ERROR 1132 occurs when a user lacks UPDATE privilege on the mysql.user system database table needed to change passwords. Resolve by granting the required privileges or connecting as a privileged account like root.
MySQL Error 1132 (ER_PASSWORD_NOT_ALLOWED) is a permission error that occurs when you attempt to change a password but lack the necessary privileges to modify the mysql system database. This error is MySQL's way of enforcing access control—only accounts with specific privileges can alter passwords for themselves or other users. The error typically occurs when using ALTER USER or SET PASSWORD statements without proper permissions. The mysql.user table is a protected system table, and MySQL restricts modifications to it only to accounts with UPDATE privilege on the mysql schema or the CREATE USER global privilege. This error is especially common in shared hosting environments, CI/CD pipelines, and multi-user setups where application accounts have limited privileges for security reasons.
First, verify what privileges your current account has by running this command:
SHOW GRANTS FOR CURRENT_USER();This will display all privileges granted to your account. Look for UPDATE on mysql.*, ALTER USER, CREATE USER, or SUPER privileges. If none of these appear, you'll need to request elevated access or connect as a more privileged account like root.
If you have access to the root or an administrative account, connect using that account:
mysql -u root -pEnter the root password when prompted. Once connected as a privileged user, you can perform password changes without hitting the 1132 error. This is the quickest solution if you have root access available.
If you're logged in as root or another privileged user, grant the necessary privileges to the user that needs to change passwords. For most cases, grant the ALTER USER privilege:
GRANT ALTER USER ON *.* TO 'username'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;If you need the user to change other users' passwords, grant UPDATE on the mysql database:
GRANT UPDATE ON mysql.* TO 'username'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;Alternatively, grant the SUPER privilege for comprehensive administrative capabilities:
GRANT SUPER ON *.* TO 'username'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;Once privileges are properly configured, change the password using the ALTER USER statement (recommended for MySQL 5.7.6+):
ALTER USER 'username'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'NewPassword123';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;For changing your own password without specifying the old password (requires ALTER USER privilege for SELF):
ALTER USER CURRENT_USER IDENTIFIED BY 'NewPassword123';Replace 'username' with the actual username, 'localhost' with the appropriate host, and 'NewPassword123' with the new password.
Test the password change by disconnecting and reconnecting with the new credentials:
exit
mysql -u username -pWhen prompted, enter the new password. If you connect successfully, the password change worked. If you still get an authentication error, ensure you've reloaded the grant tables with FLUSH PRIVILEGES.
For read-only MySQL instances or when read_only system variable is enabled, even privileged users need the CONNECTION_ADMIN privilege (or the deprecated SUPER privilege) in addition to UPDATE privileges to change passwords. In master-replication setups, password changes on the master replicate to slaves, but make sure the replication user has sufficient privileges. If you've lost root access entirely, you can restart MySQL with the --skip-grant-tables option to bypass authentication, but this creates a security vulnerability and should be done with caution. Some managed hosting providers (AWS RDS, Google Cloud SQL, etc.) restrict direct mysql system table access; contact your provider's support if you cannot gain the necessary privileges. For secondary passwords (available in MySQL 8.0.14+), the APPLICATION_PASSWORD_ADMIN privilege is required. Always follow the principle of least privilege—grant only the specific privileges needed for each user's role rather than excessive administrative rights.
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