MySQL create an Anonymous or limited access only account
Sometime it is necessary to create an anonymous or limited access only account. This allows anonymous user to use MySQL server. I received following criteria
[*] Create a user called anonymous
[*] Set up read and write permission to account
[*] anonymous cannot set or update password (remember if one user changes the password, no other anonymous login can be accepted again).
[*] Grant anonymous access to table called xyz
Please note that this anonymous user is for internal WAN/Lan user and not for Internet users.
However, I have noticed default anonymous mysql account.
$ mysql -u anonymous
MySQL allows to login in anonymous user (or any user) from localhost. However this user is not allowed to use any / critical database such as mysql or set password:
$ mysql -u anonymous
Output:
Welcome to the MySQL monitor. Commands end with ; or \g. Your MySQL connection id is 2630835 to server version: 4.1.20 Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the buffer.
Try to use mysql database:
mysql> use mysql;
Output:
ERROR 1044 (42000): Access denied for user ''@'localhost' to database 'mysql'
Try to setup password:
mysql> SET PASSWORD FOR anonymous@localhost=PASSWORD('secrete');
Output:
ERROR 1044 (42000): Access denied for user ''@'localhost' to database 'mysql'
So all I have to do is set permission to table called xyz with GRANT SQL command.
$ mysql -u root -p
Now grant permission to xyz table:
mysql> use dbnane;
mysql> GRANT SELECT ON xyz TO ''@localhost
Now any anonymous user can connect to mysql database server and query xyz table from localhost.
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