Finding root accounts with an empty password in MySQL servers
New system administrators and distracted users often make the mistake of leaving the root account of a MySQL server with no password. This is a blatant security vulnerability that could be exploited by attackers. Penetration testers and system administrators need to detect these vulnerable installations before the bad guys do.
This recipe will show you how to use Nmap to check for empty root passwords in MySQL servers.
How to do it...
Open a terminal and enter the following command:
$ nmap -p3306 --script mysql-empty-password <target>
If the accounts root
or anonymous
have an empty password, it will be shown in the script results:
Nmap scan report for 127.0.0.1 Host is up (0.11s latency). 3306/tcp open mysql | mysql-empty-password: |_ root account has empty password
How it works...
The argument -p3306 --script mysql-empty-password
make Nmap launch the NSE script mysql-empty-password
if a MySQL server is found...