Implementing user password policies in MySQL

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

To implement user password policies in MySQL using Pulumi, we need to create resources like MySQL server instances, databases, and configure the user accounts with the required password policies. While the Pulumi Registry Results above referenced resources for MySQL, none of them specifically address password policies. However, password policies can typically be implemented through configuration settings within the MySQL server instance itself, or by creating users with specific password requirements.

The actual implementation of password policies can involve creating MySQL user accounts with password validation plugins like `validate_password`, which is included in MySQL. This plugin can enforce policies such as password length, complexity, and much more.

Below is a TypeScript Pulumi program which outlines the necessary steps to create a MySQL server and user with password policies. Since the Pulumi resources do not directly handle MySQL's internal configurations like password policies, we would typically manage these settings directly through SQL statements. To illustrate this, I'm going to show you how you might set up a MySQL server and then inform you how you might typically adjust password policies after.

```typescript
import * as mysql from '@pulumi/mysql';

// Create a new MySQL server instance
const instance = new mysql.Server("mysql-server", {
    // You would set other configuration options as necessary here, such as location, version, etc.
});

// Create a new MySQL user with defined policies such as password length and complexity.
// The following is an illustrative username and password - in a real-world scenario,
// you would ensure the password complies with your organization's password policies,
// and you may even source it from a secure secret store or generate it dynamically.
const user = new mysql.User("mysql-user", {
    host: '%',
    user: 'example_user',
    plaintextPassword: 'complex-password-G0esH3re!', // Ensure your real password matches your password policy.
    // ... other configurations
});

// To enforce password policies, you'd typically use SQL statements to configure the `validate_password` plugin,
// although these settings below are not directly represented in Pulumi resources. This is illustrative only:
//
// ALTER USER 'example_user'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'complex-password-G0esH3re!' PASSWORD EXPIRE INTERVAL 90 DAY;
// SET GLOBAL validate_password.length = 14;
// SET GLOBAL validate_password.mixed_case_count = 1;
// SET GLOBAL validate_password.number_count = 1;
// SET GLOBAL validate_password.special_char_count = 1;

export const mysqlServerName = instance.name;
export const mysqlUserName = user.name;
```

In the code snippet above:
- We're provisioning a new MySQL server and user with the Pulumi MySQL provider.
- The MySQL server is defined as `instance`, which would include additional configuration parameters tailored to your requirements.
- The MySQL user is defined as `user`, which includes a username and password, among other configuration parameters you might add.
- The comments in the code illustrate how you would typically interact with the MySQL server post-deployment to enforce password policies like expiry, length, and complexity. This is usually done with SQL commands and is more of an operational task post-deployment because Pulumi doesn't inherently manage MySQL's internal configurations such as user password policies.
- The `export` statements make the MySQL server and user names available as stack outputs.

Keep in mind that in a real-world scenario you would need to handle the user's password more securely, potentially using secret management systems, and ensuring that it meets the requirements laid out by your desired password policies.

After creating these resources using Pulumi, you would typically connect to your MySQL instance and run SQL commands to fine-tune and enforce your password policies as needed. This would be done using MySQL's native features and tools such as the MySQL Shell or any other MySQL client. It's important to consider that management of password policies is a routine part of database administration and would happen as a subsequent step after provisioning the infrastructure with Pulumi.