How to Find and Update Your phpMyAdmin Username and Password on Ubuntu 24.04

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Managing your phpMyAdmin credentials is essential for maintaining the security and functionality of your database management system. This guide will walk you through the process of locating and updating the username and password for phpMyAdmin on Ubuntu 24.04.

Prerequisites

  • Ubuntu 24.04 installed
  • phpMyAdmin already installed and configured
  • Root or sudo privileges

Step 1: Locate phpMyAdmin Configuration Files

phpMyAdmin manages user credentials through MySQL/MariaDB user accounts, and the configuration file for phpMyAdmin itself. The two primary places you’ll need to look for username and password information are:

  1. MySQL/MariaDB User Accounts
    phpMyAdmin uses your MySQL or MariaDB user credentials to authenticate. Therefore, any changes to the login credentials should be reflected in the database itself.
  2. phpMyAdmin Configuration File
    phpMyAdmin’s configuration file (config.inc.php) contains database connection details, including the default login credentials.

Step 2: Locate the phpMyAdmin Configuration File

The config.inc.php file is usually located in the /etc/phpmyadmin/ directory. You can navigate to this location by running the following command in your terminal:

sudo nano /etc/phpmyadmin/config.inc.php

Look for the section that defines authentication. It should look something like this:

$cfg['Servers'][$i]['auth_type'] = 'cookie';
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['user'] = 'phpmyadmin_user';
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['password'] = 'phpmyadmin_password';

The 'auth_type' => 'cookie' means phpMyAdmin uses a login form for authentication, prompting the user to enter MySQL/MariaDB credentials. You’ll see the actual username and password if auth_type is set to config. If you need to hard-code these credentials, you can manually update them here (though it’s not recommended for security reasons).

Step 3: Update MySQL/MariaDB User Credentials

To update the username and password that phpMyAdmin uses to connect to the MySQL/MariaDB database, follow these steps.

Step 3.1: Log into MySQL/MariaDB

Open your terminal and enter the following command to log into MySQL/MariaDB as the root user (or another user with sufficient privileges):

sudo mysql -u root -p

Enter your root password when prompted.

Step 3.2: Update the User Password

To change the password for an existing MySQL user, use the following command:

ALTER USER 'phpmyadmin_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password';

Replace 'phpmyadmin_user' with your phpMyAdmin username and 'new_password' with your desired password.

Step 3.3: Flush Privileges

After changing the password, make sure to reload the privileges to ensure MySQL/MariaDB applies the changes:

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
Step 3.4: Exit MySQL

Once you’ve updated the credentials, exit MySQL by typing:

EXIT;

Step 4: Update the phpMyAdmin Configuration (If Needed)

If your phpMyAdmin is configured to use a hard-coded username and password in the config.inc.php file (i.e., auth_type is set to config), you’ll need to update the configuration file with the new password.

sudo nano /etc/phpmyadmin/config.inc.php

Find the lines that define the username and password, and update them accordingly:

$cfg['Servers'][$i]['user'] = 'phpmyadmin_user';
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['password'] = 'new_password';

Save the file and exit.

Step 5: Restart Apache or Nginx

After updating the credentials, restart your web server to apply the changes. If you’re using Apache, run:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

If you’re using Nginx, run:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 6: Test phpMyAdmin Login

Open your web browser and navigate to phpMyAdmin (usually at http://localhost/phpmyadmin). Try logging in with the updated username and password. If everything is set up correctly, you should be able to access phpMyAdmin without issues.

Updating the phpMyAdmin username and password on Ubuntu 24.04 involves modifying both the MySQL/MariaDB user credentials and the phpMyAdmin configuration file if needed. Following this guide helps ensure that your credentials are up to date, enhancing the security and accessibility of your phpMyAdmin installation. Make sure to regularly update your passwords and follow security best practices to protect your database system.