This section describes how to install or uninstall the keyring functions, which are implemented in a plugin library file that also contains a keyring_udf plugin. For general information about installing or uninstalling plugins and loadable functions, see Section 7.6.1, “Installing and Uninstalling Plugins”, and Section 7.7.1, “Installing and Uninstalling Loadable Functions”.

The keyring functions enable keyring key management operations, but the keyring_udf plugin must also be installed because the functions do not work correctly without it. Attempts to use the functions without the keyring_udf plugin result in an error.

To be usable by the server, the plugin library file must be located in the MySQL plugin directory (the directory named by the plugin_dir system variable). If necessary, configure the plugin directory location by setting the value of plugin_dir at server startup.

The plugin library file base name is keyring_udf. The file name suffix differs per platform (for example, .so for Unix and Unix-like systems, .dll for Windows).

To install the keyring_udf plugin and the keyring functions, use the INSTALL PLUGIN and CREATE FUNCTION statements, adjusting the .so suffix for your platform as necessary:

INSTALL PLUGIN keyring_udf SONAME 'keyring_udf.so';
CREATE FUNCTION keyring_key_generate RETURNS INTEGER
  SONAME 'keyring_udf.so';
CREATE FUNCTION keyring_key_fetch RETURNS STRING
  SONAME 'keyring_udf.so';
CREATE FUNCTION keyring_key_length_fetch RETURNS INTEGER
  SONAME 'keyring_udf.so';
CREATE FUNCTION keyring_key_type_fetch RETURNS STRING
  SONAME 'keyring_udf.so';
CREATE FUNCTION keyring_key_store RETURNS INTEGER
  SONAME 'keyring_udf.so';
CREATE FUNCTION keyring_key_remove RETURNS INTEGER
  SONAME 'keyring_udf.so';

If the plugin and functions are used on a source replication server, install them on all replicas as well to avoid replication issues.

Once installed as just described, the plugin and functions remain installed until uninstalled. To remove them, use the UNINSTALL PLUGIN and DROP FUNCTION statements:

UNINSTALL PLUGIN keyring_udf;
DROP FUNCTION keyring_key_generate;
DROP FUNCTION keyring_key_fetch;
DROP FUNCTION keyring_key_length_fetch;
DROP FUNCTION keyring_key_type_fetch;
DROP FUNCTION keyring_key_store;
DROP FUNCTION keyring_key_remove;

Before using the keyring general-purpose functions, install them according to the instructions provided in Installing or Uninstalling General-Purpose Keyring Functions.

The keyring functions are subject to these constraints:

To create a new random key and store it in the keyring, call keyring_key_generate(), passing to it an ID for the key, along with the key type (encryption method) and its length in bytes. The following call creates a 2,048-bit DSA-encrypted key named MyKey:

mysql> SELECT keyring_key_generate('MyKey', 'DSA', 256);
+-------------------------------------------+
| keyring_key_generate('MyKey', 'DSA', 256) |
+-------------------------------------------+
|                                         1 |
+-------------------------------------------+

A return value of 1 indicates success. If the key cannot be created, the return value is NULL and an error occurs. One reason this might be is that the underlying keyring plugin does not support the specified combination of key type and key length; see Section 8.4.4.10, “Supported Keyring Key Types and Lengths”.

To be able to check the return type regardless of whether an error occurs, use SELECT ... INTO @var_name and test the variable value:

mysql> SELECT keyring_key_generate('', '', -1) INTO @x;
ERROR 3188 (HY000): Function 'keyring_key_generate' failed because
underlying keyring service returned an error. Please check if a
keyring plugin is installed and that provided arguments are valid
for the keyring you are using.
mysql> SELECT @x;
+------+
| @x   |
+------+
| NULL |
+------+
mysql> SELECT keyring_key_generate('x', 'AES', 16) INTO @x;
mysql> SELECT @x;
+------+
| @x   |
+------+
|    1 |
+------+

This technique also applies to other keyring functions that for failure return a value and an error.

The ID passed to keyring_key_generate() provides a means by which to refer to the key in subsequent functions calls. For example, use the key ID to retrieve its type as a string or its length in bytes as an integer:

mysql> SELECT keyring_key_type_fetch('MyKey');
+---------------------------------+
| keyring_key_type_fetch('MyKey') |
+---------------------------------+
| DSA                             |
+---------------------------------+
mysql> SELECT keyring_key_length_fetch('MyKey');
+-----------------------------------+
| keyring_key_length_fetch('MyKey') |
+-----------------------------------+
|                               256 |
+-----------------------------------+

To retrieve a key value, pass the key ID to keyring_key_fetch(). The following example uses HEX() to display the key value because it may contain nonprintable characters. The example also uses a short key for brevity, but be aware that longer keys provide better security:

mysql> SELECT keyring_key_generate('MyShortKey', 'DSA', 8);
+----------------------------------------------+
| keyring_key_generate('MyShortKey', 'DSA', 8) |
+----------------------------------------------+
|                                            1 |
+----------------------------------------------+
mysql> SELECT HEX(keyring_key_fetch('MyShortKey'));
+--------------------------------------+
| HEX(keyring_key_fetch('MyShortKey')) |
+--------------------------------------+
| 1DB3B0FC3328A24C                     |
+--------------------------------------+

Keyring functions treat key IDs, types, and values as binary strings, so comparisons are case-sensitive. For example, IDs of MyKey and mykey refer to different keys.

To remove a key, pass the key ID to keyring_key_remove():

mysql> SELECT keyring_key_remove('MyKey');
+-----------------------------+
| keyring_key_remove('MyKey') |
+-----------------------------+
|                           1 |
+-----------------------------+

To obfuscate and store a key that you provide, pass the key ID, type, and value to keyring_key_store():

mysql> SELECT keyring_key_store('AES_key', 'AES', 'Secret string');
+------------------------------------------------------+
| keyring_key_store('AES_key', 'AES', 'Secret string') |
+------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                    1 |
+------------------------------------------------------+

As indicated previously, a user must have the global EXECUTE privilege to call keyring functions, and the user who stores a key in the keyring initially must be the same user who performs subsequent operations on the key later, as determined from the CURRENT_USER() value in effect for each function call. To permit key operations to users who do not have the global EXECUTE privilege or who may not be the key “owner,” use this technique:

This technique enables keys to be shared among users and provides to DBAs more fine-grained control over who can do what with keys, without having to grant global privileges.

The following example shows how to set up a shared key named SharedKey that is owned by the DBA, and a get_shared_key() stored function that provides access to the current key value. The value can be retrieved by any user with the EXECUTE privilege for that function, which is created in the key_schema schema.

From a MySQL administrative account ('root'@'localhost' in this example), create the administrative schema and the stored function to access the key:

mysql> CREATE SCHEMA key_schema;

mysql> CREATE DEFINER = 'root'@'localhost'
       FUNCTION key_schema.get_shared_key()
       RETURNS BLOB READS SQL DATA
       RETURN keyring_key_fetch('SharedKey');

From the administrative account, ensure that the shared key exists:

mysql> SELECT keyring_key_generate('SharedKey', 'DSA', 8);
+---------------------------------------------+
| keyring_key_generate('SharedKey', 'DSA', 8) |
+---------------------------------------------+
|                                           1 |
+---------------------------------------------+

From the administrative account, create an ordinary user account to which key access is to be granted:

mysql> CREATE USER 'key_user'@'localhost'
       IDENTIFIED BY 'key_user_pwd';

From the key_user account, verify that, without the proper EXECUTE privilege, the new account cannot access the shared key:

mysql> SELECT HEX(key_schema.get_shared_key());
ERROR 1370 (42000): execute command denied to user 'key_user'@'localhost'
for routine 'key_schema.get_shared_key'

From the administrative account, grant EXECUTE to key_user for the stored function:

mysql> GRANT EXECUTE ON FUNCTION key_schema.get_shared_key
       TO 'key_user'@'localhost';

From the key_user account, verify that the key is now accessible:

mysql> SELECT HEX(key_schema.get_shared_key());
+----------------------------------+
| HEX(key_schema.get_shared_key()) |
+----------------------------------+
| 9BAFB9E75CEEB013                 |
+----------------------------------+

For each general-purpose keyring function, this section describes its purpose, calling sequence, and return value. For information about the conditions under which these functions can be invoked, see Using General-Purpose Keyring Functions.