> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://mariadb.com/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-statements/account-management-sql-statements/set-password.md).
# SET PASSWORD
## Syntax
```bnf
SET PASSWORD [FOR user] =
{
PASSWORD('some password')
| OLD_PASSWORD('some password')
| 'encrypted password'
}
```
## Description
The `SET PASSWORD` statement assigns a password to an existing MariaDB user account.
If the password is specified using the [PASSWORD()](/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/encryption-hashing-and-compression-functions/password.md) or [OLD\_PASSWORD()](/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/encryption-hashing-and-compression-functions/old_password.md) function, the literal text of the password should be given. If the password is specified without using either function, the password should be the already-encrypted password value as returned by [PASSWORD()](/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/encryption-hashing-and-compression-functions/password.md).
{% hint style="info" %}
[OLD\_PASSWORD()](/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/encryption-hashing-and-compression-functions/old_password.md) should only be used if your MariaDB/MySQL clients are very old (< 4.0.0).
{% endhint %}
With no `FOR` clause, this statement sets the password for the current user. Any client that has connected to the server using a non-anonymous account can change the password for that account.
With a `FOR` clause, this statement sets the password for a specific account on the current server host. Only clients that have the `UPDATE` privilege for the `mysql` database can do this. The user value should be given in `user_name@host_name` format, where `user_name` and `host_name` are exactly as they are listed in the User and Host columns of the [mysql.user](/docs/server/reference/system-tables/the-mysql-database-tables/mysql-user-table.md) table (or view in current versions) entry.
The argument to [PASSWORD()](/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/encryption-hashing-and-compression-functions/password.md) and the password given to MariaDB clients can be of arbitrary length.
## Authentication Plugin Support
`SET PASSWORD` (with or without `PASSWORD()`) works for accounts authenticated via any [authentication plugin](/docs/server/reference/plugins/authentication-plugins.md) that supports passwords stored in the [mysql.global\_priv](/docs/server/reference/system-tables/the-mysql-database-tables/mysql-global_priv-table.md) table.
The [ed25519](/docs/server/reference/plugins/authentication-plugins/authentication-plugin-ed25519.md), [mysql\_native\_password](/docs/server/reference/plugins/authentication-plugins/authentication-plugin-mysql_native_password.md), and [mysql\_old\_password](/docs/server/reference/plugins/authentication-plugins/authentication-plugin-mysql_old_password.md) authentication plugins store passwords in the [mysql.global\_priv](/docs/server/reference/system-tables/the-mysql-database-tables/mysql-global_priv-table.md) table.
If you run `SET PASSWORD` on an account that authenticates with one of these authentication plugins that stores passwords in the [mysql.global\_priv](/docs/server/reference/system-tables/the-mysql-database-tables/mysql-global_priv-table.md) table, then the `PASSWORD()` function is evaluated by the specific authentication plugin used by the account. The authentication plugin hashes the password with a method that is compatible with that specific authentication plugin.
The [unix\_socket](/docs/server/reference/plugins/authentication-plugins/authentication-plugin-unix-socket.md), [named\_pipe](/docs/server/reference/plugins/authentication-plugins/authentication-plugin-named-pipe.md), [gssapi](/docs/server/reference/plugins/authentication-plugins/authentication-plugin-gssapi.md), and [pam](/docs/server/reference/plugins/authentication-plugins/authentication-with-pluggable-authentication-modules-pam/authentication-plugin-pam.md) authentication plugins do **not** store passwords in the [mysql.global\_priv](/docs/server/reference/system-tables/the-mysql-database-tables/mysql-global_priv-table.md) table. These authentication plugins rely on other methods to authenticate the user.
If you attempt to run `SET PASSWORD` on an account that authenticates with one of these authentication plugins that doesn't store a password in the [mysql.global\_priv](/docs/server/reference/system-tables/the-mysql-database-tables/mysql-global_priv-table.md) table, then MariaDB Server will issue an error like the following:
```
SET PASSWORD IS ignored FOR users authenticating via unix_socket plugin
```
{% hint style="info" %}
See [Authentication from MariaDB 10.4](/docs/server/security/user-account-management/authentication-from-mariadb-10-4.md) for an overview of authentication changes in MariaDB.
{% endhint %}
## Passwordless User Accounts
User accounts do not always require passwords to login.
The [unix\_socket](/docs/server/reference/plugins/authentication-plugins/authentication-plugin-unix-socket.md) , [named\_pipe](/docs/server/reference/plugins/authentication-plugins/authentication-plugin-named-pipe.md) and [gssapi](/docs/server/reference/plugins/authentication-plugins/authentication-plugin-gssapi.md) authentication plugins do not require a password to authenticate the user.
The [pam](/docs/server/reference/plugins/authentication-plugins/authentication-with-pluggable-authentication-modules-pam/authentication-plugin-pam.md) authentication plugin may or may not require a password to authenticate the user, depending on the specific configuration.
The [mysql\_native\_password](/docs/server/reference/plugins/authentication-plugins/authentication-plugin-mysql_native_password.md) and [mysql\_old\_password](/docs/server/reference/plugins/authentication-plugins/authentication-plugin-mysql_old_password.md) authentication plugins require passwords for authentication, but the password can be blank. In that case, no password is required.
If you provide a password while attempting to log into the server as an account that doesn't require a password, then MariaDB server will simply ignore the password.
A user account can be defined to use multiple authentication plugins in a specific order of preference. This specific scenario may be more noticeable in these versions, since an account could be associated with some authentication plugins that require a password, and some that do not.
## Example
For example, if you had an entry with User and Host column values of '`bob`' and '`%.loc.gov`', you would write the statement like this:
```sql
SET PASSWORD FOR 'bob'@'%.loc.gov' = PASSWORD('newpass');
```
If you want to delete a password for a user, you would do:
```sql
SET PASSWORD FOR 'bob'@localhost = PASSWORD("");
```
## See Also
* [Password Validation Plugins](/docs/server/reference/plugins/password-validation-plugins.md) - permits the setting of basic criteria for passwords
* [ALTER USER](/docs/server/reference/sql-statements/account-management-sql-statements/alter-user.md)
*This page is licensed: GPLv2, originally from* [*fill\_help\_tables.sql*](https://github.com/MariaDB/server/blob/main/scripts/fill_help_tables.sql)
{% @marketo/form formId="4316" %}