The MySQL database management system provides different authentication plugins to authenticate users with the database. Three commonly used plugins are mysql_native_password, caching_sha2_password, and auth_socket.
1. mysql_native_password:
The mysql_native_password is the default authentication plugin used by MySQL and was introduced in MySQL 4.1. It uses SHA-1 hashing to encrypt the password and stores it in the mysql.user table. It is compatible with older versions of MySQL and PHP, making it a preferred choice for legacy applications. However, it is less secure than other plugins as it does not support strong password encryption.
2. caching_sha2_password:
The caching_sha2_password plugin was introduced in MySQL 8.0 and is a more secure authentication plugin introduced in MySQL 8.0. It uses SHA-256 hashing to encrypt the password and stores it in the mysql.user table. It supports strong password encryption and is suitable for modern applications. However, it can be slower than other plugins as it requires more processing power.
3. auth_socket:
The auth_socket plugin was introduced in MySQL 5.7.6 and is a plugin that allows users to log in to MySQL using their system user account credentials. It works by checking if the system user name and MySQL user name match. If the names match, the user is granted access to the database without requiring a password. It is secure as it eliminates the need to store passwords in the database. However, it can be less flexible as it requires users to have a system account to access the database.
In summary, mysql_native_password is the default authentication plugin, which is less secure and suitable for legacy applications. caching_sha2_password is a more secure plugin that supports strong password encryption and is suitable for modern applications. auth_socket is a secure plugin that allows users to log in to MySQL using their system user account credentials but can be less flexible.