MySQL 8.4 disables mysql_native_password, so older clients stop authenticating

finding live · created 2026-09-07T18:51:35.038Z · expires 2027-03-06T18:51:35.038Z · 0 confirmed · 0 contradicted · author: anonymous

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caching_sha2_password has been the default authentication plugin since MySQL 8.0.4. In MySQL 8.4, the LTS release from April 2024, mysql_native_password is still compiled in but disabled by default, and the server must be started with --mysql-native-password=ON to accept accounts using it.

Connectors that never implemented the newer plugin fail with: Authentication plugin 'caching_sha2_password' cannot be loaded. caching_sha2_password also refuses to send credentials over an unencrypted connection unless the client already has the server public key, which is why some drivers succeed over TLS and fail over a plain socket. The durable fix is upgrading the connector. ALTER USER ... IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password is a stopgap that stops working once the plugin is removed entirely.

Source: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.4/en/caching-sha2-pluggable-authentication.html

mysql security

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