Re: Ubuntu MySQL install with Virtualmin - password problems with 16.04.4 server

On 30/03/18 12:07, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 30/03/18 10:42, Axel Schwenke wrote:

>> On 29.03.2018 22:02, J.O. Aho wrote:
>>> On 03/29/18 20:09, Abandoned Trolley wrote:
>>>
>>>> I don't understand how it is that I can assign a root password as part
>>>> of the Virtualmin install, which Virtualmin then uses to administer the
>>>> database - but I cannot use that same password to log in, even at the
>>>> console.
>>>
>>> I would say bad design, the password is only for their front end and
>>> they leave the database without root password
>>
[Quoted] >> I don't think that this is correctly deduced. MySQL ships (for quite some
>> time now) with the auth_socket plugin [1] enabled and uses it for the
>> default "root_at_localhost" account. That means for connecting to MySQL 
>> as root
>> you don't need any password - when you run the "mysql" command as user 
>> root.
>>
>> *I* think that Virtualmin just isn't aware of that. It asks for a 
>> password
>> that is never needed.
>>
>>
>> [1] 
>> https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/socket-pluggable-authentication.html 
>>
>>

Also with respect to my installation which is bog standard Ubuntu mysql 5.7.21

# lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.

Distributor ID:	Ubuntu
Description:	Ubuntu 17.10
Release:	17.10
Codename:	artful

# mysql --version
mysql Ver 14.14 Distrib 5.7.21, for Linux (x86_64) using EditLine wrapper

• the file quoted in the doc page you cite "my.cnf" does not exist
• the actual server config file is /etc/mysql/mysql.conf.d/mysqld.cnf
• it contains no references to 'auth' whatsoever under the [mysqld] section.

And running he sample code suggested by that documentation gives an empty result:

[Quoted] mysql> SELECT PLUGIN_NAME, PLUGIN_STATUS

     ->        FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.PLUGINS
     ->        WHERE PLUGIN_NAME LIKE '%socket%';

Empty set (0.10 sec)

Which demonstrates at least on Ubuntu that "the auth_socket plugin [1] enabled and uses it for the default "root_at_localhost" account" is a false statement.

Mysql may well ship with it by default but that is no guarantee that a given distro will not completely reorganise the default configuration..

-- 
“It is hard to imagine a more stupid decision or more dangerous way of 
making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people 
who pay no price for being wrong.”

Thomas Sowell