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MySQL Globalization
MySQL Information Schema
MySQL Installation Guide
Security in MySQL
Starting and Stopping MySQL
MySQL and Linux/Unix
MySQL and Windows
MySQL and macOS
MySQL and Solaris
Building MySQL from Source
MySQL Restrictions and Limitations
MySQL Partitioning
MySQL Tutorial
MySQL Performance Schema
MySQL Replication
Using the MySQL Yum Repository
MySQL NDB Cluster 8.0
Themysql 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, seeSection 7.3, “The mysql System Schema”.
The discussion here describes the underlying structure of the grant tables and how the server uses their contents when interacting with clients. However, normally you do not modify the grant tables directly. Modifications occur indirectly when you use account-management statements such asCREATE USER,GRANT, andREVOKE to set up accounts and control the privileges available to each one. SeeSection 15.7.1, “Account Management Statements”. When you use such statements to perform account manipulations, the server modifies the grant tables on your behalf.
Direct modification of grant tables using statements such asINSERT,UPDATE, orDELETE 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. To update the tables to the expected structure, perform the MySQL upgrade procedure. SeeChapter 3,Upgrading MySQL.
Thesemysql database tables contain grant information:
user: User accounts, static global privileges, and other nonprivilege columns.global_grants: Dynamic global 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.password_history: Password change history.
For information about the differences between static and dynamic global privileges, seeStatic Versus Dynamic Privileges.)
In MySQL 8.0, grant tables use theInnoDB storage engine and are transactional. Before MySQL 8.0, grant tables used theMyISAM storage engine and were nontransactional. This change of grant table storage engine enables an accompanying change to the behavior of account-management statements such asCREATE USER orGRANT. 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
usertable row withHostandUservalues of'h1.example.net'and'bob'applies to authenticating connections made to the server from the hosth1.example.netby a client that specifies a user name ofbob. Similarly, adbtable row withHost,User, andDbcolumn values of'h1.example.net','bob'and'reports'applies whenbobconnects from the hosth1.example.netto access thereportsdatabase. Thetables_privandcolumns_privtables contain scope columns indicating tables or table/column combinations to which each row applies. Theprocs_privscope 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 8.2.7, “Access Control, Stage 2: Request Verification”, describes the rules for this.
In addition, a grant table may contain columns used for purposes other than scope or privilege assessment.
The server uses the grant tables in the following manner:
The
usertable scope columns determine whether to reject or permit incoming connections. For permitted connections, any privileges granted in theusertable indicate the user's static global privileges. Any privileges granted in this table apply toall databases on the server.CautionBecause any static global privilege is considered a privilege for all databases, any static global privilege enables a user to see all database names with
SHOW DATABASESor by examining theSCHEMATAtable ofINFORMATION_SCHEMA, except databases that have been restricted at the database level by partial revokes.The
global_grantstable lists current assignments of dynamic global privileges to user accounts. For each row, the scope columns determine which user has the privilege named in the privilege column.The
dbtable 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_privandcolumns_privtables are similar to thedbtable, 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_privtable applies to stored routines (stored procedures and functions). A privilege granted at the routine level applies only to a single procedure or function.The
proxies_privtable indicates which users can act as proxies for other users and whether a user can grant thePROXYprivilege to other users.The
default_rolesandrole_edgestables contain information about role relationships.The
password_historytable retains previously chosen passwords to enable restrictions on password reuse. SeeSection 8.2.15, “Password Management”.
The server reads the contents of the grant tables into memory when it starts. You can tell it to reload the tables by issuing aFLUSH PRIVILEGES statement or executing amysqladmin flush-privileges ormysqladmin reload command. Changes to the grant tables take effect as indicated inSection 8.2.13, “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 theSHOW GRANTS statement. For example, to determine the privileges that are granted to an account with user name and host name values ofbob andpc84.example.com, use this statement:
SHOW GRANTS FOR 'bob'@'pc84.example.com'; To display nonprivilege properties of an account, useSHOW CREATE USER:
SHOW CREATE USER 'bob'@'pc84.example.com'; The server uses theuser anddb tables in themysql database at both the first and second stages of access control (seeSection 8.2, “Access Control and Account Management”). The columns in theuser anddb tables are shown here.
Table 8.4 user and db Table Columns
| Table Name | user | db |
|---|---|---|
| Scope columns | Host | Host |
User | Db | |
User | ||
| Privilege columns | Select_priv | Select_priv |
Insert_priv | Insert_priv | |
Update_priv | Update_priv | |
Delete_priv | Delete_priv | |
Index_priv | Index_priv | |
Alter_priv | Alter_priv | |
Create_priv | Create_priv | |
Drop_priv | Drop_priv | |
Grant_priv | Grant_priv | |
Create_view_priv | Create_view_priv | |
Show_view_priv | Show_view_priv | |
Create_routine_priv | Create_routine_priv | |
Alter_routine_priv | Alter_routine_priv | |
Execute_priv | Execute_priv | |
Trigger_priv | Trigger_priv | |
Event_priv | Event_priv | |
Create_tmp_table_priv | Create_tmp_table_priv | |
Lock_tables_priv | Lock_tables_priv | |
References_priv | References_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 columns | ssl_type | |
ssl_cipher | ||
x509_issuer | ||
x509_subject | ||
plugin | ||
authentication_string | ||
password_expired | ||
password_last_changed | ||
password_lifetime | ||
account_locked | ||
Password_reuse_history | ||
Password_reuse_time | ||
Password_require_current | ||
User_attributes | ||
| Resource control columns | max_questions | |
max_updates | ||
max_connections | ||
max_user_connections |
Theuser tableplugin andauthentication_string columns store authentication plugin and credential information.
The server uses the plugin named in theplugin column of an account row to authenticate connection attempts for the account.
Theplugin column must be nonempty. At startup, and at runtime whenFLUSH PRIVILEGES is executed, the server checksuser table rows. For any row with an emptyplugin column, the server writes a warning to the error log of this form:
[Warning] User entry 'user_name'@'host_name' has an empty pluginvalue. The user will be ignored and no one can login with this useranymore. To assign a plugin to an account that is missing one, use theALTER USER statement.
Thepassword_expired column permits DBAs to expire account passwords and require users to reset their password. The defaultpassword_expired value is'N', but can be set to'Y' with theALTER 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 anALTER USER statement to establish a new account password.
Although it is possible to“reset” an expired password by setting it to its current value, it is preferable, as a matter of good policy, to choose a different password. DBAs can enforce non-reuse by establishing an appropriate password-reuse policy. SeePassword Reuse Policy.
password_last_changed is aTIMESTAMP column indicating when the password was last changed. The value is non-NULL only for accounts that use a MySQL built-in authentication plugin (mysql_native_password,sha256_password, orcaching_sha2_password). The value isNULL for other accounts, such as those authenticated using an external authentication system.
password_last_changed is updated by theCREATE USER,ALTER USER, andSET PASSWORD statements, and byGRANT 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 thepassword_last_changed column), the server considers the password expired when clients connect using the account. A value ofN greater than zero means that the password must be changed everyN days. A value of 0 disables automatic password expiration. If the value isNULL (the default), the global expiration policy applies, as defined by thedefault_password_lifetime system variable.
account_locked indicates whether the account is locked (seeSection 8.2.20, “Account Locking”).
Password_reuse_history is the value of thePASSWORD HISTORY option for the account, orNULL for the default history.
Password_reuse_time is the value of thePASSWORD REUSE INTERVAL option for the account, orNULL for the default interval.
Password_require_current (added in MySQL 8.0.13) corresponds to the value of thePASSWORD REQUIRE option for the account, as shown by the following table.
Table 8.5 Permitted Password_require_current Values
| Password_require_current Value | Corresponding PASSWORD REQUIRE Option |
|---|---|
'Y' | PASSWORD REQUIRE CURRENT |
'N' | PASSWORD REQUIRE CURRENT OPTIONAL |
NULL | PASSWORD REQUIRE CURRENT DEFAULT |
User_attributes (added in MySQL 8.0.14) is a JSON-format column that stores account attributes not stored in other columns. As of MySQL 8.0.21, theINFORMATION_SCHEMA exposes these attributes through theUSER_ATTRIBUTES table.
TheUser_attributes column may contain these attributes:
additional_password: The secondary password, if any. SeeDual Password Support.Restrictions: Restriction lists, if any. Restrictions are added by partial-revoke operations. The attribute value is an array of elements that each haveDatabaseandRestrictionskeys indicating the name of a restricted database and the applicable restrictions on it (seeSection 8.2.12, “Privilege Restriction Using Partial Revokes”).Password_locking: The conditions for failed-login tracking and temporary account locking, if any (seeFailed-Login Tracking and Temporary Account Locking). ThePassword_lockingattribute is updated according to theFAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTSandPASSWORD_LOCK_TIMEoptions of theCREATE USERandALTER USERstatements. The attribute value is a hash withfailed_login_attemptsandpassword_lock_time_dayskeys indicating the value of such options as have been specified for the account. If a key is missing, its value is implicitly 0. If a key value is implicitly or explicitly 0, the corresponding capability is disabled. This attribute was added in MySQL 8.0.19.multi_factor_authentication: Rows in themysql.usersystem table have aplugincolumn that indicates an authentication plugin. For single-factor authentication, that plugin is the only authentication factor. For two-factor or three-factor forms of multifactor authentication, that plugin corresponds to the first authentication factor, but additional information must be stored for the second and third factors. Themulti_factor_authenticationattribute holds this information. This attribute was added in MySQL 8.0.27.The
multi_factor_authenticationvalue is an array, where each array element is a hash that describes an authentication factor using these attributes:plugin: The name of the authentication plugin.authentication_string: The authentication string value.passwordless: A flag that denotes whether the user is meant to be used without a password (with a security token as the only authentication method).requires_registration: a flag that defines whether the user account has registered a security token.
The first and second array elements describe multifactor authentication factors 2 and 3.
If no attributes apply,User_attributes isNULL.
Example: An account that has a secondary password and partially revoked database privileges hasadditional_password andRestrictions attributes in the column value:
mysql> SELECT User_attributes FROM mysql.User WHERE User = 'u'\G*************************** 1. row ***************************User_attributes: {"Restrictions": [{"Database": "mysql", "Privileges": ["SELECT"]}], "additional_password": "hashed_credentials"} To determine which attributes are present, use theJSON_KEYS() function:
SELECT User, Host, JSON_KEYS(User_attributes)FROM mysql.user WHERE User_attributes IS NOT NULL; To extract a particular attribute, such asRestrictions, do this:
SELECT User, Host, User_attributes->>'$.Restrictions'FROM mysql.user WHERE User_attributes->>'$.Restrictions' <> ''; Here is an example of the kind of information stored formulti_factor_authentication:
{ "multi_factor_authentication": [ { "plugin": "authentication_ldap_simple", "passwordless": 0, "authentication_string": "ldap auth string", "requires_registration": 0 }, { "plugin": "authentication_fido", "passwordless": 0, "authentication_string": "", "requires_registration": 1 } ]} 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 theuser anddb grant tables, the server may also consult thetables_priv andcolumns_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 8.6 tables_priv and columns_priv Table Columns
| Table Name | tables_priv | columns_priv |
|---|---|---|
| Scope columns | Host | Host |
Db | Db | |
User | User | |
Table_name | Table_name | |
Column_name | ||
| Privilege columns | Table_priv | Column_priv |
Column_priv | ||
| Other columns | Timestamp | Timestamp |
Grantor |
TheTimestamp andGrantor columns are set to the current timestamp and theCURRENT_USER value, respectively, but are otherwise unused.
For verification of requests that involve stored routines, the server may consult theprocs_priv table, which has the columns shown in the following table.
Table 8.7 procs_priv Table Columns
| Table Name | procs_priv |
|---|---|
| Scope columns | Host |
Db | |
User | |
Routine_name | |
Routine_type | |
| Privilege columns | Proc_priv |
| Other columns | Timestamp |
Grantor |
TheRoutine_type column is anENUM 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.
TheTimestamp andGrantor columns are unused.
Theproxies_priv table records information about proxy accounts. It has these columns:
For an account to be able to grant thePROXY privilege to other accounts, it must have a row in theproxies_priv table withWith_grant set to 1 andProxied_host andProxied_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 theproxies_priv table that enables granting thePROXY privilege for''@'', that is, for all users and all hosts. This enablesroot to set up proxy users, as well as to delegate to other accounts the authority to set up proxy users. SeeSection 8.2.19, “Proxy Users”.
Theglobal_grants table lists current assignments of dynamic global privileges to user accounts. 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.
Thedefault_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.
Therole_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 usingWITH ADMIN OPTION.
Thepassword_history table contains information about password changes. It has these columns:
Host,User: The account for which the password change occurred.Password_timestamp: The time when the password change occurred.Password: The new password hash value.
Thepassword_history table accumulates a sufficient number of nonempty passwords per account to enable MySQL to perform checks against both the account password history length and reuse interval. Automatic pruning of entries that are outside both limits occurs when password-change attempts occur.
The empty password does not count in the password history and is subject to reuse at any time.
If an account is renamed, its entries are renamed to match. If an account is dropped or its authentication plugin is changed, its entries are removed.
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 8.8 Grant Table Scope Column Lengths
| Column Name | Maximum Permitted Characters |
|---|---|
Host,Proxied_host | 255 (60 prior to MySQL 8.0.17) |
User,Proxied_user | 32 |
Db | 64 |
Table_name | 64 |
Column_name | 64 |
Routine_name | 64 |
Host andProxied_host values are converted to lowercase before being stored in the grant tables.
For access-checking purposes, comparisons ofUser,Proxied_user,authentication_string,Db, andTable_name values are case-sensitive. Comparisons ofHost,Proxied_host,Column_name, andRoutine_name values are not case-sensitive.
Theuser anddb tables list each privilege in a separate column that is declared asENUM('N','Y') DEFAULT 'N'. In other words, each privilege can be disabled or enabled, with the default being disabled.
Thetables_priv,columns_priv, andprocs_priv tables declare the privilege columns asSET 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 8.9 Set-Type Privilege Column Values
| Table Name | Column Name | Possible Set Elements |
|---|---|---|
tables_priv | Table_priv | 'Select', 'Insert', 'Update', 'Delete', 'Create', 'Drop', 'Grant', 'References', 'Index', 'Alter', 'Create View', 'Show view', 'Trigger' |
tables_priv | Column_priv | 'Select', 'Insert', 'Update', 'References' |
columns_priv | Column_priv | 'Select', 'Insert', 'Update', 'References' |
procs_priv | Proc_priv | 'Execute', 'Alter Routine', 'Grant' |
Only theuser andglobal_grants tables specify administrative privileges, such asRELOAD,SHUTDOWN, andSYSTEM_VARIABLES_ADMIN. 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 theuser andglobal_grants tables to determine whether a user can perform an administrative operation.
TheFILE privilege also is specified only in theuser 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.
As of MySQL 8.0.22, to permit concurrent DML and DDL operations on MySQL grant tables, read operations that previously acquired row locks on MySQL grant tables are executed as non-locking reads. Operations that are performed as non-locking reads on MySQL grant tables include:
SELECTstatements and other read-only statements that read data from grant tables through join lists and subqueries, includingSELECT ... FOR SHAREstatements, using any transaction isolation level.DML operations that read data from grant tables (through join lists or subqueries) but do not modify them, using any transaction isolation level.
Statements that no longer acquire row locks when reading data from grant tables report a warning if executed while using statement-based replication.
When using -binlog_format=mixed, DML operations that read data from grant tables are written to the binary log as row events to make the operations safe for mixed-mode replication.
SELECT ... FOR SHARE statements that read data from grant tables report a warning. With theFOR SHARE clause, read locks are not supported on grant tables.
DML operations that read data from grant tables and are executed using theSERIALIZABLE isolation level report a warning. Read locks that would normally be acquired when using theSERIALIZABLE isolation level are not supported on grant tables.
PDF (A4) - 43.4Mb
Man Pages (TGZ) - 297.3Kb
Man Pages (Zip) - 402.5Kb
Info (Gzip) - 4.3Mb
Info (Zip) - 4.3Mb
MySQL Globalization
MySQL Information Schema
MySQL Installation Guide
Security in MySQL
Starting and Stopping MySQL
MySQL and Linux/Unix
MySQL and Windows
MySQL and macOS
MySQL and Solaris
Building MySQL from Source
MySQL Restrictions and Limitations
MySQL Partitioning
MySQL Tutorial
MySQL Performance Schema
MySQL Replication
Using the MySQL Yum Repository
MySQL NDB Cluster 8.0