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Unable to access Plesk GUI: Access denied for user 'admin'@'localhost' (using password: YES)

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Stefan Yakubov
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kb: technical ABT: Group B

Applicable to:

  • Plesk for Linux

Symptoms

Plesk interface is inaccessible. One of the following error messages is shown in a web-browser or when executing some Plesk utilities, like plesk db or plesk login:

PLESK_INFO: ERROR: 500 Plesk\Exception\Database
Zend_Db_Adapter_Exception: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1045] Access denied for user 'admin'@'localhost' (using password: YES)

PLESK_INFO: ERROR: PleskFatalException
Unable to connect to database: saved admin password is incorrect.
0: common_func.php3:93
psaerror(string 'Unable to connect to database: saved admin password is incorrect.')
1: auth.php3:127
Additionally, an exception has occurred while trying to report this error: Zend_Exception
No entry is registered for key &;translate&; (Abstract.php:144)

Cause

The hashed password in the file /etc/psa/.psa.shadow, that is used to access Plesk database, does not match the admin password in the 'mysql' database.

Resolution

If the password for MySQL admin user is known

  1. Make a backup of the file /etc/psa/.psa.shadow:

    # cp /etc/psa/.psa.shadow /etc/psa/.psa.shadow.bak

  2. Insert the new password in /etc/psa/.psa.shadow in plain text:

    # echo 'new_password' > /etc/psa/.psa.shadow

    Note: do not forget to replace the new password from the command by the proper password.

  3. Set the same password using Plesk utility in order to store it encrypted in /etc/psa/.psa.shadow:

    # PSA_PASSWORD=new_password /usr/local/psa/admin/sbin/ch_admin_passwd

    Note: if this command produces some output, apply the 2 method.

If the password for MySQL admin user is unknown

  1. Connect to the Plesk server via SSH.

  2. With the command below, check if the directive old-passwords exist in the MySQL configuration file my.cnf (no output means it does not exist):

    # grep -ir old-passwords /etc/my*

  3. Get a hashed password of the MySQL admin user and copy it to clipboard:

    Note: Make sure there is only one password specified in the file.

    # grep AES /etc/psa/.psa.shadow

    Here is an example of a hashed password:

    PLESK_INFO: $AES-128-CBC$ZmY/EEpy1+TwCNq5kalqSA==$Pd02kf4TTlpXdi/qyeo92w==

  4. Modify the my.cnf file:

    4.1. Open the my.cnf file in a text editor. In this example, we are using the vi editor:

    • on CentOS/RHEL-based distributions

      # vi /etc/my.cnf

    • on Debian/Ubuntu-based distributions

      # vi /etc/mysql/my.cnf

    4.2. Add the skip-grant-tables line under the [mysqld] section:

    CONFIG_TEXT: [mysqld]
    skip-grant-tables
    <...>

    4.3. Save the changes and close the file.

  5. Restart MySQL. The command depends on MySQL version and operating system:

    # service mariadb restart

    # service mysql restart

    # service mysqld restart

  6. Connect to MySQL:

    # plesk db

  7. Switch to the mysql database:

    MYSQL_LIN: mysql> use mysql;

  8. Find the version of MySQL:

    MYSQL_LIN: mysql> SELECT VERSION();

  9. Reload the ACL tables cache:

    MYSQL_LIN: mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

    Note: Once the command above is executed, do not exit the current MySQL session as this command loads grant tables back.

  10. Restore the MySQL admin user:

    • For MySQL 5.1 up to 5.6 and MariaDB 5.5 up to 10.4

      1. Drop the current admin user:

        MYSQL_LIN: mysql> DROP USER 'admin'@'localhost';

      2. Create a new admin user with the hashed password from step 3:

        MYSQL_LIN: mysql> CREATE USER 'admin'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'HASHED_PASSWORD_FROM_STEP_3';

      3. Grant all permissions to the admin user:

        MYSQL_LIN: mysql> GRANT ALL ON *.* TO 'admin'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;

      4. Exit MySQL:

        MYSQL_LIN: mysql> exit

    • For MariaDB 10.5

      1. Drop the current admin user:

        MYSQL_LIN: mysql> DROP USER 'admin'@'localhost';

      2. Create a new admin user with the hashed password from step 3:

        MYSQL_LIN: mysql> CREATE USER 'admin'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED VIA mysql_native_password USING PASSWORD('HASHED_PASSWORD_FROM_STEP_3');

      3. Grant all permissions to the admin user:

        MYSQL_LIN: mysql> GRANT ALL ON *.* TO 'admin'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;

      4. Exit MySQL:

        MYSQL_LIN: mysql> exit

    • For MySQL 5.7 up to 8.0

      1. Drop the current admin user:

        MYSQL_LIN: mysql> DROP USER 'admin'@'localhost';

      2. Create a new admin user with the hashed password from step 3:

        MYSQL_LIN: mysql> CREATE USER 'admin'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH 'mysql_native_password' BY 'HASHED_PASSWORD_FROM_STEP_3';

      3. Grant all permissions to the admin user:

        MYSQL_LIN: mysql> GRANT ALL ON *.* TO 'admin'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;

      4. Exit MySQL:

        MYSQL_LIN: mysql> exit

  11. Remove the skip-grant-tables line from the my.cnf file (step 4).

  12. Restart MySQL:

    # service mariadb restart

    # service mysql restart

    # service mysqld restart

Comments

28 comments

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  • Avatar
    adrian TNT

    The commands like mysql -uadmin mysql still says  Access denied for user admin, even after adding skip-grant-tables to my.cnf

    All these commands that should reset password assume I am already logged in, when in fact that is my initial problem.

    Frustrating.

    These doc pages don't seem accurate at all.

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  • Avatar
    Vitaly Zhidkov

    @adrianTNT, after modifying the my.cnf file and adding the skip-grant-tables option it is needed to restart the database server.

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  • Avatar
    fabianevt

    "11. If an output of the command is similar to the above - both strings Password and authentication_string are defined and the plugin is set as mysql_native_password for the admin user in the mysql.user table - run the query below. If not - move to the step 13."

     

    What is the step 13??

     

    Thanks !!

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  • Avatar
    Ivan Postnikov

    @fabianevt, thank you for notice, It is required to move to step 12. The article was updated.

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  • Avatar
    WartraxX

    What is the step 12 or 13 ?

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  • Avatar
    Ivan Postnikov

    Hello @WartraxX!

    Since previous comments regarding steps 12 and 13, the resolution was optimized and shortened.

    Now resolution consists only of 10 steps.

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  • Avatar
    Domenico Madeo

    but once the automatic reset is done, what is my new password ???

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  • Avatar
    Alexandr Redikultsev

    Hi @Domenico,

    The password is stored in /etc/psa/.psa.shadow file in the hashed form.

    You can copy the content and use it as a plain text password, MySQL will understand it.

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  • Avatar
    Yassir Elnaw
    The same problem under Linux Solved:
    I had the same problem in my server and found out it was due to some virus which is related to read write permission in some web-based files. the approach I took was first:
    1. Download a fresh Ubuntu latest version live cd.
    2. Make a bootable Ubuntu thumb drive.
    3. Boot your server from the live cd.
    4. Choose try Ubuntu with your internet connected.
    5. When it boots up open the terminal program & type the following command:
    sudo apt install clamav
    sudo freshclam
    Don't bother if freshclam command gives an error because your virus database might not need update.​
    6. Now you need to find a place where the root directory of your server is located. Usually it will be in /mnt directory.
    7. Now use the following command to scan the root directory of your server.
    clamscan -r --bell -i /mnt/your root directory​
    8. After scanning is done viruses will be removed & corrupted files will be repaired.
    9. Disconnect the server from the Internet and reboot it.
    10. Login to the server a sure that the main domain and the sub-domains in the /var/www/vhosts/nsxxxxxxx/ has the right read write permission and it's better to default all files to 644 and directories to 755 and it's done this way:
    cd /var/www/vhosts/nsxxxxxxxx "where xxxxxxx is the domain name"
    find . -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
    find . -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;​
    11. Reboot the server and connect it to the internet
    12. Now you must be able to access Plesk normally.
    13. Now check which directory needs other read and write permission. Some might need 707 permission like image directories and some might need chown apache:apache or 
    chown www-data:www-data like cache directories in the domains and sub-domains.
    I hope this will help & thank you plesk team.
     
     
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  • Avatar
    Alexandr Zubtsovsky

    @Yassir Elnaw

    Hi,

    Thank you for sharing the solution with us. I think other Pleskians will find it useful as well

    I would like to mention that on step #10 the commands should be executed with "httpdocs" directory in path, for example:

    find /var/www/vhosts/domain.tld/subdomain.tld/httpdocs/ -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

    find /var/www/vhosts/domain.tld/subomdoman.tld/httpdocs/ -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;

    find /var/www/vhosts/domain.tld/subomdoman.tld/httpdocs/ -type f -exec chown user_example:psacln {} \;

    find /var/www/vhosts/domain.tld/subomdoman.tld/httpdocs/ -type d -exec chown user_example:psacln {} \;

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  • Avatar
    Markus Granzow

    Thank you, Alexandr

    The script runs in CentOS 7.4 with MariaDB 5.5.60, but with no effect. The manual solution works fine and with success.

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  • Avatar
    Alisa Kasyanova

    @Markus Granzow
    I have not reproduced the issue on a test CentOS 7 with MariaDB 5.5.60.
    Does it show any errors? Is it showing "Password reset for MySQL user has been completed" message at the end?

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  • Avatar
    Ojomo

    what should i do if the error is ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'admin'@'localhost' (using password: NO)

    The difference to what you said before is that using password:NO)

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  • Avatar
    Ojomo

    I also got this error below

    sudo MYSQL_PWD=`cat /etc/psa/.psa.shadow` mysql_upgrade -uadmin
    cat: /etc/psa/.psa.shadow: Permission denied

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  • Avatar
    Artyom Baranov

    @Ojomo,

    Hi!

    We have another article for the mentioned error "Unable to upgrade MySQL: Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost' (using password: NO)"

    However, please note that the command "MYSQL_PWD=`cat /etc/psa/.psa.shadow` mysql_upgrade -uadmin" should be executed only by root user due to special permissions on /etc/psa/.psa.shadow file.

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  • Avatar
    Markus Granzow

    @Alisa Kasyanova

    Thank you for your test. The problem I found is that php on my vserver is on an old version (5.6 or so) and the upgrade is more difficult than the manual solution above.

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  • Avatar
    Ivan Postnikov

    Hello @Markus,

    CentOS 7.4 is supplied with PHP 5.4.16. As verified in a test environment, this PHP version is enough to apply the automatic solution.

    Feel free to share additional information in case there were some error messages, for example.

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  • Avatar
    Christian Vestol (Edited )

    After the manual solution did not work (at least my Plesk update still fails to complete from what seems to be related to it failing to take a MySQL Backup as far as I can see in the log which brought me to this support article). I now tried to do the automated approach which as well fails with the following error:

    Checking if administrator exists
    !ERROR: User 'admin'@'localhost' already exists on the system and has required privileges.Run the script with '-y' option to skip this check
    exit status 1

    It does not seems like a -y is possible, at least I get the same error.

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  • Avatar
    Daria Gavrilova

    Hello @Christian,

    Thank you for your input.

    There is a possibility, that the following article may help: Plesk upgrade/installation fails: Access denied for user 'admin'@'localhost'

    However, to investigate the issue deeper and find the cause of such behavior, please create a request to Plesk Technical Support: How to submit a request to Plesk support?

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  • Avatar
    Manuel

    Hi
    The manual solution with "If the password for MySQL admin user is unknown" has worked for me in November 2020.
    This has happened to me from messing around with mysql from the command line. Well it's another way to learn things :-)
    Thanks for this solution

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  • Avatar
    Michael Hall (Edited )

    Hello there,

    I did the manual 'if password unknown' version. Still getting this error message:

    sudo MYSQL_PWD=`cat /etc/psa/.psa.shadow` mysqldump -uadmin psa > /tmp/psa.`date +%F_%H.%M`.sql
    cat: /etc/psa/.psa.shadow: Permission denied
    mysqldump: Got error: 1045: "Access denied for user 'admin'@'localhost' (using password: NO)" when trying to connect

    CentOS 7.9

    Plesk Obsidian 18.0.31.2

    MariaDB 5.5.68.

    I verified each step of the process stated above and ran through it twice. I'm trying to get these permissions fixed so I can upgrade MariaDB to 10.3 following the steps under this tutorial. 

    Thank you.
     

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  • Avatar
    Ekaterina Babenko

    From the error you provided, there are no permission to access /etc/psa/.psa.shadow. Make sure user has root privileges or login explicitly or impersonate yourself as root user with: "sudo su" command. Contact service provider/server administrator to obtain password for root, if it is required.

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  • Avatar
    Ibraheem Amer

    Hallo,

    Ich versuche Option 2 (Passwort unbekannt):

    Bei 2: grep AES /etc/psa/.psa.shadow ist der output leer, also kein gehashtes Passwort

    Ich komme nicht weiter

    Viele Grüße

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  • Avatar
    Yaroslav Tarasov

    Hello @Ibraheem Amer,

    Try to reset Plesk Admin password using the following command:

    plesk bin admin --set-admin-password -passwd '*****'

    If this does not help, please consider submitting a ticket to Plesk Support.

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  • Avatar
    Ibraheem Amer

    Thank you Yaroslav for your reply.

    When applying the given command, I get following:

    plesk bin admin --set-admin-password -passwd 'MyPassword'
    [2021-08-09 09:15:55.847] ERR [panel] Cannot load settings: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1045] Access denied for user 'admin'@'localhost' (using password: YES)
    Curl failed: Peer certificate cannot be authenticated with given CA certificates
    SQLSTATE[HY000] [1045] Access denied for user 'admin'@'localhost' (using password: YES)
    exit status 3

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  • Avatar
    Yaroslav Tarasov

    @Ibraheem Amer,

    Please, Submit a request to our support department so we could take a close look into the issue.

    Thanks in advance!

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  • Avatar
    Jeroen ter Laak

    At 6. I get: 

    ERROR 1049 (42000): Unknown database 'psa'

    exit status 1

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  • Avatar
    Stefan Yakubov

    Hello, @Jeroen ter Laak

    This means the PSA database is missing in MySQL. Restore it following the article:

    https://support.plesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/213369589

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