How to secure MySQL Server?

In this tutorial, I’ll illustrate MySQL Server Hardening.

Follow below steps in order to secure MySQL Server.

iamvsm@SaraswatiRepository:~$ sudo mysql_secure_installation

NOTE: RUNNING ALL PARTS OF THIS SCRIPT IS RECOMMENDED FOR ALL MariaDB

SERVERS IN PRODUCTION USE! PLEASE READ EACH STEP CAREFULLY!

In order to log into MariaDB to secure it, we'll need the current

password for the root user. If you've just installed MariaDB, and

you haven't set the root password yet, the password will be blank,

so you should just press enter here.

Enter current password for root (enter for none):

OK, successfully used password, moving on...

Setting the root password ensures that nobody can log into the MariaDB

root user without the proper authorisation.

Set root password? [Y/n] Y

New password: 

Re-enter new password: 

Password updated successfully!

Reloading privilege tables..

... Success!

By default, a MariaDB installation has an anonymous user, allowing anyone

to log into MariaDB without having to have a user account created for

them. This is intended only for testing, and to make the installation

go a bit smoother. You should remove them before moving into a

production environment.

Remove anonymous users? [Y/n] Y

... Success!

Normally, root should only be allowed to connect from 'localhost'. This

ensures that someone cannot guess at the root password from the network.

Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n] Y

... Success!

By default, MariaDB comes with a database named 'test' that anyone can

access. This is also intended only for testing, and should be removed

before moving into a production environment.

Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n] Y

- Dropping test database...

... Success!

- Removing privileges on test database...

... Success!

Reloading the privilege tables will ensure that all changes made so far

will take effect immediately.

Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n] Y

... Success!

Cleaning up...

All done! If you've completed all of the above steps, your MariaDB

installation should now be secure.

Thanks for using MariaDB!

MySQL Server Hardening can be done based on below mentioned two deployment scenarios

1. Web Server & MySQL Database are on same server.

2. Web Server & MySQL Database are on different server.

• Edit Bind-Address & Save

iamvsm@SaraswatiRepository:~$ sudo nano etc/mysql/maria.conf.d/50-server.cnf

bind-address = 127.0.0.1

• Restart MySQL Server

iamvsm@SaraswatiRepository:~$ sudo systemctl restart mariadb.service

• Edit Bind-Address & Save

iamvsm@SaraswatiRepository:~$ sudo nano etc/mysql/maria.conf.d/50-server.cnf

bind-address = 192.168.43.11

Note: Where IP Address: 192.168.43.11 is MySQL Server IP Address.

• Restart MySQL Server

iamvsm@SaraswatiRepository:~$ sudo systemctl restart mariadb.service

• Add Rule in IPTables to allow only Web Server

iamvsm@SaraswatiRepository:~$ sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp -s 192.168.43.250 --dport 3306 -m conntrack --ctstate NEW,ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT

Note: Where IP Address: 192.168.43.250 is Web Server IP Address.

iamvsm@SaraswatiRepository:~$ sudo iptables -A OUTPUT -p tcp --sport 3306 -m conntrack --ctstate ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT

iamvsm@SaraswatiRepository:~$ sudo iptables -A INPUT -j DROP

• Save IPTables

iamvsm@SaraswatiRepository:~$ sudo iptables-save

Hence, MySQL is secured successfully.