How to Disable MySQL Password Validation on Ubuntu 25.04

MySQL 8+ includes a password validation plugin (validate_password) that enforces strong password rules by default. If you're working in a local development environment and want to disable this feature to allow simpler passwords (e.g., password, 123456), follow this safe step-by-step tutorial.

Step 1: Log into MySQL as Root

sudo mysql

Step 2: Uninstall the Password Validation Component

Run the following command in the MySQL prompt:

UNINSTALL COMPONENT 'file://component_validate_password';

If successful, you'll see:

Query OK, 0 rows affected

Step 3: Confirm That Validation Is Disabled

Check that the validation system is gone:

SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'validate_password%';

If disabled, this will return an empty result set.

Step 4: Create a User with a Simple Password (Test)

Now that validation is disabled, try creating a user with a weak password:

CREATE USER 'devuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY '123';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'devuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

This should now work without any errors.

↺ Optional: Re-enable Validation Later

If you want to bring back strong password policies:

INSTALL COMPONENT 'file://component_validate_password';

Then you'll need to restart MySQL:

sudo systemctl restart mysql