# MySQL and MariaDB Authentication Plugins Reference

This document provides a comprehensive overview of authentication plugins across MySQL and MariaDB, including security levels, deprecation status, and platform support.

## Summary Table

| Plugin Name | Description | Algorithm | Security Level | Deprecated / Obsolete | Present in MySQL | Present in MariaDB |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `mysql_native_password` | Historical default authentication method. | Double-SHA-1 | Low | Yes (Removed from MySQL 8.4+ / Deprecated in MariaDB) | ✅ (Obsolete) | ✅ (Historical default) |
| `mysql_old_password` | Ancient pre-4.1 authentication method. | Legacy pre-4.1 hash | Very Low | Yes (Removed) | ❌ | ✅ (Obsolete) |
| `sha256_password` | Authenticates using SHA-256 with salting. | SHA-256 | High | Yes (Due to CPU scalability issues without TLS) | ❌ (Removed in 8.4) | ✅ |
| `caching_sha2_password` | Optimized version of SHA-256 with memory caching. | SHA-256 | High | No | ✅ (Default since 8.0) | ✅ (Since v11.4 for compatibility) |
| `unix_socket` | Authentication via OS-level user identity (UID). | OS Identity | Very High | No | ✅ (as `auth_socket`) | ✅ |
| `ed25519` | Elliptic Curve digital signature algorithm (EdDSA). | Ed25519 | Very High | No | ❌ (Except via third-party Enterprise modules) | ✅ |
| `parsec` | Password Authentication using Response Signed with Elliptic Curve (new MariaDB standard). | PBKDF2 + SHA-512 + Ed25519 | Maximal | No | ❌ | ✅ |
