EC
1648
MySQLERRORNotableAccess ControlHIGH confidence

SET PASSWORD is not supported for users with an authentication plugin

Production Risk

Low — the command is rejected; no security change occurs.

What this means

SET PASSWORD cannot be used for accounts that authenticate via a plugin (e.g., PAM, LDAP, socket), because password management is handled by the plugin.

Why it happens
  1. 1The user account uses an external authentication plugin that manages credentials outside MySQL.
How to reproduce
trigger — this will error
trigger — this will error
SET PASSWORD FOR 'ldap_user'@'%' = PASSWORD('newpass');

expected output

ERROR 1648 (HY000): SET PASSWORD has no significance for users authenticating via plugins.

Fix 1

Change the password through the authentication plugin mechanism

Change the password through the authentication plugin mechanism
-- Change the password in LDAP, PAM, or the relevant external system

Why this works

Plugin-based accounts are managed externally; MySQL cannot set their passwords.

Fix 2

Use ALTER USER for native MySQL accounts

Use ALTER USER for native MySQL accounts
ALTER USER 'myuser'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'newpass';

Why this works

ALTER USER is the modern way to set passwords for native MySQL accounts.

Version notes

Sources
Official documentation ↗

MySQL 8.0 — 1648 ER_SET_PASSWORD_AUTH_PLUGIN

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