Three Methods of Securing MariaDB

Over the years this stuff has changed on MariaDB (basically MySQL for Linux). When I say ‘stuff’ I’m referring to how you secure MariaDB. Here’s three methods…from oldeest to newest:

VERSION 10.1.48-MariaDB:

Run from a command line, as root:

1. mysql_secure_installation

   The above will log you in and ask if you want to set a new, root password….set a password.

2. Login to mysql – even after having the above it will still accept any password. Run the following;

   use mysql;                                                         
       update mysql.user set plugin=null where user='root';           
       flush privileges;

   Log out….you will no longer be able to login to MySQL with
   virtually any password.

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VERSION 10.3.3
This method was pretty involved and only required for one release as I recall:

sudo service mysql start
cd /var/run
sudo cp -rp ./mysqld ./mysqld.bak

sudo service mysql stop
sudo mv ./mysqld.bak ./mysqld

>> MYSQL IS NOW STOPPED, CONTINUE:

sudo mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables --skip-networking &
mysql -u root
use mysql;
update user set password=PASSWORD("AppleBaum7560") where User='root';
update user set plugin="mysql_native_password" where User='root';  # THIS LINE
flush privileges;
quit;

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NEWER VERSIONS:

I believe newer versions simply use the server’s root password.

FROM THE WEB:

• • No Password Needed for OS Root: Running sudo mysql or sudo mariadb logs you straight in.
  • Safer by Default: This prevents users from leaving weak root passwords exposed in plain text files or command histories.
  • mysql_secure_installation Still Exists: The script is still useful, but its primary job now is removing anonymous users, disabling remote root logins, and deleting the test database. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED VIA mysql_native_password USING PASSWORD('your_new_password');
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;