8.4.1.1 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.

Note

The mysql_native_password authentication plugin is deprecated as of MySQL 8.0.34, disabled by default in MySQL 8.4, and removed as of MySQL 9.0.0.

The following table shows the plugin names on the server and client sides.

Table 8.14 Plugin and Library Names for Native Password Authentication

Plugin or File	Plugin or File Name
Server-side plugin	mysql_native_password
Client-side plugin	mysql_native_password
Library file	None (plugins are built in)

The following sections provide installation and usage information specific to native pluggable authentication:

• Installing Native Pluggable Authentication

• Using Native Pluggable Authentication

• Disabling Native Pluggable Authentication

For general information about pluggable authentication in MySQL, see Section 8.2.17, “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, but is disabled by default. To enable it, start the MySQL Server with --mysql-native-password=ON or by including mysql_native_password=ON in the [mysqld] section of your MySQL configuration file.

• The client-side plugin is built into the libmysqlclient client library and is available to any program linked against libmysqlclient.

Using Native Pluggable Authentication

MySQL client programs in MySQL 8.4 (and later) use caching_sha2_password for authentication by default. Use the --default-auth option to set mysql_native_password as the default client-side authentication plugin, if that is what is desired, like this:

$> mysql --default-auth=mysql_native_password ...

Disabling Native Pluggable Authentication

In MySQL 8.4, the mysql_native_password server-side plugin is disabled by default. To keep it disabled, be sure the server is started without specifying the --mysql-native-password option. Using --mysql-native-password=OFF also works for this purpose, but is not required. In addition, do not enable mysql_native_password in your MySQL configuration file to keep it disabled.

When the plugin is disabled, all of the operations that depend on the plugin are inaccessible. Specifically:

• Defined user accounts that authenticate with mysql_native_password encounter an error when they attempt to connect.

  $> MYSQL -u userx -p
  ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'userx'@'localhost' (using password: NO)

  The server writes these errors to the server log.

• Attempts to create a new user account or to alter an existing user account identified with mysql_native_password also fail and emit an error.

  mysql> CREATE USER userxx@localhost IDENTIFIED WITH 'mysql_native_password';
  ERROR 1524 (HY000): Plugin 'mysql_native_password' is not loaded
  mysql> ALTER USER userxy@localhost IDENTIFIED WITH 'mysql_native_password';
  ERROR 1524 (HY000): Plugin 'mysql_native_password' is not loaded

For instructions on enabling the plugin, see Installing Native Pluggable Authentication.