based on the MySQL version number. For files generated by mysql_ssl_rsa_setup, the suffix can be specified explicitly using the --suffix option.

    For files generated by the server, if the resulting CN values exceed 64 characters, the _suffix portion of the name is omitted.

  • SSL files have blank values for Country (C), State or Province (ST), Organization (O), Organization Unit Name (OU) and email address.

  • SSL files created by the server or by mysql_ssl_rsa_setup are valid for ten years from the time of generation.

  • RSA files do not expire.

  • SSL files have different serial numbers for each certificate/key pair (1 for CA, 2 for Server, 3 for Client).

  • Files created automatically by the server are owned by the account that runs the server. Files created using mysql_ssl_rsa_setup are owned by the user who invoked that program. This can be changed on systems that support the chown() system call if the program is invoked by root and the --uid option is given to specify the user who should own the files.

  • On Unix and Unix-like systems, the file access mode is 644 for certificate files (that is, world readable) and 600 for key files (that is, accessible only by the account that runs the server).

To see the contents of an SSL certificate (for example, to check the range of dates over which it is valid), invoke openssl directly:

openssl x509 -text -in ca.pem
openssl x509 -text -in server-cert.pem
openssl x509 -text -in client-cert.pem

It is also possible to check SSL certificate expiration information using this SQL statement:

mysql> SHOW STATUS LIKE 'Ssl_server_not%';
+-----------------------+--------------------------+
| Variable_name         | Value                    |
+-----------------------+--------------------------+
| Ssl_server_not_after  | Apr 28 14:16:39 2027 GMT |
| Ssl_server_not_before | May  1 14:16:39 2017 GMT |
+-----------------------+--------------------------+

6.4.3.2 Creating SSL Certificates and Keys Using openssl

This section describes how to use the openssl command to set up SSL certificate and key files for use by MySQL servers and clients. The first example shows a simplified procedure such as you might use from the command line. The second shows a script that contains more detail. The first two examples are intended for use on Unix and both use the openssl command that is part of OpenSSL. The third example describes how to set up SSL files on Windows.

Note

There are easier alternatives to generating the files required for SSL than the procedure described here: Let the server autogenerate them or use the mysql_ssl_rsa_setup program. See Section 6.4.3.1, “Creating SSL and RSA Certificates and Keys using MySQL”.

Important

Whatever method you use to generate the certificate and key files, the Common Name value used for the server and client certificates/keys must each differ from the Common Name value used for the CA certificate. Otherwise, the certificate and key files will not work for servers compiled using OpenSSL. A typical error in this case is:

ERROR 2026 (HY000): SSL connection error:
error:00000001:lib(0):func(0):reason(1)
Example 1: Creating SSL Files from the Command Line on Unix

The following example shows a set of commands to create MySQL server and client certificate and key files. You will need to respond to several prompts by the openssl commands. To generate test files, you can press Enter to all prompts. To generate files for production use, you should provide nonempty responses.

# Create clean environment
rm -rf newcerts
mkdir newcerts && cd newcerts

# Create CA certificate
openssl genrsa 2048 > ca-key.pem
openssl req -new -x509 -nodes -days 3600 \
        -key ca-key.pem -out ca.pem

# Create server certificate, remove passphrase, and sign it
# server-cert.pem = public key, server-key.pem = private key
openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -days 3600 \
        -nodes -keyout server-key.pem -out server-req.pem
openssl rsa -in server-key.pem -out server-key.pem
openssl x509 -req -in server-req.pem -days 3600 \
        -CA ca.pem -CAkey ca-key.pem -set_serial 01 -out server-cert.pem

# Create client certificate, remove passphrase, and sign it
# client-cert.pem = public key, client-key.pem = private key
openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -days 3600 \
        -nodes -keyout client-key.pem -out client-req.pem
openssl rsa -in client-key.pem -out client-key.pem
openssl x509 -req -in client-req.pem -days 3600 \
        -CA ca.pem -CAkey ca-key.pem -set_serial 01 -out client-cert.pem

After generating the certificates, verify them:

openssl verify -CAfile ca.pem server-cert.pem client-cert.pem

You should see a response like this:

server-cert.pem: OK
client-cert.pem: OK

To see the contents of a certificate (for example, to check the range of dates over which a certificate is valid), invoke openssl like this:

openssl x509 -text -in ca.pem
openssl x509 -text -in server-cert.pem
openssl x509 -text -in client-cert.pem

Now you have a set of files that can be used as follows:

  • ca.pem: Use this as the argument to --ssl-ca on the server and client sides. (The CA certificate, if used, must be the same on both sides.)

  • server-cert.pem, server-key.pem: Use these as the arguments to --ssl-cert and --ssl-key on the server side.

  • client-cert.pem, client-key.pem: Use these as the arguments to --ssl-cert and --ssl-key on the client side.

For additional usage instructions, see Section 6.4.1, “Configuring MySQL to Use Encrypted Connections”.

Example 2: Creating SSL Files Using a Script on Unix

Here is an example script that shows how to set up SSL certificate and key files for MySQL. After executing the script, use the files for SSL connections as described in Section 6.4.1, “Configuring MySQL to Use Encrypted Connections”.

DIR=`pwd`/openssl
PRIV=$DIR/private

mkdir $DIR $PRIV $DIR/newcerts
cp /usr/share/ssl/openssl.cnf $DIR
replace ./demoCA $DIR -- $DIR/openssl.cnf

# Create necessary files: $database, $serial and $new_certs_dir
# directory (optional)

touch $DIR/index.txt
echo "01" > $DIR/serial

#
# Generation of Certificate Authority(CA)
#

openssl req -new -x509 -keyout $PRIV/cakey.pem -out $DIR/ca.pem \
    -days 3600 -config $DIR/openssl.cnf

# Sample output:
# Using configuration from /home/monty/openssl/openssl.cnf
# Generating a 1024 bit RSA private key
# ................++++++
# .........++++++
# writing new private key to '/home/monty/openssl/private/cakey.pem'
# Enter PEM pass phrase:
# Verifying password - Enter PEM pass phrase:
# -----
# You are about to be asked to enter information that will be
# incorporated into your certificate request.
# What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name
# or a DN.
# There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
# For some fields there will be a default value,
# If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
# -----
# Country Name (2 letter code) [AU]:FI
# State or Province Name (full name) [Some-State]:.
# Locality Name (eg, city) []:
# Organization Name (eg, company) [Internet Widgits Pty Ltd]:MySQL AB
# Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:
# Common Name (eg, YOUR name) []:MySQL admin
# Email Address []:

#
# Create server request and key
#
openssl req -new -keyout $DIR/server-key.pem -out \
    $DIR/server-req.pem -days 3600 -config $DIR/openssl.cnf

# Sample output:
# Using configuration from /home/monty/openssl/openssl.cnf
# Generating a 1024 bit RSA private key
# ..++++++
# ..........++++++
# writing new private key to '/home/monty/openssl/server-key.pem'
# Enter PEM pass phrase:
# Verifying password - Enter PEM pass phrase:
# -----
# You are about to be asked to enter information that will be
# incorporated into your certificate request.
# What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name
# or a DN.
# There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
# For some fields there will be a default value,
# If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
# -----
# Country Name (2 letter code) [AU]:FI
# State or Province Name (full name) [Some-State]:.
# Locality Name (eg, city) []:
# Organization Name (eg, company) [Internet Widgits Pty Ltd]:MySQL AB
# Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:
# Common Name (eg, YOUR name) []:MySQL server
# Email Address []:
#
# Please enter the following 'extra' attributes
# to be sent with your certificate request
# A challenge password []:
# An optional company name []:

#
# Remove the passphrase from the key
#
openssl rsa -in $DIR/server-key.pem -out $DIR/server-key.pem

#
# Sign server cert
#
openssl ca -cert $DIR/ca.pem -policy policy_anything \
    -out $DIR/server-cert.pem -config $DIR/openssl.cnf \
    -infiles $DIR/server-req.pem

# Sample output:
# Using configuration from /home/monty/openssl/openssl.cnf
# Enter PEM pass phrase:
# Check that the request matches the signature
# Signature ok
# The Subjects Distinguished Name is as follows
# countryName           :PRINTABLE:'FI'
# organizationName      :PRINTABLE:'MySQL AB'
# commonName            :PRINTABLE:'MySQL admin'
# Certificate is to be certified until Sep 13 14:22:46 2003 GMT
# (365 days)
# Sign the certificate? [y/n]:y
#
#
# 1 out of 1 certificate requests certified, commit? [y/n]y
# Write out database with 1 new entries
# Data Base Updated

#
# Create client request and key
#
openssl req -new -keyout $DIR/client-key.pem -out \
    $DIR/client-req.pem -days 3600 -config $DIR/openssl.cnf

# Sample output:
# Using configuration from /home/monty/openssl/openssl.cnf
# Generating a 1024 bit RSA private key
# .....................................++++++
# .............................................++++++
# writing new private key to '/home/monty/openssl/client-key.pem'
# Enter PEM pass phrase:
# Verifying password - Enter PEM pass phrase:
# -----
# You are about to be asked to enter information that will be
# incorporated into your certificate request.
# What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name
# or a DN.
# There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
# For some fields there will be a default value,
# If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
# -----
# Country Name (2 letter code) [AU]:FI
# State or Province Name (full name) [Some-State]:.
# Locality Name (eg, city) []:
# Organization Name (eg, company) [Internet Widgits Pty Ltd]:MySQL AB
# Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:
# Common Name (eg, YOUR name) []:MySQL user
# Email Address []:
#
# Please enter the following 'extra' attributes
# to be sent with your certificate request
# A challenge password []:
# An optional company name []:

#
# Remove the passphrase from the key
#
openssl rsa -in $DIR/client-key.pem -out $DIR/client-key.pem

#
# Sign client cert
#

openssl ca -cert $DIR/ca.pem -policy policy_anything \
    -out $DIR/client-cert.pem -config $DIR/openssl.cnf \
    -infiles $DIR/client-req.pem

# Sample output:
# Using configuration from /home/monty/openssl/openssl.cnf
# Enter PEM pass phrase:
# Check that the request matches the signature
# Signature ok
# The Subjects Distinguished Name is as follows
# countryName           :PRINTABLE:'FI'
# organizationName      :PRINTABLE:'MySQL AB'
# commonName            :PRINTABLE:'MySQL user'
# Certificate is to be certified until Sep 13 16:45:17 2003 GMT
# (365 days)
# Sign the certificate? [y/n]:y
#
#
# 1 out of 1 certificate requests certified, commit? [y/n]y
# Write out database with 1 new entries
# Data Base Updated

#
# Create a my.cnf file that you can use to test the certificates
#

cat <<EOF > $DIR/my.cnf
[client]
ssl-ca=$DIR/ca.pem
ssl-cert=$DIR/client-cert.pem
ssl-key=$DIR/client-key.pem
[mysqld]
ssl-ca=$DIR/ca.pem
ssl-cert=$DIR/server-cert.pem
ssl-key=$DIR/server-key.pem
EOF
Example 3: Creating SSL Files on Windows

Download OpenSSL for Windows if it is not installed on your system. An overview of available packages can be seen here:

http://www.slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html

Choose the Win32 OpenSSL Light or Win64 OpenSSL Light package, depending on your architecture (32-bit or 64-bit). The default installation location will be C:\OpenSSL-Win32 or C:\OpenSSL-Win64, depending on which package you downloaded. The following instructions assume a default location of C:\OpenSSL-Win32. Modify this as necessary if you are using the 64-bit package.

If a message occurs during setup indicating '...critical component is missing: Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributables', cancel the setup and download one of the following packages as well, again depending on your architecture (32-bit or 64-bit):

After installing the additional package, restart the OpenSSL setup procedure.

During installation, leave the default C:\OpenSSL-Win32 as the install path, and also leave the default option 'Copy OpenSSL DLL files to the Windows system directory' selected.

When the installation has finished, add C:\OpenSSL-Win32\bin to the Windows System Path variable of your server (depending on your version of Windows, the following path-setting instructions might differ slightly):

  1. On the Windows desktop, right-click the My Computer icon, and select Properties.

  2. Select the Advanced tab from the System Properties menu that appears, and click the Environment Variables button.

  3. Under System Variables, select Path, then click the Edit button. The Edit System Variable dialogue should appear.

  4. Add ';C:\OpenSSL-Win32\bin' to the end (notice the semicolon).

  5. Press OK 3 times.

  6. Check that OpenSSL was correctly integrated into the Path variable by opening a new command console (Start>Run>cmd.exe) and verifying that OpenSSL is available:

    Microsoft Windows [Version ...]
    Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
    
    C:\Windows\system32>cd \
    
    C:\>openssl
    OpenSSL> exit <<< If you see the OpenSSL prompt, installation was successful.
    
    C:\>
    

After OpenSSL has been installed, use instructions similar to those from Example 1 (shown earlier in this section), with the following changes:

  • Change the following Unix commands:

    # Create clean environment
    rm -rf newcerts
    mkdir newcerts && cd newcerts
    

    On Windows, use these commands instead:

    # Create clean environment
    md c:\newcerts
    cd c:\newcerts
    
  • When a '\' character is shown at the end of a command line, this '\' character must be removed and the command lines entered all on a single line.

After generating the certificate and key files, to use them for SSL connections, see Section 6.4.1, “Configuring MySQL to Use Encrypted Connections”.

6.4.3.3 Creating RSA Keys Using openssl

This section describes how to use the openssl command to set up the RSA key files that enable MySQL to support secure password exchange over unencrypted connections for accounts authenticated by the sha256_password plugin.

Note

There are easier alternatives to generating the files required for RSA than the procedure described here: Let the server autogenerate them or use the mysql_ssl_rsa_setup program. See Section 6.4.3.1, “Creating SSL and RSA Certificates and Keys using MySQL”.

To create the RSA private and public key-pair files, run these commands while logged into the system account used to run the MySQL server so the files will be owned by that account:

openssl genrsa -out private_key.pem 2048
openssl rsa -in private_key.pem -pubout -out public_key.pem

Those commands create 2,048-bit keys. To create stronger keys, use a larger value.

Then set the access modes for the key files. The private key should be readable only by the server, whereas the public key can be freely distributed to client users:

chmod 400 private_key.pem
chmod 444 public_key.pem

6.4.4 OpenSSL Versus yaSSL

MySQL can be compiled using OpenSSL or yaSSL, both of which enable encrypted connections based on the OpenSSL API:

  • MySQL Enterprise Edition binary distributions are compiled using OpenSSL. It is not possible to use yaSSL with MySQL Enterprise Edition.

  • MySQL Community Edition binary distributions are compiled using yaSSL.

  • MySQL Community Edition source distributions can be compiled using either OpenSSL or yaSSL (see Section 6.4.5, “Building MySQL with Support for Encrypted Connections”).

OpenSSL and yaSSL offer the same basic functionality, but MySQL distributions compiled using OpenSSL have additional features:

Certain OpenSSL-related system and status variables are present only if MySQL was compiled using OpenSSL:

To determine whether your server was compiled using OpenSSL, test the existence of any of those variables. For example, this statement returns a row if OpenSSL was used and an empty result if yaSSL was used:

SHOW STATUS LIKE 'Rsa_public_key';

6.4.5 Building MySQL with Support for Encrypted Connections

To use SSL connections between the MySQL server and client programs, your system must support either OpenSSL or yaSSL:

  • MySQL Enterprise Edition binary distributions are compiled using OpenSSL. It is not possible to use yaSSL with MySQL Enterprise Edition.

  • MySQL Community Edition binary distributions are compiled using yaSSL.

  • MySQL Community Edition source distributions can be compiled using either OpenSSL or yaSSL.

If you compile MySQL from a source distribution, CMake configures the distribution to use yaSSL by default. To compile using OpenSSL instead, use this procedure:

  1. Ensure OpenSSL 1.0.1 or higher is installed on your system. To obtain OpenSSL, visit http://www.openssl.org.

    If the installed OpenSSL version is lower than 1.0.1, CMake produces an error at MySQL configuration time.

  2. To use OpenSSL, add the -DWITH_SSL=system option to the CMake command you normally use to configure the MySQL source distribution. For example:

    cmake . -DWITH_SSL=system
    

    That command configures the distribution to use the installed OpenSSL library. Alternatively, to explicitly specify the path name to the OpenSSL installation, use the following syntax. This can be useful if you have multiple versions of OpenSSL installed, to prevent CMake from choosing the wrong one:

    cmake . -DWITH_SSL=path_name
    

    See Section 2.8.4, “MySQL Source-Configuration Options”.

  3. Compile and install the distribution.

To check whether a mysqld server supports encrypted connections, examine the value of the have_ssl system variable:

mysql> SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'have_ssl';
+---------------+-------+
| Variable_name | Value |
+---------------+-------+
| have_ssl      | YES   |
+---------------+-------+

If the value is YES, the server supports encrypted connections. If the value is DISABLED, the server is capable of supporting encrypted connections but was not started with the appropriate --ssl-xxx options to enable encrypted connections to be used; see Section 6.4.1, “Configuring MySQL to Use Encrypted Connections”.

To determine whether a server was compiled using OpenSSL or yaSSL, check the existence of any of the system or status variables that are present only for OpenSSL. See Section 6.4.4, “OpenSSL Versus yaSSL”

6.4.6 Encrypted Connection Protocols and Ciphers

To determine which encryption protocol and cipher are in use for an encrypted connection, use the following statements to check the values of the Ssl_version and Ssl_cipher status variables:

mysql> SHOW SESSION STATUS LIKE 'Ssl_version';
+---------------+-------+
| Variable_name | Value |
+---------------+-------+
| Ssl_version   | TLSv1 |
+---------------+-------+
mysql> SHOW SESSION STATUS LIKE 'Ssl_cipher';
+---------------+---------------------------+
| Variable_name | Value                     |
+---------------+---------------------------+
| Ssl_cipher    | DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 |
+---------------+---------------------------+

If the connection is not encrypted, both variables have an empty value.

MySQL supports encrypted connections using TLS protocols:

  • When compiled using OpenSSL 1.0.1 or higher, MySQL supports the TLSv1, TLSv1.1, and TLSv1.2 protocols.

  • When compiled using the bundled version of yaSSL, MySQL supports the TLSv1 and TLSv1.1 protocols.

The value of the tls_version system variable determines which protocols the server is permitted to use from those that are available. The tls_version value is a comma-separated list containing one or more of these protocols (not case sensitive): TLSv1, TLSv1.1, TLSv1.2. By default, this variable lists all protocols supported by the SSL library used to compile MySQL (TLSv1,TLSv1.1,TLSv1.2 for OpenSSL, TLSv1,TLSv1.1 for yaSSL). To determine the value of tls_version at runtime, use this statement:

mysql> SHOW GLOBAL VARIABLES LIKE 'tls_version';
+---------------+-----------------------+
| Variable_name | Value                 |
+---------------+-----------------------+
| tls_version   | TLSv1,TLSv1.1,TLSv1.2 |
+---------------+-----------------------+

To change the value of tls_version, set it at server startup. For example, to prohibit connections that use the less-secure TLSv1 protocol, use these lines in the server my.cnf file:

[mysqld]
tls_version=TLSv1.1,TLSv1.2

To be even more restrict and permit only TLSv1.2 connections, set tls_version like this (assuming that your server is compiled using OpenSSL because yaSSL does not support TLSv1.2):

[mysqld]
tls_version=TLSv1.2

For client programs, the --tls-version option enables specifying the TLS protocols permitted per client invocation. The value format is the same as for tls_version.

By default, MySQL attempts to use the highest TLS protocol version available, depending on which SSL library was used to compile the server and client, which key size is used, and whether the server or client are restricted from using some protocols; for example, by means of tls_version/--tls-version:

  • If the server and client are compiled using OpenSSL, TLSv1.2 is used if possible.

  • If either or both the server and client are compiled using yaSSL, TLSv1.1 is used if possible.

  • TLSv1.2 does not work with all ciphers that have a key size of 512 bits or less. To use this protocol with such a key, use --ssl-cipher to specify the cipher name explicitly:

    AES128-SHA
    AES128-SHA256
    AES256-SHA
    AES256-SHA256
    CAMELLIA128-SHA
    CAMELLIA256-SHA
    DES-CBC3-SHA
    DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA
    RC4-MD5
    RC4-SHA
    SEED-SHA
    
  • For better security, use a certificate with an RSA key size of at least 2048 bits.

If the server and client protocol capabilities have no protocol in common, the server terminates the connection request. For example, if the server is configured with tls_version=TLSv1.1,TLSv1.2, connection attempts will fail for clients invoked with --tls-version=TLSv1, and for older clients that do not support the --tls-version option and implicitly support only TLSv1.

To determine which ciphers a given server supports, use the following statement to check the value of the Ssl_cipher_list status variable:

SHOW SESSION STATUS LIKE 'Ssl_cipher_list';

The set of available ciphers depends on your MySQL version and whether MySQL was compiled using OpenSSL or yaSSL, and (for OpenSSL) the library version used to compile MySQL.

Order of ciphers passed by MySQL to the SSL library is significant. More secure ciphers are mentioned first in the list, and the first cipher supported by the provided certificate is selected.

MySQL passes this cipher list to OpenSSL:

ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA256
ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA384
ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA384
DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
DHE-DSS-AES128-GCM-SHA256
DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256
DHE-DSS-AES128-SHA256
DHE-DSS-AES256-GCM-SHA384
DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA256
DHE-DSS-AES256-SHA256
ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA
ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA
DHE-DSS-AES128-SHA
DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA
TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA
AES128-GCM-SHA256
DH-DSS-AES128-GCM-SHA256
ECDH-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
AES256-GCM-SHA384
DH-DSS-AES256-GCM-SHA384
ECDH-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
AES128-SHA256
DH-DSS-AES128-SHA256
ECDH-ECDSA-AES128-SHA256
AES256-SHA256
DH-DSS-AES256-SHA256
ECDH-ECDSA-AES256-SHA384
AES128-SHA
DH-DSS-AES128-SHA
ECDH-ECDSA-AES128-SHA
AES256-SHA
DH-DSS-AES256-SHA
ECDH-ECDSA-AES256-SHA
DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
DH-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
ECDH-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
DH-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
ECDH-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
DH-RSA-AES128-SHA256
ECDH-RSA-AES128-SHA256
DH-RSA-AES256-SHA256
ECDH-RSA-AES256-SHA384
ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA
ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA
DHE-DSS-AES128-SHA
DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA
TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA
AES128-SHA
DH-DSS-AES128-SHA
ECDH-ECDSA-AES128-SHA
AES256-SHA
DH-DSS-AES256-SHA
ECDH-ECDSA-AES256-SHA
DH-RSA-AES128-SHA
ECDH-RSA-AES128-SHA
DH-RSA-AES256-SHA
ECDH-RSA-AES256-SHA
DES-CBC3-SHA

MySQL passes this cipher list to yaSSL:

DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA
DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA
AES128-RMD
DES-CBC3-RMD
DHE-RSA-AES256-RMD
DHE-RSA-AES128-RMD
DHE-RSA-DES-CBC3-RMD
AES256-SHA
RC4-SHA
RC4-MD5
DES-CBC3-SHA
DES-CBC-SHA
EDH-RSA-DES-CBC3-SHA
EDH-RSA-DES-CBC-SHA
AES128-SHA:AES256-RMD

These cipher restrictions are in place:

  • The following ciphers are permanently restricted:

    !DHE-DSS-DES-CBC3-SHA
    !DHE-RSA-DES-CBC3-SHA
    !ECDH-RSA-DES-CBC3-SHA
    !ECDH-ECDSA-DES-CBC3-SHA
    !ECDHE-RSA-DES-CBC3-SHA
    !ECDHE-ECDSA-DES-CBC3-SHA
    
  • The following categories of ciphers are permanently restricted:

    !aNULL
    !eNULL
    !EXPORT
    !LOW
    !MD5
    !DES
    !RC2
    !RC4
    !PSK
    !SSLv3
    

If the server is started using a compatible certificate that uses any of the preceding restricted ciphers or cipher categories, the server starts with support for encrypted connections disabled.

6.4.7 Connecting to MySQL Remotely from Windows with SSH

This section describes how to get an encrypted connection to a remote MySQL server with SSH. The information was provided by David Carlson .

  1. Install an SSH client on your Windows machine. For a comparison of SSH clients, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_SSH_clients.

  2. Start your Windows SSH client. Set Host_Name = yourmysqlserver_URL_or_IP. Set userid=your_userid to log in to your server. This userid value might not be the same as the user name of your MySQL account.

  3. Set up port forwarding. Either do a remote forward (Set local_port: 3306, remote_host: yourmysqlservername_or_ip, remote_port: 3306 ) or a local forward (Set port: 3306, host: localhost, remote port: 3306).

  4. Save everything, otherwise you will have to redo it the next time.

  5. Log in to your server with the SSH session you just created.

  6. On your Windows machine, start some ODBC application (such as Access).

  7. Create a new file in Windows and link to MySQL using the ODBC driver the same way you normally do, except type in localhost for the MySQL host server, not yourmysqlservername.

At this point, you should have an ODBC connection to MySQL, encrypted using SSH.

6.5 Security Plugins

MySQL includes several plugins that implement security features:

6.5.1 Authentication Plugins

The following sections describe pluggable authentication methods available in MySQL and the plugins that implement these methods. For general discussion of the authentication process, see Section 6.3.10, “Pluggable Authentication”.

The default plugin is mysql_native_password unless the default_authentication_plugin system variable is set otherwise.

6.5.1.1 Native Pluggable Authentication

MySQL includes a mysql_native_password plugin that implements native authentication; that is, authentication based on the password hashing method in use from before the introduction of pluggable authentication.

The following table shows the plugin names on the server and client sides.

Table 6.10 Plugin and Library Names for Native Password Authentication

Server-side plugin namemysql_native_password
Client-side plugin namemysql_native_password
Library file nameNone (plugins are built in)

The following sections provide installation and usage information specific to native pluggable authentication:

For general information about pluggable authentication in MySQL, see Section 6.3.10, “Pluggable Authentication”.

Installing Native Pluggable Authentication

The mysql_native_password plugin exists in server and client forms:

  • The server-side plugin is built into the server, need not be loaded explicitly, and cannot be disabled by unloading it.

  • The client-side plugin is built into the libmysqlclient client library and available to any program linked against libmysqlclient.

Using Native Pluggable Authentication

MySQL client programs use mysql_native_password by default. The --default-auth option can be used as a hint about which client-side plugin the program can expect to use:

shell> mysql --default-auth=mysql_native_password ...

6.5.1.2 SHA-256 Pluggable Authentication

MySQL provides an authentication plugin that implements SHA-256 hashing for user account passwords.

Important

To connect to the server using an account that authenticates with the sha256_password plugin, you must use either an SSL connection or an unencrypted connection that encrypts the password using RSA, as described later in this section. Either way, the sha256_password plugin uses MySQL's SSL capabilities. See Section 6.4, “Using Encrypted Connections”.

The following table shows the plugin names on the server and client sides.

Table 6.11 Plugin and Library Names for SHA-256 Authentication

Server-side plugin namesha256_password
Client-side plugin namesha256_password
Library file nameNone (plugins are built in)

The following sections provide installation and usage information specific to SHA-256 pluggable authentication:

For general information about pluggable authentication in MySQL, see Section 6.3.10, “Pluggable Authentication”.

Installing SHA-256 Pluggable Authentication

The sha256_password plugin exists in server and client forms:

  • The server-side plugin is built into the server, need not be loaded explicitly, and cannot be disabled by unloading it.

  • The client-side plugin is built into the libmysqlclient client library and available to any program linked against libmysqlclient.

Using sha256 Pluggable Authentication

To set up an account that uses the sha256_password plugin for SHA-256 password hashing, use the following statement:

CREATE USER 'sha256user'@'localhost'
IDENTIFIED WITH sha256_password BY 'Sh@256Pa33';

Alternatively, start the server with the default authentication plugin set to sha256_password. For example, put these lines in the server option file:

[mysqld]
default_authentication_plugin=sha256_password

That causes the sha256_password plugin to be used by default for new accounts. As a result, it is possible to create the account and set its password without naming the plugin explicitly using this CREATE USER syntax:

CREATE USER 'sha256user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'Sh@256Pa33';

In this case, the server assigns the sha256_password plugin to the account and encrypts the password using SHA-256.

Accounts in the mysql.user table that use SHA-256 passwords can be identified as rows with 'sha256_password' in the plugin column and a SHA-256 password hash in the authentication_string column.

Another consequence of using sha256_password as the default authentication plugin is that to create an account that uses a different plugin, you must specify that plugin using an IDENTIFIED WITH clause in the CREATE USER statement. For example, to use the mysql_native_password plugin, use this statement:

CREATE USER 'nativeuser'@'localhost'
IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY 'N@tivePa33';

MySQL can be compiled using either OpenSSL or yaSSL (see Section 6.4.4, “OpenSSL Versus yaSSL”). The sha256_password plugin works with distributions compiled using either package, but if MySQL is compiled using OpenSSL, RSA encryption is available and sha256_password implements the following additional capabilities. (To enable these capabilities, you must also follow the RSA configuration procedure given later in this section.)

  • It is possible for the client to transmit passwords to the server using RSA encryption during the client connection process, as described later.

  • The server exposes two additional system variables, sha256_password_private_key_path and sha256_password_public_key_path. It is intended that the database administrator will set these to the names of the RSA private and public key-pair files at server startup if the key files have names that differ from the system variable default values.

  • The server exposes a status variable, Rsa_public_key, that displays the RSA public key value.

  • The mysql and mysqltest client programs support a --server-public-key-path option for specifying an RSA public key file explicitly.

For clients that use the sha256_password plugin, passwords are never exposed as cleartext when connecting to the server. How password transmission occurs depends on whether an SSL connection is used and whether RSA encryption is available:

  • If an SSL connection is used, the password is sent as cleartext but cannot be snooped because the connection is encrypted using SSL.

  • If an SSL connection is not used but RSA encryption is available, the password is sent within an unencrypted connection, but the password is RSA-encrypted to prevent snooping. When the server receives the password, it decrypts it. A scramble is used in the encryption to prevent repeat attacks.

  • If an SSL connection is not used and RSA encryption is not available, the sha256_password plugin causes the connection attempt to fail because the password cannot be sent without being exposed as cleartext.

As mentioned previously, RSA password encryption is available only if MySQL was compiled using OpenSSL. The implication for MySQL distributions compiled using yaSSL is that SHA-256 passwords can be used only when clients use SSL to access the server. See Section 6.4.1, “Configuring MySQL to Use Encrypted Connections”.

Assuming that MySQL has been compiled using OpenSSL, the following procedure describes how to enable RSA encryption of passwords during the client connection process:

  1. Create the RSA private and public key-pair files using the instructions in Section 6.4.3, “Creating SSL and RSA Certificates and Keys”.

  2. If the private and public key files are located in the data directory and are named private_key.pem and public_key.pem (the default values of the sha256_password_private_key_path and sha256_password_public_key_path system variables), the server uses them automatically at startup.

    Otherwise, in the server option file, set the system variables to the key file names. If the files are located in the server data directory, you need not specify their full path names:

    [mysqld]
    sha256_password_private_key_path=myprivkey.pem
    sha256_password_public_key_path=mypubkey.pem
    

    If the key files are not located in the data directory, or to make their locations explicit in the system variable values, use full path names:

    [mysqld]
    sha256_password_private_key_path=/usr/local/mysql/myprivkey.pem
    sha256_password_public_key_path=/usr/local/mysql/mypubkey.pem
    
  3. Restart the server, then connect to it and check the Rsa_public_key status variable value. The value will differ from that shown here, but should be nonempty:

    mysql> SHOW STATUS LIKE 'Rsa_public_key'\G
    *************************** 1. row ***************************
    Variable_name: Rsa_public_key
            Value: -----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
    MIGfMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBAQUAA4GNADCBiQKBgQDO9nRUDd+KvSZgY7cNBZMNpwX6
    MvE1PbJFXO7u18nJ9lwc99Du/E7lw6CVXw7VKrXPeHbVQUzGyUNkf45Nz/ckaaJa
    aLgJOBCIDmNVnyU54OT/1lcs2xiyfaDMe8fCJ64ZwTnKbY2gkt1IMjUAB5Ogd5kJ
    g8aV7EtKwyhHb0c30QIDAQAB
    -----END PUBLIC KEY-----
    

    If the value is empty, the server found some problem with the key files. Check the error log for diagnostic information.

After the server has been configured with the RSA key files, accounts that authenticate with the sha256_password plugin have the option of using those key files to connect to the server. As mentioned previously, such accounts can use either an SSL connection (in which case RSA is not used) or an unencrypted connection that encrypts the password using RSA. Assume for the following discussion that SSL is not used. Connecting to the server involves no special preparation on the client side. For example:

shell> mysql --ssl-mode=DISABLED -u sha256user -p
Enter password: Sh@256Pa33

For connection attempts by sha256user, the server determines that sha256_password is the appropriate authentication plugin and invokes it. The plugin finds that the connection does not use SSL and thus requires the password to be transmitted using RSA encryption. In this case, the plugin sends the RSA public key to the client, which uses it to encrypt the password and returns the result to the server. The plugin uses the RSA key on the server side to decrypt the password and accepts or rejects the connection based on whether the password is correct.

The server sends the public key to the client as needed, but if a copy of the RSA public key is available on the client host, the client can use it to save a round trip in the client/server protocol:

shell> mysql --ssl-mode=DISABLED -u sha256user -p --server-public-key-path=file_name
Enter password: Sh@256Pa33

The public key value in the file named by the --server-public-key-path option should be the same as the key value in the server-side file named by the sha256_password_public_key_path system variable. If the key file contains a valid public key value but the value is incorrect, an access-denied error occurs. If the key file does not contain a valid public key, the client program cannot use it. In this case, the sha256_password plugin sends the public key to the client as if no --server-public-key-path option had been specified.

Client users can get the RSA public key two ways:

  • The database administrator can provide a copy of the public key file.

  • A client user who can connect to the server some other way can use a SHOW STATUS LIKE 'Rsa_public_key' statement and save the returned key value in a file.

6.5.1.3 Client-Side Cleartext Pluggable Authentication

A client-side authentication plugin is available that sends the password to the server without hashing or encryption. This plugin is built into the MySQL client library.

The following table shows the plugin name.

Table 6.12 Plugin and Library Names for Cleartext Authentication

Server-side plugin nameNone, see discussion
Client-side plugin namemysql_clear_password
Library file nameNone (plugin is built in)

With many MySQL authentication methods, the client performs hashing or encryption of the password before sending it to the server. This enables the client to avoid sending the password in clear text.

Hashing or encryption cannot be done for authentication schemes that require the server to receive the password as entered on the client side. In such cases, the client-side mysql_clear_password plugin is used to send the password to the server in clear text. There is no corresponding server-side plugin. Rather, the client-side plugin can be used by any server-side plugin that needs a cleartext password. (The PAM authentication plugin is one such; see PAM Pluggable Authentication.)

The following discussion provides usage information specific to clear text pluggable authentication. For For general information about pluggable authentication in MySQL, see Section 6.3.10, “Pluggable Authentication”.

Note

Sending passwords in clear text may be a security problem in some configurations. To avoid problems if there is any possibility that the password would be intercepted, clients should connect to MySQL Server using a method that protects the password. Possibilities include SSL (see Section 6.4, “Using Encrypted Connections”), IPsec, or a private network.

To make inadvertent use of the mysql_clear_password plugin less likely, MySQL clients must explicitly enable it. This can be done several ways:

  • Set the LIBMYSQL_ENABLE_CLEARTEXT_PLUGIN environment variable to a value that begins with 1, Y, or y. This enables the plugin for all client connections.

  • The mysql, mysqladmin, mysqlcheck, mysqldump, mysqlshow, and mysqlslap client programs support an --enable-cleartext-plugin option that enables the plugin on a per-invocation basis.

  • The mysql_options() C API function supports a MYSQL_ENABLE_CLEARTEXT_PLUGIN option that enables the plugin on a per-connection basis. Also, any program that uses libmysqlclient and reads option files can enable the plugin by including an enable-cleartext-plugin option in an option group read by the client library.

6.5.1.4 No-Login Pluggable Authentication

The mysql_no_login server-side authentication plugin prevents all client connections to any account that uses it. Use cases for such a plugin includes accounts that must be able to execute stored programs and views with elevated privileges without exposing those privileges to ordinary users, and proxied accounts that should never permit direct login but are accessed only through proxy accounts.

The following table shows the plugin and library file names. The file name suffix might differ on your system. The file must be located in the directory named by the plugin_dir system variable.

Table 6.13 Plugin and Library Names for No Login Authentication

Server-side plugin namemysql_no_login
Client-side plugin nameNone
Library file namemysql_no_login.so

The following sections provide installation and usage information specific to no-login pluggable authentication:

For general information about pluggable authentication in MySQL, see Section 6.3.10, “Pluggable Authentication”. For proxy user information, see Section 6.3.11, “Proxy Users”.

Installing No-Login Pluggable Authentication

This section describes how to install the no-login authentication plugin. For general information about installing plugins, see Section 5.6.1, “Installing and Uninstalling Plugins”.

To be usable by the server, the plugin library file must be located in the MySQL plugin directory (the directory named by the plugin_dir system variable). If necessary, set the value of plugin_dir at server startup to tell the server the plugin directory location.

The plugin library file base name is mysql_no_login. The file name suffix differs per platform (for example, .so for Unix and Unix-like systems, .dll for Windows).

To load the plugin at server startup, use the --plugin-load-add option to name the library file that contains it. With this plugin-loading method, the option must be given each time the server starts. For example, put these lines in your my.cnf file (adjust the .so suffix for your platform as necessary):

[mysqld]
plugin-load-add=mysql_no_login.so

After modifying my.cnf, restart the server to cause the new settings to take effect.

Alternatively, to register the plugin at runtime, use this statement (adjust the .so suffix as necessary):

INSTALL PLUGIN mysql_no_login SONAME 'mysql_no_login.so';

INSTALL PLUGIN loads a plugin, and also registers it in the mysql.plugins system table to cause the plugin to be loaded for each subsequent normal server startup.

To verify plugin installation, examine the INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PLUGINS table or use the SHOW PLUGINS statement (see Section 5.6.2, “Obtaining Server Plugin Information”). For example:

mysql> SELECT PLUGIN_NAME, PLUGIN_STATUS
       FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PLUGINS
       WHERE PLUGIN_NAME LIKE '%login%';
+----------------+---------------+
| PLUGIN_NAME    | PLUGIN_STATUS |
+----------------+---------------+
| mysql_no_login | ACTIVE        |
+----------------+---------------+

If the plugin fails to initialize, check the server error log for diagnostic messages.

To associate MySQL accounts with the no-login plugin, see Using No-Login Pluggable Authentication.

Uninstalling No-Login Pluggable Authentication

The method used to uninstall the no-login authentication plugin depends on how you installed it:

  • If you installed the plugin at server startup using a --plugin-load-add option, restart the server without the option.

  • If you installed the plugin at runtime using INSTALL PLUGIN, it remains installed across server restarts. To uninstall it, use UNINSTALL PLUGIN:

    UNINSTALL PLUGIN mysql_no_login;
    
Using No-Login Pluggable Authentication

This section describes how to use the no-login authentication plugin to prevent connections from MySQL client programs to the server. It is assumed that the server is running with the server-side plugin enabled, as described in Installing No-Login Pluggable Authentication.

To refer to the no-login authentication plugin in the IDENTIFIED WITH clause of a CREATE USER statement, use the name mysql_no_login.

An account that authenticates using mysql_no_login may be used as the DEFINER for stored program and view objects. If such an object definition also includes SQL SECURITY DEFINER, it executes with that account's privileges. DBAs can use this behavior to provide access to confidential or sensitive data that is exposed only through well-controlled interfaces.

The following example provides a simple illustration of these principles. It defines an account that does not permit client connections, and associates with it a view that exposes only certain columns of the mysql.user table:

CREATE DATABASE nologindb;
CREATE USER 'nologin'@'localhost'
  IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_no_login;
GRANT ALL ON nologindb.*
  TO 'nologin'@'localhost';
GRANT SELECT ON mysql.user
  TO 'nologin'@'localhost';
CREATE DEFINER = 'nologin'@'localhost'
  SQL SECURITY DEFINER
  VIEW nologindb.myview
  AS SELECT User, Host FROM mysql.user;

To provide protected access to the view to an ordinary user, do this:

GRANT SELECT ON nologindb.myview
  TO 'ordinaryuser'@'localhost';

Now the ordinary user can use the view to access the limited information it presents:

SELECT * FROM nologindb.myview;

Attempts by the user to access columns other than those exposed by the view result in an error, as do all attempts to select from the view by users not granted access to it.

Note

Because the nologin account cannot be used directly, the operations required to set up objects that it uses must be performed by root or similar account with the privileges required to create the objects and set DEFINER values.

An account that authenticates using mysql_no_login may be used as a proxied base user for proxy accounts:

-- create proxied account
CREATE USER 'proxy_base'@'localhost'
  IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_no_login;
-- grant privileges to proxied account
GRANT ...  TO 'proxy_base'@'localhost';
-- permit real_user to be proxy for proxied account
GRANT PROXY ON 'proxy_base'@'localhost'
  TO 'real_user'@'localhost';

This enables clients to access MySQL through the proxy account (real_user) but not to bypass the proxy mechanism by connecting directly as the proxied user (proxy_base).

6.5.1.5 Socket Peer-Credential Pluggable Authentication

The server-side auth_socket authentication plugin authenticates clients that connect from the local host through the Unix socket file. The plugin uses the SO_PEERCRED socket option to obtain information about the user running the client program. Thus, the plugin can be used only on systems that support the SO_PEERCRED option, such as Linux.

The source code for this plugin can be examined as a relatively simple example demonstrating how to write a loadable authentication plugin.

The following table shows the plugin and library file names. The file must be located in the directory named by the plugin_dir system variable.

Table 6.14 Plugin and Library Names for Socket Peer-Credential Authentication

Server-side plugin nameauth_socket
Client-side plugin nameNone, see discussion
Library file nameauth_socket.so

The following sections provide installation and usage information specific to socket pluggable authentication:

For general information about pluggable authentication in MySQL, see Section 6.3.10, “Pluggable Authentication”.

Installing Socket Pluggable Authentication

This section describes how to install the socket authentication plugin. For general information about installing plugins, see Section 5.6.1, “Installing and Uninstalling Plugins”.

To be usable by the server, the plugin library file must be located in the MySQL plugin directory (the directory named by the plugin_dir system variable). If necessary, set the value of plugin_dir at server startup to tell the server the plugin directory location.

To load the plugin at server startup, use the --plugin-load-add option to name the library file that contains it. With this plugin-loading method, the option must be given each time the server starts. For example, put these lines in your my.cnf file:

[mysqld]
plugin-load-add=auth_socket.so

After modifying my.cnf, restart the server to cause the new settings to take effect.

Alternatively, to register the plugin at runtime, use this statement:

INSTALL PLUGIN auth_socket SONAME 'auth_socket.so';

INSTALL PLUGIN loads a plugin, and also registers it in the mysql.plugins system table to cause the plugin to be loaded for each subsequent normal server startup.

To verify plugin installation, examine the INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PLUGINS table or use the SHOW PLUGINS statement (see Section 5.6.2, “Obtaining Server Plugin Information”). For example:

mysql> SELECT PLUGIN_NAME, PLUGIN_STATUS
       FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PLUGINS
       WHERE PLUGIN_NAME LIKE '%socket%';
+-------------+---------------+
| PLUGIN_NAME | PLUGIN_STATUS |
+-------------+---------------+
| auth_socket | ACTIVE        |
+-------------+---------------+

If the plugin fails to initialize, check the server error log for diagnostic messages.

To associate MySQL accounts with the socket plugin, see Using Socket Pluggable Authentication.

Uninstalling Socket Pluggable Authentication

The method used to uninstall the socket authentication plugin depends on how you installed it:

  • If you installed the plugin at server startup using a --plugin-load-add option, restart the server without the option.

  • If you installed the plugin at runtime using INSTALL PLUGIN, it remains installed across server restarts. To uninstall it, use UNINSTALL PLUGIN:

    UNINSTALL PLUGIN auth_socket;
    
Using Socket Pluggable Authentication

The socket plugin checks whether the socket user name matches the MySQL user name specified by the client program to the server. If the names do not match, the plugin also checks whether the socket user name matches the name specified in the authentication_string column of the mysql.user table row. If a match is found, the plugin permits the connection.

Suppose that a MySQL account is created for a user named valerie who is to be authenticated by the auth_socket plugin for connections from the local host through the socket file:

CREATE USER 'valerie'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH auth_socket;

If a user on the local host with a login name of stefanie invokes mysql with the option --user=valerie to connect through the socket file, the server uses auth_socket to authenticate the client. The plugin determines that the --user option value (valerie) differs from the client user's name (stephanie) and refuses the connection. If a user named valerie tries the same thing, the plugin finds that the user name and the MySQL user name are both valerie and permits the connection. However, the plugin refuses the connection even for valerie if the connection is made using a different protocol, such as TCP/IP.

6.5.1.6 Test Pluggable Authentication

MySQL includes a test plugin that checks account credentials and logs success or failure to the server error log. This is a loadable plugin (not built in) and must be installed prior to use.

The test plugin source code is separate from the server source, unlike the built-in native plugin, so it can be examined as a relatively simple example demonstrating how to write a loadable authentication plugin.

Note

This plugin is intended for testing and development purposes, and is not for use in production environments or on servers that are exposed to public networks.

The following table shows the plugin and library file names. The file name suffix might differ on your system. The file must be located in the directory named by the plugin_dir system variable.

Table 6.15 Plugin and Library Names for Test Authentication

Server-side plugin nametest_plugin_server
Client-side plugin nameauth_test_plugin
Library file nameauth_test_plugin.so

The following sections provide installation and usage information specific to test pluggable authentication:

For general information about pluggable authentication in MySQL, see Section 6.3.10, “Pluggable Authentication”.

Installing Test Pluggable Authentication

This section describes how to install the test authentication plugin. For general information about installing plugins, see Section 5.6.1, “Installing and Uninstalling Plugins”.

To be usable by the server, the plugin library file must be located in the MySQL plugin directory (the directory named by the plugin_dir system variable). If necessary, set the value of plugin_dir at server startup to tell the server the plugin directory location.

To load the plugin at server startup, use the --plugin-load-add option to name the library file that contains it. With this plugin-loading method, the option must be given each time the server starts. For example, put these lines in your my.cnf file (adjust the .so suffix for your platform as necessary):

[mysqld]
plugin-load-add=auth_test_plugin.so

After modifying my.cnf, restart the server to cause the new settings to take effect.

Alternatively, to register the plugin at runtime, use this statement (adjust the .so suffix as necessary):

INSTALL PLUGIN test_plugin_server SONAME 'auth_test_plugin.so';

INSTALL PLUGIN loads a plugin, and also registers it in the mysql.plugins system table to cause the plugin to be loaded for each subsequent normal server startup.

To verify plugin installation, examine the INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PLUGINS table or use the SHOW PLUGINS statement (see Section 5.6.2, “Obtaining Server Plugin Information”). For example:

mysql> SELECT PLUGIN_NAME, PLUGIN_STATUS
       FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PLUGINS
       WHERE PLUGIN_NAME LIKE '%test_plugin%';
+--------------------+---------------+
| PLUGIN_NAME        | PLUGIN_STATUS |
+--------------------+---------------+
| test_plugin_server | ACTIVE        |
+--------------------+---------------+

If the plugin fails to initialize, check the server error log for diagnostic messages.

To associate MySQL accounts with the test plugin, see Using Test Pluggable Authentication.

Uninstalling Test Pluggable Authentication

The method used to uninstall the test authentication plugin depends on how you installed it:

  • If you installed the plugin at server startup using a --plugin-load-add option, restart the server without the option.

  • If you installed the plugin at runtime using INSTALL PLUGIN, it remains installed across server restarts. To uninstall it, use UNINSTALL PLUGIN:

    UNINSTALL PLUGIN test_plugin_server;
    
Using Test Pluggable Authentication

To use the test authentication plugin, create an account and name that plugin in the IDENTIFIED WITH clause:

CREATE USER 'testuser'@'localhost'
IDENTIFIED WITH test_plugin_server
BY 'testpassword';

Then provide the --user and --password options for that account when you connect to the server. For example:

shell> mysql --user=testuser --password
Enter password: testpassword

The plugin fetches the password as received from the client and compares it with the value stored in the authentication_string column of the account row in the mysql.user table. If the two values match, the plugin returns the authentication_string value as the new effective user ID.

You can look in the server error log for a message indicating whether authentication succeeded (notice that the password is reported as the user):

[Note] Plugin test_plugin_server reported:
'successfully authenticated user testpassword'

6.5.2 The Connection-Control Plugins

MySQL Server includes a plugin library that enables administrators to introduce an increasing delay in server response to clients after a certain number of consecutive failed connection attempts. This capability provides a deterrent that slows down brute force attacks that attempt to access MySQL user accounts. The plugin library contains two plugins:

  • CONNECTION_CONTROL checks incoming connections and adds a delay to server responses as necessary. This plugin also exposes system variables that enable plugin operation to be configured and a status variable that provides rudimentary monitoring information.

    The CONNECTION_CONTROL plugin uses the audit plugin interface (see Section 28.2.4.8, “Writing Audit Plugins”). To collect information, it subscribes to the MYSQL_AUDIT_CONNECTION_CLASSMASK event class, and processes MYSQL_AUDIT_CONNECTION_CONNECT and MYSQL_AUDIT_CONNECTION_CHANGE_USER subevents to check whether the server should introduce a delay before responding to client connection attempts.

  • CONNECTION_CONTROL_FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS implements an INFORMATION_SCHEMA table that exposes more detailed monitoring information for failed connection attempts.

The following sections provide information about connection-control plugin installation and configuration. For information about the CONNECTION_CONTROL_FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS table, see Section 24.32.1, “The INFORMATION_SCHEMA CONNECTION_CONTROL_FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS Table”.

6.5.2.1 Connection-Control Plugin Installation

This section describes how to install the connection-control plugins, CONNECTION_CONTROL and CONNECTION_CONTROL_FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS. For general information about installing plugins, see Section 5.6.1, “Installing and Uninstalling Plugins”.

To be usable by the server, the plugin library file must be located in the MySQL plugin directory (the directory named by the plugin_dir system variable). If necessary, set the value of plugin_dir at server startup to tell the server the plugin directory location.

The plugin library file base name is connection_control. The file name suffix differs per platform (for example, .so for Unix and Unix-like systems, .dll for Windows).

To load the plugins at server startup, use the --plugin-load-add option to name the library file that contains them. With this plugin-loading method, the option must be given each time the server starts. For example, put these lines in your my.cnf file (adjust the .so suffix for your platform as necessary):

[mysqld]
plugin-load-add=connection_control.so

After modifying my.cnf, restart the server to cause the new settings to take effect.

Alternatively, to register the plugins at runtime, use these statements (adjust the .so suffix as necessary):

INSTALL PLUGIN CONNECTION_CONTROL SONAME 'connection_control.so';
INSTALL PLUGIN CONNECTION_CONTROL_FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS SONAME 'connection_control.so';

INSTALL PLUGIN loads a plugin, and also registers it in the mysql.plugins system table to cause the plugin to be loaded for each subsequent normal server startup.

To verify plugin installation, examine the INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PLUGINS table or use the SHOW PLUGINS statement (see Section 5.6.2, “Obtaining Server Plugin Information”). For example:

mysql> SELECT PLUGIN_NAME, PLUGIN_STATUS
       FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PLUGINS
       WHERE PLUGIN_NAME LIKE 'connection%';
+------------------------------------------+---------------+
| PLUGIN_NAME                              | PLUGIN_STATUS |
+------------------------------------------+---------------+
| CONNECTION_CONTROL                       | ACTIVE        |
| CONNECTION_CONTROL_FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS | ACTIVE        |
+------------------------------------------+---------------+

If a plugin fails to initialize, check the server error log for diagnostic messages.

If the plugins have been previously registered with INSTALL PLUGIN or are loaded with --plugin-load-add, you can use the --connection-control and --connection-control-failed-login-attempts options at server startup to control plugin activation. For example, to load the plugins at startup and prevent them from being removed at runtime, use these options:

[mysqld]
plugin-load-add=connection_control.so
connection-control=FORCE_PLUS_PERMANENT
connection-control-failed-login-attempts=FORCE_PLUS_PERMANENT

If it is desired to prevent the server from running without a given connection-control plugin, use an option value of FORCE or FORCE_PLUS_PERMANENT to force server startup to fail if the plugin does not initialize successfully.

Note

It is possible to install one plugin without the other, but both must be installed for full connection-control capability. In particular, installing only the CONNECTION_CONTROL_FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS plugin is of little use because without the CONNECTION_CONTROL plugin to provide the data that populates the CONNECTION_CONTROL_FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS table, retrievals from the table will always be empty.

Connection Delay Configuration

To enable you to configure its operation, the CONNECTION_CONTROL plugin exposes several system variables:

To entirely disable checking for failed connection attempts, set connection_control_failed_connections_threshold to zero. If connection_control_failed_connections_threshold is nonzero, the amount of delay is zero up through that many consecutive failed connection attempts. Thereafter, the amount of delay is the number of failed attempts above the threshold, multiplied by connection_control_min_connection_delay milliseconds. For example, with the default connection_control_failed_connections_threshold and connection_control_min_connection_delay values of 3 and 1000, respectively, there is no delay for the first three consecutive failed connection attempts by a client, a delay of 1000 milliseconds for the fourth failed attempt, 2000 milliseconds for the fifth failed attempt, and so on, up to the maximum delay permitted by connection_control_max_connection_delay.

You can set the CONNECTION_CONTROL system variables at server startup or runtime. Suppose that you want to permit four consecutive failed connection attempts before the server starts delaying its responses, and to increase the delay by 1500 milliseconds for each additional failure after that. To set the relevant variables at server startup, put these lines in your my.cnf file:

[mysqld]
plugin-load-add=connection_control.so
connection_control_failed_connections_threshold=4
connection_control_min_connection_delay=1500

To set the variables at runtime, use these statements:

SET PERSIST connection_control_failed_connections_threshold = 4;
SET PERSIST connection_control_min_connection_delay = 1500;

SET PERSIST sets the value for the running MySQL instance. It also saves the value to be used for subsequent server restarts; see Section 13.7.4.1, “SET Syntax for Variable Assignment”. To change a value only for the running MySQL instance without saving it for subsequent restarts, use the GLOBAL keyword rather than PERSIST.

The connection_control_min_connection_delay and connection_control_max_connection_delay system variables have fixed minimum and maximum values of 1000 and 2147483647, respectively. In addition, the permitted range of values of each variable also depends on the current value of the other:

Thus, to make the changes required for some configurations, you might need to set the variables in a specific order. Suppose that the current minimum and maximum delays are 1000 and 2000, and that you want to set them to 3000 and 5000. You cannot first set connection_control_min_connection_delay to 3000 because that is greater than the current connection_control_max_connection_delay value of 2000. Instead, set connection_control_max_connection_delay to 5000, then set connection_control_min_connection_delay to 3000.

Connection Failure Assessment

When the CONNECTION_CONTROL plugin is installed, it checks connection attempts and tracks whether they fail or succeed. For this purpose, a failed connection attempt is one for which the client user and host match a known MySQL account but the provided credentials are incorrect, or do not match any known account.

Failed-connection counting is based on the user/host combination for each connection attempt. Determination of the applicable user name and host name takes proxying into account and occurs as follows:

  • If the client user proxies another user, the proxying user's information is used. For example, if external_user@example.com proxies proxy_user@example.com, connection counting uses the proxying user, external_user@example.com, rather than the proxied user, proxy_user@example.com. Both external_user@example.com and proxy_user@example.com must have valid entries in the mysql.user system table and a proxy relationship between them must be defined in the mysql.proxies_priv system table (see Section 6.3.11, “Proxy Users”).

  • If the client user does not proxy another user, but does match a mysql.user entry, counting uses the CURRENT_USER() value corresponding to that entry. For example, if a user user1 connecting from a host host1.example.com matches a user1@host1.example.com entry, counting uses user1@host1.example.com. If the user matches a user1@%.example.com, user1@%.com, or user1@% entry instead, counting uses user1@%.example.com, user1@%.com, or user1@%, respectively.

For the cases just described, the connection attempt matches some mysql.user entry, and whether the request succeeds or fails depends on whether the client provides the correct authentication credentials. For example, if the client presents an incorrect password, the connection attempt fails.

If the connection attempt matches no mysql.user entry, the attempt fails. In this case, no CURRENT_USER() value is available and connection-failure counting uses the user name provided by the client and the client host as determined by the server. For example, if a client attempts to connect as user user2 from host host2.example.com, the user name part is available in the client request and the server determines the host information. The user/host combination used for counting is user2@host2.example.com.

Note

The server maintains information about which client hosts can possibly connect to the server (essentially the union of host values for mysql.user entries). If a client attempts to connect from any other host, the server rejects the attempt at an early stage of connection setup:

ERROR 1130 (HY000): Host 'host_name' is not
allowed to connect to this MySQL server

Because this type of rejection occurs so early, CONNECTION_CONTROL does not see it, and does not count it.

Connection Failure Monitoring

To monitor failed connections, use these information sources:

Assigning a value to connection_control_failed_connections_threshold at runtime resets all accumulated failed-connection counters to zero, which has these visible effects:

6.5.2.2 Connection-Control System and Status Variables

This section describes the system and status variables that the CONNECTION_CONTROL plugin provides to enable its operation to be configured and monitored.

If the CONNECTION_CONTROL plugin is installed, it exposes these system variables:

If the CONNECTION_CONTROL plugin is installed, it exposes this status variable:

6.5.3 The Password Validation Plugin

The validate_password plugin serves to test passwords and improve security. The plugin exposes a set of system variables that enable you to define password policy.

This plugin implements two capabilities:

  • In statements that assign a password supplied as a cleartext value, the plugin checks the password against the current password policy and rejects it if it is weak (the statement returns an ER_NOT_VALID_PASSWORD error). This affects the ALTER USER, CREATE USER, GRANT, and SET PASSWORD statements. Passwords given as arguments to the PASSWORD() function are checked as well.

  • The VALIDATE_PASSWORD_STRENGTH() SQL function assesses the strength of potential passwords. The function takes a password argument and returns an integer from 0 (weak) to 100 (strong).

For example, the cleartext password in the following statement is checked. Under the default password policy, which requires passwords to be at least 8 characters long, the password is weak and the statement produces an error:

mysql> ALTER USER USER() IDENTIFIED BY 'abc';
ERROR 1819 (HY000): Your password does not satisfy the current
policy requirements

Passwords specified as hashed values are not checked because the original password value is not available:

mysql> ALTER USER 'jeffrey'@'localhost'
       IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password
       AS '*0D3CED9BEC10A777AEC23CCC353A8C08A633045E';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.01 sec)

System variables having names of the form validate_password_xxx represent the parameters that control password policy. To configure password checking, modify these variables; see Section 6.5.3.2, “Password Validation Plugin Options and Variables”.

If the validate_password plugin is not installed, the validate_password_xxx system variables are not available, passwords in statements are not checked, and the VALIDATE_PASSWORD_STRENGTH() function always returns 0. For example, without the plugin installed, accounts can be assigned passwords shorter than 8 characters.

Assuming that the validate_password plugin is installed, it implements three levels of password checking: LOW, MEDIUM, and STRONG. The default is MEDIUM; to change this, modify the value of validate_password_policy. The policies implement increasingly strict password tests. The following descriptions refer to default parameter values, which can be modified by changing the appropriate system variables.

  • LOW policy tests password length only. Passwords must be at least 8 characters long.

  • MEDIUM policy adds the conditions that passwords must contain at least 1 numeric character, 1 lowercase character, 1 uppercase character, and 1 special (nonalphanumeric) character.

  • STRONG policy adds the condition that password substrings of length 4 or longer must not match words in the dictionary file, if one has been specified.

In addition, the validate_password plugin supports the capability of rejecting passwords that match the user name part of the effective user account for the current session, either forward or in reverse. To enable control over this capability, the plugin exposes a validate_password_check_user_name system variable. By default, this variable is enabled.

6.5.3.1 Password Validation Plugin Installation

This section describes how to install the validate_password password-validation plugin. For general information about installing plugins, see Section 5.6.1, “Installing and Uninstalling Plugins”.

To be usable by the server, the plugin library file must be located in the MySQL plugin directory (the directory named by the plugin_dir system variable). If necessary, set the value of plugin_dir at server startup to tell the server the plugin directory location.

The plugin library file base name is validate_password. The file name suffix differs per platform (for example, .so for Unix and Unix-like systems, .dll for Windows).

To load the plugin at server startup, use the --plugin-load-add option to name the library file that contains it. With this plugin-loading method, the option must be given each time the server starts. For example, put these lines in your my.cnf file (adjust the .so suffix for your platform as necessary):

[mysqld]
plugin-load-add=validate_password.so

After modifying my.cnf, restart the server to cause the new settings to take effect.

Alternatively, to register the plugin at runtime, use this statement (adjust the .so suffix as necessary):

INSTALL PLUGIN validate_password SONAME 'validate_password.so';

INSTALL PLUGIN loads the plugin, and also registers it in the mysql.plugins system table to cause the plugin to be loaded for each subsequent normal server startup.

To verify plugin installation, examine the INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PLUGINS table or use the SHOW PLUGINS statement (see Section 5.6.2, “Obtaining Server Plugin Information”). For example:

mysql> SELECT PLUGIN_NAME, PLUGIN_STATUS
       FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PLUGINS
       WHERE PLUGIN_NAME LIKE 'validate%';
+-------------------+---------------+
| PLUGIN_NAME       | PLUGIN_STATUS |
+-------------------+---------------+
| validate_password | ACTIVE        |
+-------------------+---------------+

If the plugin fails to initialize, check the server error log for diagnostic messages.

If the plugin has been previously registered with INSTALL PLUGIN or is loaded with --plugin-load-add, you can use the --validate-password option at server startup to control plugin activation. For example, to load the plugin at startup and prevent it from being removed at runtime, use these options:

[mysqld]
plugin-load-add=validate_password.so
validate-password=FORCE_PLUS_PERMANENT

If it is desired to prevent the server from running without the password-validation plugin, use --validate-password with a value of FORCE or FORCE_PLUS_PERMANENT to force server startup to fail if the plugin does not initialize successfully.

6.5.3.2 Password Validation Plugin Options and Variables

To control the activation of the validate_password plugin, use this option:

If the validate_password plugin is enabled, it exposes several system variables representing the parameters that control password checking:

mysql> SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'validate_password%';
+--------------------------------------+--------+
| Variable_name                        | Value  |
+--------------------------------------+--------+
| validate_password_check_user_name    | ON     |
| validate_password_dictionary_file    |        |
| validate_password_length             | 8      |
| validate_password_mixed_case_count   | 1      |
| validate_password_number_count       | 1      |
| validate_password_policy             | MEDIUM |
| validate_password_special_char_count | 1      |
+--------------------------------------+--------+

To change how passwords are checked, you can set these system variables at server startup or at runtime. The following list describes the meaning of each variable.

  • validate_password_check_user_name

    Command-Line Format--validate-password-check-user-name
    System VariableNamevalidate_password_check_user_name
    Variable ScopeGlobal
    Dynamic VariableYes
    Permitted ValuesTypeboolean
    DefaultON

    Whether passwords are compared to the user name part of the effective user account for the current session and rejected if they match. By default, validate_password_check_user_name is enabled. This variable controls user name matching independent of the value of validate_password_policy.

    When validate_password_check_user_name is enabled, it has these effects:

    • Checking occurs in all contexts for which the validate_password plugin is invoked, which includes use of statements such as ALTER USER or SET PASSWORD to change the current user's password, and invocation of functions such as PASSWORD() and VALIDATE_PASSWORD_STRENGTH().

    • If a password is the same as the user name or its reverse, a match occurs and the password is rejected.

    • If a password matches the user name, VALIDATE_PASSWORD_STRENGTH() returns 0 regardless of how other validate_password system variables are set.

    • The user names used for comparison are taken from the values of the USER() and CURRENT_USER() functions for the current session. (An implication is that a user who has the SUPER privilege can execute a statement to set another user's password to that user name, and cannot set that user's password to the name of the user executing the statement.)

    • Only the user name part of the USER() and CURRENT_USER() function values is used, not the host name part. If a user name is empty, no comparison is done.

    • User name matching is case sensitive. The password and user name values are compared as binary strings on a byte-by-byte basis.

  • validate_password_dictionary_file

    System VariableNamevalidate_password_dictionary_file
    Variable ScopeGlobal
    Dynamic VariableYes
    Permitted ValuesTypefile name

    The path name of the dictionary file used by the validate_password plugin for checking passwords. This variable is unavailable unless that plugin is installed.

    By default, this variable has an empty value and dictionary checks are not performed. To enable dictionary checks, you must set this variable to a nonempty value. If the file is named as a relative path, it is interpreted relative to the server data directory. Its contents should be lowercase, one word per line. Contents are treated as having a character set of utf8. The maximum permitted file size is 1MB.

    For the dictionary file to be used during password checking, the password policy must be set to 2 (STRONG); see the description of the validate_password_policy system variable. Assuming that is true, each substring of the password of length 4 up to 100 is compared to the words in the dictionary file. Any match causes the password to be rejected. Comparisons are not case sensitive.

    For VALIDATE_PASSWORD_STRENGTH(), the password is checked against all policies, including STRONG, so the strength assessment includes the dictionary check regardless of the validate_password_policy value.

    validate_password_dictionary_file can be set at runtime and assigning a value causes the named file to be read without a restart.

  • validate_password_length

    System VariableNamevalidate_password_length
    Variable ScopeGlobal
    Dynamic VariableYes
    Permitted ValuesTypeinteger
    Default8
    Min Value0

    The minimum number of characters that passwords checked by the validate_password plugin must have. This variable is unavailable unless that plugin is installed.

    The validate_password_length minimum value is a function of several other related system variables. The server will not set the value less than the value of this expression:

    validate_password_number_count
    + validate_password_special_char_count
    + (2 * validate_password_mixed_case_count)
    

    If the validate_password plugin adjusts the value of validate_password_length due to the preceding constraint, it writes a message to the error log.

  • validate_password_mixed_case_count

    System VariableNamevalidate_password_mixed_case_count
    Variable ScopeGlobal
    Dynamic VariableYes
    Permitted ValuesTypeinteger
    Default1
    Min Value0

    The minimum number of lowercase and uppercase characters that passwords checked by the validate_password plugin must have if the password policy is MEDIUM or stronger. For a given value, the password must have that many lowercase characters, and that many uppercase characters. This variable is unavailable unless that plugin is installed.

  • validate_password_number_count

    System VariableNamevalidate_password_number_count
    Variable ScopeGlobal
    Dynamic VariableYes
    Permitted ValuesTypeinteger
    Default1
    Min Value0

    The minimum number of numeric (digit) characters that passwords checked by the validate_password plugin must have if the password policy is MEDIUM or stronger. This variable is unavailable unless that plugin is installed.

  • validate_password_policy

    System VariableNamevalidate_password_policy
    Variable ScopeGlobal
    Dynamic VariableYes
    Permitted ValuesTypeenumeration
    Default1
    Valid Values0
    1
    2

    The password policy enforced by the validate_password plugin. This variable is unavailable unless that plugin is installed.

    validate_password_policy affects how the plugin uses its other policy-setting system variables, except for checking passwords against user names, which is controlled independently by validate_password_check_user_name.

    The validate_password_policy value can be specified using numeric values 0, 1, 2, or the corresponding symbolic values LOW, MEDIUM, STRONG. The following table describes the tests performed for each policy. For the length test, the required length is the value of the validate_password_length system variable. Similarly, the required values for the other tests are given by other validate_password_xxx variables.

    PolicyTests Performed
    0 or LOWLength
    1 or MEDIUMLength; numeric, lowercase/uppercase, and special characters
    2 or STRONGLength; numeric, lowercase/uppercase, and special characters; dictionary file
  • validate_password_special_char_count

    System VariableNamevalidate_password_special_char_count
    Variable ScopeGlobal
    Dynamic VariableYes
    Permitted ValuesTypeinteger
    Default1
    Min Value0

    The minimum number of nonalphanumeric characters that passwords checked by the validate_password plugin must have if the password policy is MEDIUM or stronger. This variable is unavailable unless that plugin is installed.

If the validate_password plugin is enabled, it exposes status variables that provide operational information:

mysql> SHOW STATUS LIKE 'validate_password%';
+-----------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| Variable_name                                 | Value               |
+-----------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| validate_password_dictionary_file_last_parsed | 2015-06-29 11:08:51 |
| validate_password_dictionary_file_words_count | 1902                |
+-----------------------------------------------+---------------------+

The following list describes the meaning of each status variable.

6.5.4 The MySQL Keyring

MySQL Server supports a keyring service that enables internal server components and plugins to securely store sensitive information for later retrieval. The implementation is plugin-based:

  • The keyring_file plugin stores keyring data in a file local to the server host. This plugin is available in all MySQL distributions, Community Edition and Enterprise Edition included.

    Warning

    The keyring_file plugin for encryption key management is not intended as a regulatory compliance solution. Security standards such as PCI, FIPS, and others require use of key management systems to secure, manage, and protect encryption keys in key vaults or hardware security modules (HSMs).

  • An SQL interface for keyring key management is implemented as a set of user-defined functions (UDFs).

The InnoDB storage engine uses the keyring to store its key for tablespace encryption. InnoDB can use any supported keyring plugin.

For general keyring installation instructions, see Section 6.5.4.1, “Keyring Plugin Installation”. For information specific to a given keyring plugin, see the section describing that plugin.

For information about using the keyring UDFs, see Section 6.5.4.4, “General-Purpose Keyring Key-Management Functions”.

Keyring plugins and UDFs access a keyring service that provides the interface for server components to the keyring. For information about accessing the keyring plugin service and writing keyring plugins, see Section 28.3.2, “The Keyring Service”, and Section 28.2.4.12, “Writing Keyring Plugins”.

6.5.4.1 Keyring Plugin Installation

Keyring service consumers require a keyring plugin to be installed. MySQL provides these plugin choices:

  • keyring_file: A plugin that stores keyring data in a file local to the server host. Available in all MySQL distributions.

This section describes how to install the keyring plugin of your choosing. For general information about installing plugins, see Section 5.6.1, “Installing and Uninstalling Plugins”.

To be usable by the server, the plugin library file must be located in the MySQL plugin directory (the directory named by the plugin_dir system variable). If necessary, set the value of plugin_dir at server startup to tell the server the plugin directory location.

Installation for each keyring plugin is similar. The following instructions use keyring_file. Users of a different keyring plugin can substitute its name for keyring_file.

The keyring_file plugin library file base name is keyring_file. The file name suffix differs per platform (for example, .so for Unix and Unix-like systems, .dll for Windows).

Note

Only one keyring plugin should be enabled at a time. Enabling multiple keyring plugins is unsupported and results may not be as anticipated.

The keyring plugin must be loaded early during the server startup sequence so that server components can access it as necessary during their own initialization. For example, the InnoDB storage engine uses the keyring for tablespace encryption, so the keyring plugin must be loaded and available prior to InnoDB initialization.

To load the plugin, use the --early-plugin-load option to name the plugin library file that contains it. For example, on platforms where the plugin library file suffix is .so, use these lines in the server my.cnf file (adjust the .so suffix for your platform as necessary):

[mysqld]
early-plugin-load=keyring_file.so

Before starting the server, check the notes for your chosen keyring plugin to see whether it permits or requires additional configuration:

After performing any plugin-specific configuration, verify plugin installation. With the MySQL server running, examine the INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PLUGINS table or use the SHOW PLUGINS statement (see Section 5.6.2, “Obtaining Server Plugin Information”). For example:

mysql> SELECT PLUGIN_NAME, PLUGIN_STATUS
       FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PLUGINS
       WHERE PLUGIN_NAME LIKE 'keyring%';
+--------------+---------------+
| PLUGIN_NAME  | PLUGIN_STATUS |
+--------------+---------------+
| keyring_file | ACTIVE        |
+--------------+---------------+

If the plugin fails to initialize, check the server error log for diagnostic messages.

If no keyring plugin is available when a server component tries to access the keyring service, the service cannot be used by that component. As a result, the component may fail to initialize or may initialize with limited functionality. For example, if InnoDB finds that there are encrypted tablespaces when it initializes, it attempts to access the keyring. If the keyring is unavailable, InnoDB can access only unencrypted tablespaces. To ensure that InnoDB can access encrypted tablespaces as well, use --early-plugin-load to load the keyring plugin.

Plugins can be loaded by other methods, such as the --plugin-load or --plugin-load-add option or the INSTALL PLUGIN statement. However, keyring plugins loaded using those methods may be available too late in the server startup sequence for certain server components, such as InnoDB:

  • Plugin loading using --plugin-load or --plugin-load-add occurs after InnoDB initialization.

  • Plugins installed using INSTALL PLUGIN are registered in the mysql.plugin system table and loaded automatically for subsequent server restarts. However, because mysql.plugin is an InnoDB table, any plugins named in it can be loaded during startup only after InnoDB initialization.

6.5.4.2 Using the keyring_file File-Based Plugin

The keyring_file plugin is a keyring plugin that stores keyring data in a file local to the server host.

Warning

The keyring_file plugin for encryption key management is not intended as a regulatory compliance solution. Security standards such as PCI, FIPS, and others require use of key management systems to secure, manage, and protect encryption keys in key vaults or hardware security modules (HSMs).

To install the keyring_file plugin, use the general keyring installation instructions found in Section 6.5.4.1, “Keyring Plugin Installation”, together with the configuration information specific to keyring_file found here.

keyring_file must be loaded at each server startup using the --early-plugin-load option. The keyring_file_data system variable optionally configures the location of the file used by the keyring_file plugin for data storage. The default value is platform specific. To configure the file location explicitly, set the variable value at startup. For example, use these lines in the server my.cnf file (adjust the .so suffix and file location for your platform as necessary):

[mysqld]
early-plugin-load=keyring_file.so
keyring_file_data=/usr/local/mysql/mysql-keyring/keyring

Keyring operations are transactional: The keyring_file plugin uses a backup file during write operations to ensure that it can roll back to the original file if an operation fails. The backup file has the same name as the value of the keyring_file_data system variable with a suffix of .backup.

For additional information about keyring_file_data, see Section 6.5.4.6, “Keyring System Variables”.

To ensure that keys are flushed only when the correct keyring storage file exists, keyring_file stores a SHA-256 checksum of the keyring in the file. Before updating the file, the plugin verifies that it contains the expected checksum.

The keyring_file plugin supports the functions that comprise the standard keyring service interface. Keyring operations performed by those functions are accessible at two levels:

Example (using UDFs):

SELECT keyring_key_generate('MyKey', 'AES', 32);
SELECT keyring_key_remove('MyKey');

The key types permitted by keyring_file are described in Section 6.5.4.3, “Supported Keyring Key Types”.

6.5.4.3 Supported Keyring Key Types

MySQL Keyring supports generating keys of different types (encryption algorithms) and lengths. The available key types depend on which keyring plugin is installed. A given plugin may also impose constraints on key lengths per key type.

Table 6.16, “Keyring Plugin Key Types” summarizes the permitted key types per keyring plugin. Lengths are in bytes. For a key generated using one of the keyring user-defined functions (UDFs) described in Section 6.5.4.4, “General-Purpose Keyring Key-Management Functions”, the length can be no more than 2,048 bytes, due to limitations of the UDF interface.

Table 6.16 Keyring Plugin Key Types

Plugin Name Permitted Key Type Permitted Key Lengths for Key Type
keyring_file AES No special restrictions
DSA No special restrictions
RSA No special restrictions

6.5.4.4 General-Purpose Keyring Key-Management Functions

MySQL Server supports a keyring service that enables internal server components and plugins to securely store sensitive information for later retrieval.

MySQL Server also includes an SQL interface for keyring key management, implemented as a set of general-purpose user-defined functions (UDFs) that access the functions provided by the internal keyring service. The keyring UDFs are contained in a plugin library file, which also contains a keyring_udf plugin that must be enabled prior to UDF invocation. For these UDFs to be used, a keyring plugin such as keyring_file must be enabled.

The UDFs described here are general purpose and intended for use with any keyring plugin. A given keyring plugin might have UDFs of its own that are intended for use only with that plugin; see Section 6.5.4.5, “Plugin-Specific Keyring Key-Management Functions”.

The following sections provide installation instructions for the keyring UDFs and demonstrate how to use them. For information about the keyring service functions invoked by the UDFs, see Section 28.3.2, “The Keyring Service”. For general keyring information, see Section 6.5.4, “The MySQL Keyring”.

6.5.4.4.1 Installing or Uninstalling General-Purpose Keyring Functions

This section describes how to install or uninstall the keyring user-defined functions (UDFs), which are implemented in a plugin library file that also contains a keyring_udf plugin. For general information about installing or uninstalling plugins and UDFs, see Section 5.6.1, “Installing and Uninstalling Plugins”, and Section 28.4.2.5, “UDF Compiling and Installing”.

The keyring UDFs enable keyring key management operations, but the keyring_udf plugin must also be installed because the UDFs will not work correctly without it. Attempts to use the UDFs without the keyring_udf plugin result in an error.

To be usable by the server, the plugin library file must be located in the MySQL plugin directory (the directory named by the plugin_dir system variable). If necessary, set the value of plugin_dir at server startup to tell the server the plugin directory location.

The plugin library file base name is keyring_udf. The file name suffix differs per platform (for example, .so for Unix and Unix-like systems, .dll for Windows).

To install the keyring_udf plugin and the UDFs, use the INSTALL PLUGIN and CREATE FUNCTION statements (adjust the .so suffix for your platform as necessary):

INSTALL PLUGIN keyring_udf SONAME 'keyring_udf.so';
CREATE FUNCTION keyring_key_generate RETURNS INTEGER SONAME 'keyring_udf.so';
CREATE FUNCTION keyring_key_fetch RETURNS STRING SONAME 'keyring_udf.so';
CREATE FUNCTION keyring_key_length_fetch RETURNS INTEGER SONAME 'keyring_udf.so';
CREATE FUNCTION keyring_key_type_fetch RETURNS STRING SONAME 'keyring_udf.so';
CREATE FUNCTION keyring_key_store RETURNS INTEGER SONAME 'keyring_udf.so';
CREATE FUNCTION keyring_key_remove RETURNS INTEGER SONAME 'keyring_udf.so';

If the plugin and the UDFs are used on a master replication server, install them on all slave servers as well to avoid replication problems.

Once installed as just described, the keyring_udf plugin and the UDFs remain installed until uninstalled. To remove them, use the UNINSTALL PLUGIN and DROP FUNCTION statements:

UNINSTALL PLUGIN keyring_udf;
DROP FUNCTION keyring_key_generate;
DROP FUNCTION keyring_key_fetch;
DROP FUNCTION keyring_key_length_fetch;
DROP FUNCTION keyring_key_type_fetch;
DROP FUNCTION keyring_key_store;
DROP FUNCTION keyring_key_remove;
6.5.4.4.2 Using General-Purpose Keyring Functions

Before using the keyring user-defined functions (UDFs), install them according to the instructions provided in Section 6.5.4.4.1, “Installing or Uninstalling General-Purpose Keyring Functions”.

The keyring UDFs are subject to these constraints:

  • To use any keyring UDF, the keyring_udf plugin must be enabled. Otherwise, an error occurs:

    ERROR 1123 (HY000): Can't initialize function 'keyring_key_generate';
    This function requires keyring_udf plugin which is not installed.
    Please install
    

    To install the keyring_udf plugin, see Section 6.5.4.4.1, “Installing or Uninstalling General-Purpose Keyring Functions”.

  • The keyring UDFs invoke keyring service functions (see Section 28.3.2, “The Keyring Service”). The service functions in turn use whatever keyring plugin is installed (for example, keyring_file ). Therefore, to use any keyring UDF, some underlying keyring plugin must be enabled. Otherwise, an error occurs:

    ERROR 3188 (HY000): Function 'keyring_key_generate' failed because
    underlying keyring service returned an error. Please check if a
    keyring plugin is installed and that provided arguments are valid
    for the keyring you are using.
    

    To install a keyring plugin, see Section 6.5.4.1, “Keyring Plugin Installation”.

  • To use any keyring UDF, a user must possess the global EXECUTE privilege. Otherwise, an error occurs:

    ERROR 1123 (HY000): Can't initialize function 'keyring_key_generate';
    The user is not privileged to execute this function. User needs to
    have EXECUTE
    

    To grant the global EXECUTE privilege to a user, use this statement:

    GRANT EXECUTE ON *.* TO user;
    

    Alternatively, should you prefer to avoid granting the global EXECUTE privilege while still permitting users to access specific key-management operations, wrapper stored programs can be defined (a technique described later in this section).

  • A key stored in the keyring by a given user can be manipulated later only by the same user. That is, the value of the CURRENT_USER() function at the time of key manipulation must have the same value as when the key was stored in the keyring. (This constraint rules out the use of the keyring UDFs for manipulation of instance-wide keys, such as those created by InnoDB to support tablespace encryption.)

    To enable multiple users to perform operations on the same key, wrapper stored programs can be defined (a technique described later in this section).

  • Keyring UDFs support the key types and lengths supported by the underlying keyring plugin, with the additional constraint that keys cannot be longer than 2,048 bytes (16,384 bits), due to limitations of the UDF interface. See Section 6.5.4.3, “Supported Keyring Key Types”.

To create a new random key and store it in the keyring, call keyring_key_generate(), passing to it an ID for the key, along with the key type (encryption method) and its length in bytes. The following call creates a 2,048-bit DSA-encrypted key named MyKey:

mysql> SELECT keyring_key_generate('MyKey', 'DSA', 256);
+-------------------------------------------+
| keyring_key_generate('MyKey', 'DSA', 256) |
+-------------------------------------------+
|                                         1 |
+-------------------------------------------+

A return value of 1 indicates success. If the key cannot be created, the return value is NULL and an error occurs. One reason this might be is that the underlying keyring plugin does not support the specified combination of key type and key length; see Section 6.5.4.3, “Supported Keyring Key Types”.

To be able to check the return type regardless of whether an error occurs, use SELECT ... INTO @var_name and test the variable value:

mysql> SELECT keyring_key_generate('', '', -1) INTO @x;
ERROR 3188 (HY000): Function 'keyring_key_generate' failed because
underlying keyring service returned an error. Please check if a
keyring plugin is installed and that provided arguments are valid
for the keyring you are using.
mysql> SELECT @x;
+------+
| @x   |
+------+
| NULL |
+------+
mysql> SELECT keyring_key_generate('x', 'AES', 16) INTO @x;
mysql> SELECT @x;
+------+
| @x   |
+------+
|    1 |
+------+

This technique also applies to other keyring UDFs that for failure return a value and an error.

The ID passed to keyring_key_generate() provides a means by which to refer to the key in subsequent UDF calls. For example, use the key ID to retrieve its type as a string or its length in bytes as an integer:

mysql> SELECT keyring_key_type_fetch('MyKey');
+---------------------------------+
| keyring_key_type_fetch('MyKey') |
+---------------------------------+
| DSA                             |
+---------------------------------+
mysql> SELECT keyring_key_length_fetch('MyKey');
+-----------------------------------+
| keyring_key_length_fetch('MyKey') |
+-----------------------------------+
|                               256 |
+-----------------------------------+

To retrieve a key value, pass the key ID to keyring_key_fetch(). The following example uses HEX() to display the key value because it may contain nonprintable characters. The example also uses a short key for brevity, but be aware that longer keys provide better security:

mysql> SELECT keyring_key_generate('MyShortKey', 'DSA', 8);
+----------------------------------------------+
| keyring_key_generate('MyShortKey', 'DSA', 8) |
+----------------------------------------------+
|                                            1 |
+----------------------------------------------+
mysql> SELECT HEX(keyring_key_fetch('MyShortKey'));
+--------------------------------------+
| HEX(keyring_key_fetch('MyShortKey')) |
+--------------------------------------+
| 1DB3B0FC3328A24C                     |
+--------------------------------------+

Keyring UDFs treat key IDs, types, and values as binary strings, so comparisons are case sensitive. For example, IDs of MyKey and mykey refer to different keys.

To remove a key, pass the key ID to keyring_key_remove():

mysql> SELECT keyring_key_remove('MyKey');
+-----------------------------+
| keyring_key_remove('MyKey') |
+-----------------------------+
|                           1 |
+-----------------------------+

To obfuscate and store a key that you provide, pass the key ID, type, and value to keyring_key_store():

mysql> SELECT keyring_key_store('AES_key', 'AES', 'Secret string');
+------------------------------------------------------+
| keyring_key_store('AES_key', 'AES', 'Secret string') |
+------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                    1 |
+------------------------------------------------------+

As indicated previously, a user must have the global EXECUTE privilege to call keyring UDFs, and the user who stores a key in the keyring initially must be the same user who performs subsequent operations on the key later, as determined from the CURRENT_USER() value in effect for each UDF call. To permit key operations to users who do not have the global EXECUTE privilege or who may not be the key owner, use this technique:

  1. Define wrapper stored programs that encapsulate the required key operations and have a DEFINER value equal to the key owner.

  2. Grant the EXECUTE privilege for specific stored programs to the individual users who should be able to invoke them.

  3. If the operations implemented by the wrapper stored programs do not include key creation, create any necessary keys in advance, using the account named as the DEFINER in the stored program definitions.

This technique enables keys to be shared among users and provides to DBAs more fine-grained control over who can do what with keys, without having to grant global privileges.

The following example shows how to set up a shared key named SharedKey that is owned by the DBA, and a get_shared_key() stored function that provides access to the current key value. The value can be retrieved by any user with the EXECUTE privilege for that function, which is created in the key_schema schema.

From a MySQL administrative account ('root'@'localhost' in this example), create the administrative schema and the stored function to access the key:


mysql> CREATE SCHEMA key_schema;

mysql> CREATE DEFINER = 'root'@'localhost'
       FUNCTION key_schema.get_shared_key()
       RETURNS BLOB READS SQL DATA
       RETURN keyring_key_fetch('SharedKey');

From the administrative account, ensure that the shared key exists:

mysql> SELECT keyring_key_generate('SharedKey', 'DSA', 8);
+---------------------------------------------+
| keyring_key_generate('SharedKey', 'DSA', 8) |
+---------------------------------------------+
|                                           1 |
+---------------------------------------------+

From the administrative account, create an ordinary user account to which key access is to be granted:


mysql> CREATE USER 'key_user'@'localhost'
       IDENTIFIED BY 'key_user_pwd';

From the key_user account, verify that, without the proper EXECUTE privilege, the new account cannot access the shared key:

mysql> SELECT HEX(key_schema.get_shared_key());
ERROR 1370 (42000): execute command denied to user 'key_user'@'localhost'
for routine 'key_schema.get_shared_key'

From the administrative account, grant EXECUTE to key_user for the stored function:

mysql> GRANT EXECUTE ON FUNCTION key_schema.get_shared_key
       TO 'key_user'@'localhost';

From the key_user account, verify that the key is now accessible:

mysql> SELECT HEX(key_schema.get_shared_key());
+----------------------------------+
| HEX(key_schema.get_shared_key()) |
+----------------------------------+
| 9BAFB9E75CEEB013                 |
+----------------------------------+
6.5.4.4.3 General-Purpose Keyring Function Reference

For each general-purpose keyring user-defined function (UDF), this section describes its purpose, calling sequence, and return value. For information about the conditions under which these UDFs can be invoked, see Section 6.5.4.4.2, “Using General-Purpose Keyring Functions”.

  • keyring_key_fetch()

    Given a key ID, deobfuscates and returns the key value.

    Syntax:

    STRING keyring_key_fetch(STRING key_id)
    

    Arguments:

    • key_id: The key ID as a string.

    Return values:

    Returns the key value for success, NULL if the key does not exist, or NULL and an error for failure.

    Note

    Keyring values retrieved using keyring_key_fetch() are limited to 2,048 bytes, due to limitations of the UDF interface. A keyring value longer than that length can be stored using a keyring service function (see Section 28.3.2, “The Keyring Service”), but if retrieved using keyring_key_fetch(), is truncated to 2,048 bytes.

    Example:

    mysql> SELECT keyring_key_generate('RSA_key', 'RSA', 16);
    +--------------------------------------------+
    | keyring_key_generate('RSA_key', 'RSA', 16) |
    +--------------------------------------------+
    |                                          1 |
    +--------------------------------------------+
    mysql> SELECT HEX(keyring_key_fetch('RSA_key'));
    +-----------------------------------+
    | HEX(keyring_key_fetch('RSA_key')) |
    +-----------------------------------+
    | 91C2253B696064D3556984B6630F891A  |
    +-----------------------------------+
    mysql> SELECT keyring_key_type_fetch('RSA_key');
    +-----------------------------------+
    | keyring_key_type_fetch('RSA_key') |
    +-----------------------------------+
    | RSA                               |
    +-----------------------------------+
    mysql> SELECT keyring_key_length_fetch('RSA_key');
    +-------------------------------------+
    | keyring_key_length_fetch('RSA_key') |
    +-------------------------------------+
    |                                  16 |
    +-------------------------------------+
    

    The example uses HEX() to display the key value because it may contain nonprintable characters. The example also uses a short key for brevity, but be aware that longer keys provide better security.

  • keyring_key_generate()

    Generates a new random key with a given ID, type, and length, and stores it in the keyring. The type and length values must be consistent with the values supported by the underlying keyring plugin, with the additional constraint that keys cannot be longer than 2,048 bytes (16,384 bits), due to limitations of the UDF interface. For the permitted types per plugin, see Section 28.3.2, “The Keyring Service”.

    Syntax:

    STRING keyring_key_generate(STRING key_id, STRING key_type, INTEGER key_length)
    

    Arguments:

    • key_id: The key ID as a string.

    • key_type: The key type as a string.

    • key_length: The key length in bytes as an integer. The maximum length is 2,048.

    Return values:

    Returns 1 for success, or NULL and an error for failure.

    Example:

    mysql> SELECT keyring_key_generate('RSA_key', 'RSA', 384);
    +---------------------------------------------+
    | keyring_key_generate('RSA_key', 'RSA', 384) |
    +---------------------------------------------+
    |                                           1 |
    +---------------------------------------------+
    
  • keyring_key_length_fetch()

    Given a key ID, returns the key length.

    Syntax:

    INTEGER keyring_key_length_fetch(STRING key_id)
    

    Arguments:

    • key_id: The key ID as a string.

    Return values:

    Returns the key length in bytes as an integer for success, NULL if the key does not exist, or NULL and an error for failure.

    Example:

    See the description of keyring_key_fetch().

  • keyring_key_remove()

    Removes the key with a given ID from the keyring.

    Syntax:

    INTEGER keyring_key_remove(STRING key_id)
    

    Arguments:

    • key_id: The key ID as a string.

    Return values:

    Returns 1 for success, or NULL for failure.

    Example:

    mysql> SELECT keyring_key_remove('AES_key');
    +-------------------------------+
    | keyring_key_remove('AES_key') |
    +-------------------------------+
    |                             1 |
    +-------------------------------+
    
  • keyring_key_store()

    Obfuscates and stores a key in the keyring.

    Syntax:

    INTEGER keyring_key_store(STRING key_id, STRING key_type, STRING key)
    

    Arguments:

    • key_id: The key ID as a string.

    • key_type: The key type as a string.

    • key: The key value as a string.

    Return values:

    Returns 1 for success, or NULL and an error for failure.

    Example:

    mysql> SELECT keyring_key_store('new key', 'DSA', 'My key value');
    +-----------------------------------------------------+
    | keyring_key_store('new key', 'DSA', 'My key value') |
    +-----------------------------------------------------+
    |                                                   1 |
    +-----------------------------------------------------+
    
  • keyring_key_type_fetch()

    Given a key ID, returns the key type.

    Syntax:

    STRING keyring_key_type_fetch(STRING key_id)
    

    Arguments:

    • key_id: The key ID as a string.

    Return values:

    Returns the key type as a string for success, NULL if the key does not exist, or NULL and an error for failure.

    Example:

    See the description of keyring_key_fetch().

6.5.4.5 Plugin-Specific Keyring Key-Management Functions

This section describes user-defined functions (UDFs) that are specific to individual keyring plugins. Currently, no keyring plugin in MySQL 8.0 has plugin-specific UDFs. For information about general-purpose keyring UDFs, see Section 6.5.4.4, “General-Purpose Keyring Key-Management Functions”.

6.5.4.6 Keyring System Variables

MySQL Keyring plugins support the following system variables. Use them to configure keyring plugin operation. These variables are unavailable unless the appropriate keyring plugin is installed (see Section 6.5.4.1, “Keyring Plugin Installation”).

  • keyring_file_data

    Command-Line Format--keyring-file-data=file_name
    System VariableNamekeyring_file_data
    Variable ScopeGlobal
    Dynamic VariableYes
    Permitted ValuesTypefile name
    Defaultplatform specific

    The path name of the data file used for secure data storage by the keyring_file plugin. This variable is unavailable unless that plugin is installed. The file location should be in a directory considered for use only by the keyring_file plugin. For example, do not locate the file under the data directory.

    Keyring operations are transactional: The keyring_file plugin uses a backup file during write operations to ensure that it can roll back to the original file if an operation fails. The backup file has the same name as the value of the keyring_file_data system variable with a suffix of .backup.

    Do not use the same keyring_file data file for multiple MySQL instances. Each instance should have its own unique data file.

    The default file name is keyring, located in a directory that is platform specific and depends on the value of the INSTALL_LAYOUT CMake option, as shown in the following table. To specify the default directory for the file explicitly if you are building from source, use the INSTALL_MYSQLKEYRINGDIR CMake option.

    INSTALL_LAYOUT ValueDefault keyring_file_data Value
    DEB, RPM, SLES, SVR4/var/lib/mysql-keyring/keyring
    Otherwisekeyring/keyring under the CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX value

    At plugin startup, if the value assigned to keyring_file_data specifies a file that does not exist, the keyring_file plugin attempts to create it (as well as its parent directory, if necessary).

    If you create the directory manually, it should have a restrictive mode and be accessible only to the account used to run the MySQL server. For example, on Unix and Unix-like systems, to use /usr/local/mysql/mysql-keyring/keyring, the following commands (executed as root) create the directory and set its mode and ownership:

    cd /usr/local/mysql
    mkdir mysql-keyring
    chmod 750 mysql-keyring
    chown mysql mysql-keyring
    chgrp mysql mysql-keyring
    

    If the keyring_file plugin cannot create or access the file, it writes an error message to the error log. If an attempted runtime assignment to keyring_file_data results in an error, the variable value remains unchanged.

    Important

    Once the keyring_file plugin has created the keyring_file plugin data file and started to use it, it is important not to remove the file. For example, InnoDB uses the file to store the master key used to decrypt the data in tables that use InnoDB tablespace encryption; see Section 15.7.10, “InnoDB Tablespace Encryption”. Loss of the file will cause data in such tables to become inaccessible. (It is permissible to rename or move the file, as long as you change the value of keyring_file_data to match.) It is recommended that you create a separate backup of the keyring file immediately after you create the first encrypted table and before and after master key rotation.