MySQL Password Function – OLD_PASSWORD() and PASSWORD()
Last Updated on: October 23, 2022
The PASSWORD() function in MySQL can generate a hash value for encrypted passwords, similar to md5() in PHP.
It is generally not recommended to use this function in an application as it is not particularly secure – it is intended for internal use.
If, however, your application uses the MySQL PASSWORD() function, you need to be aware that before MySQL 4.1, the function returns a 16-byte hash, and in MySQL 4.1 and later, the hash is 41 bytes.
This means that a change of hosting or database upgrade will most likely result in your application breaking.
Fortunately, the function OLD_PASSWORD() is available in MySQL 4.1 (and later) to replicate the original PASSWORD() function. If you need a temporary solution, use OLD_PASSWORD() but make sure you update your code to be more secure as soon as possible.
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