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Re: [LUG] Default mysql user name and password

 

On Sunday 28 August 2005 10:21 am, John Palmer wrote:
> I'm sure Neil Williams has thought this out carefully, but on his scheme
> (i.e. mysqladmin password blank) what exactly stops some awkward person
> from running
>     mysqladmin drop <some-vital-database> ?

? There's confusion here. I'm talking about the packaging user created in the 
user table in MySQL itself that provides access for the installation helper. 
This can be secured by revoking some privileges for that user, preventing 
access to specific databases (or tables). That leaves the installation/update 
route open for new databases supporting newly installed packages. If, as I 
said before, you aren't going to be updating / installing such packages, 
secure this fully.

This page covers such a secure setup:
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/security-guidelines.html

mysqladmin is different - that IS a representation of the root user on the 
real system (or it should be) when run as root user. Otherwise it uses the 
current user. Secure it for the current user with a password but the root 
user should be secure anyway.

Setting a mysqladmin password is fine, just don't delete the packaging user 
from the mysql.user table.

Getting access with -uroot still requires access to the local machine (unless 
you've been silly and enabled that user outside localhost).

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/default-privileges.html

Check your own installation mysql.user table. Ordinary users should not be 
able to access any of the mysql database tables.

-- 

Neil Williams
=============
http://www.data-freedom.org/
http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/
http://www.linux.codehelp.co.uk/

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