MySQL error 1449 occurs when a stored procedure, view, trigger, or event references a user account that no longer exists. The definer is the user who originally created the object, and MySQL cannot execute it without verifying the definer's privileges.
In MySQL, every stored procedure, view, trigger, and event has a "definer"βthe user who created it. When the object is executed, MySQL checks the definer's privileges to enforce access control. If MySQL cannot find the definer user, it cannot proceed and throws error 1449. This is a critical safety mechanism: MySQL refuses to execute objects with unknown owners, preventing potential security issues. The error becomes visible when you try to call the procedure, select from the view, or trigger the event.
The error message shows the definer username and host. For MySQL 5.7, query the mysql.proc table:
SELECT DEFINER, ROUTINE_NAME, ROUTINE_TYPE FROM information_schema.ROUTINES
WHERE ROUTINE_SCHEMA = "your_database";For views:
SELECT DEFINER, TABLE_NAME FROM information_schema.VIEWS
WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA = "your_database";Note the exact definer format (e.g., "root"@"localhost").
Query the mysql.user table to see if the definer account exists:
SELECT * FROM mysql.user WHERE User = "missing_user" AND Host = "localhost";If this returns no rows, the user does not exist and you have two options: recreate it or change the definer.
If the user is needed for other reasons, recreate it with appropriate privileges:
CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS "app_user"@"localhost" IDENTIFIED BY "secure_password";
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON your_database.* TO "app_user"@"localhost";
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;Replace "app_user", "localhost", and "secure_password" with your actual values. After creating the user, the procedures/views should work immediately.
If you don't want to recreate the original user, update the definer directly in the mysql.proc table:
UPDATE mysql.proc SET DEFINER = "root@localhost"
WHERE DEFINER = "missing_user@localhost"
AND db = "your_database";
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;Verify the change:
SELECT DEFINER, ROUTINE_NAME FROM information_schema.ROUTINES
WHERE ROUTINE_SCHEMA = "your_database";MySQL 8.0 does not allow direct updates to the system tables. Instead, drop and recreate the object:
DROP PROCEDURE IF EXISTS your_procedure;
CREATE PROCEDURE your_procedure()
DEFINER = "root"@"localhost"
SQL SECURITY DEFINER
BEGIN
-- Your procedure code here
END;For views, use ALTER VIEW:
ALTER VIEW your_view SQL SECURITY INVOKER AS
SELECT * FROM your_table;Using SQL SECURITY INVOKER allows the view to work with the caller's privileges instead of the definer's.
When exporting databases with mysqldump, exclude definer clauses:
mysqldump --no-definer --single-transaction your_database > backup.sqlAlternatively, remove DEFINER clauses from the dump file before importing:
sed -i "/DEFINER=/s/DEFINER=`[^*]*`\*/DEFINER=CURRENT_USER*/g" backup.sql
mysql your_database < backup.sqlOr configure procedures to use SQL SECURITY INVOKER from the start.
Test the procedure or view to confirm it now executes without error 1449:
-- For a procedure
CALL your_procedure();
-- For a view
SELECT * FROM your_view LIMIT 5;
-- For a trigger (will execute on the next INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE)
INSERT INTO your_table VALUES (...);If these succeed, the definer issue is resolved.
SQL SECURITY DEFINER vs INVOKER: By default, stored objects use DEFINER, meaning they execute with the definer's privileges. This is safer for complex operations but fails if the definer is missing. SQL SECURITY INVOKER executes with the caller's privileges, bypassing definer checks but requiring the caller to have all necessary permissions.
In replicated setups, error 1449 often occurs on slave servers because replication transfers the original definer name, not the actual user. Set event_scheduler to OFF on slaves if they don't need to execute events:
SET GLOBAL event_scheduler = OFF;For multi-host setups, use "user"@"%" instead of hardcoding hostnames to improve portability across servers.
When using connection pooling or load balancers, ensure the definer user exists on all MySQL instances in the cluster or use INVOKER security mode instead.
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