Cannot GRANT privileges as root

Oh my goodness, I think the problem stems from mixing the mysql schema of different mysql versions. First of all, run this query:

desc mysql.user;

For MySQL 8.0, you get 51 columns

mysql> desc mysql.user;
Field Type Null Key Default Extra
Host char(255) NO PRI
User char(32) NO PRI
Select_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Insert_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Update_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Delete_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Create_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Drop_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Reload_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Shutdown_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Process_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
File_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Grant_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
References_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Index_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Alter_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Show_db_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Super_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Create_tmp_table_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Lock_tables_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Execute_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Repl_slave_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Repl_client_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Create_view_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Show_view_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Create_routine_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Alter_routine_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Create_user_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Event_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Trigger_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Create_tablespace_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
ssl_type enum('','ANY','X509','SPECIFIED') NO
ssl_cipher blob NO NULL
x509_issuer blob NO NULL
x509_subject blob NO NULL
max_questions int unsigned NO 0
max_updates int unsigned NO 0
max_connections int unsigned NO 0
max_user_connections int unsigned NO 0
plugin char(64) NO caching_sha2_password
authentication_string text YES NULL
password_expired enum('N','Y') NO N
password_last_changed timestamp YES NULL
password_lifetime smallint unsigned YES NULL
account_locked enum('N','Y') NO N
Create_role_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Drop_role_priv enum('N','Y') NO N
Password_reuse_history smallint unsigned YES NULL
Password_reuse_time smallint unsigned YES NULL
Password_require_current enum('N','Y') YES NULL
User_attributes json YES NULL

51 rows in set (0.00 sec)

For MySQL 5.6, you get 43 columns

mysql> desc mysql.user;
+------------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Field                  | Type                              | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+------------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Host                   | char(60)                          | NO   | PRI |         |       |
| User                   | char(16)                          | NO   | PRI |         |       |
| Password               | char(41)                          | NO   |     |         |       |
| Select_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Insert_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Update_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Delete_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Drop_priv              | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Reload_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Shutdown_priv          | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Process_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| File_priv              | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Grant_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| References_priv        | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Index_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Alter_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Show_db_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Super_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_tmp_table_priv  | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Lock_tables_priv       | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Execute_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Repl_slave_priv        | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Repl_client_priv       | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_view_priv       | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Show_view_priv         | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_routine_priv    | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Alter_routine_priv     | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_user_priv       | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Event_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Trigger_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_tablespace_priv | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| ssl_type               | enum('','ANY','X509','SPECIFIED') | NO   |     |         |       |
| ssl_cipher             | blob                              | NO   |     | NULL    |       |
| x509_issuer            | blob                              | NO   |     | NULL    |       |
| x509_subject           | blob                              | NO   |     | NULL    |       |
| max_questions          | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
| max_updates            | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
| max_connections        | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
| max_user_connections   | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
| plugin                 | char(64)                          | YES  |     |         |       |
| authentication_string  | text                              | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
| password_expired       | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
+------------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
43 rows in set (0.15 sec)

For MySQL 5.5, you get 42 columns

mysql> desc mysql.user;
+------------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Field                  | Type                              | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+------------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Host                   | char(60)                          | NO   | PRI |         |       |
| User                   | char(16)                          | NO   | PRI |         |       |
| Password               | char(41)                          | NO   |     |         |       |
| Select_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Insert_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Update_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Delete_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Drop_priv              | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Reload_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Shutdown_priv          | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Process_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| File_priv              | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Grant_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| References_priv        | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Index_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Alter_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Show_db_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Super_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_tmp_table_priv  | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Lock_tables_priv       | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Execute_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Repl_slave_priv        | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Repl_client_priv       | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_view_priv       | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Show_view_priv         | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_routine_priv    | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Alter_routine_priv     | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_user_priv       | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Event_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Trigger_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_tablespace_priv | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| ssl_type               | enum('','ANY','X509','SPECIFIED') | NO   |     |         |       |
| ssl_cipher             | blob                              | NO   |     | NULL    |       |
| x509_issuer            | blob                              | NO   |     | NULL    |       |
| x509_subject           | blob                              | NO   |     | NULL    |       |
| max_questions          | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
| max_updates            | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
| max_connections        | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
| max_user_connections   | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
| plugin                 | char(64)                          | YES  |     |         |       |
| authentication_string  | text                              | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
+------------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
42 rows in set (0.01 sec)

mysql>

For MySQL 5.1, you get 39 columns

mysql> desc mysql.user;
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Field                 | Type                              | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Host                  | char(60)                          | NO   | PRI |         |       |
| User                  | char(16)                          | NO   | PRI |         |       |
| Password              | char(41)                          | NO   |     |         |       |
| Select_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Insert_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Update_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Delete_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Drop_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Reload_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Shutdown_priv         | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Process_priv          | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| File_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Grant_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| References_priv       | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Index_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Alter_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Show_db_priv          | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Super_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_tmp_table_priv | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Lock_tables_priv      | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Execute_priv          | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Repl_slave_priv       | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Repl_client_priv      | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_view_priv      | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Show_view_priv        | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_routine_priv   | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Alter_routine_priv    | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_user_priv      | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Event_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Trigger_priv          | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| ssl_type              | enum('','ANY','X509','SPECIFIED') | NO   |     |         |       |
| ssl_cipher            | blob                              | NO   |     | NULL    |       |
| x509_issuer           | blob                              | NO   |     | NULL    |       |
| x509_subject          | blob                              | NO   |     | NULL    |       |
| max_questions         | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
| max_updates           | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
| max_connections       | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
| max_user_connections  | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
39 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql>

For MySQL 5.0, you get 37 columns

mysql> desc mysql.user;
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Field                 | Type                              | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Host                  | char(60)                          | NO   | PRI |         |       |
| User                  | char(16)                          | NO   | PRI |         |       |
| Password              | char(41)                          | NO   |     |         |       |
| Select_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Insert_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Update_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Delete_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Drop_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Reload_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Shutdown_priv         | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Process_priv          | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| File_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Grant_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| References_priv       | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Index_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Alter_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Show_db_priv          | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Super_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_tmp_table_priv | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Lock_tables_priv      | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Execute_priv          | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Repl_slave_priv       | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Repl_client_priv      | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_view_priv      | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Show_view_priv        | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_routine_priv   | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Alter_routine_priv    | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| Create_user_priv      | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N       |       |
| ssl_type              | enum('','ANY','X509','SPECIFIED') | NO   |     |         |       |
| ssl_cipher            | blob                              | NO   |     | NULL    |       |
| x509_issuer           | blob                              | NO   |     | NULL    |       |
| x509_subject          | blob                              | NO   |     | NULL    |       |
| max_questions         | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
| max_updates           | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
| max_connections       | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
| max_user_connections  | int(11) unsigned                  | NO   |     | 0       |       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
37 rows in set (0.01 sec)

mysql>

For MySQL 4.x, you get 31 columns

mysql> desc mysql.user;
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Field                 | Type                              | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Host                  | varchar(60) binary                |      | PRI |         |       |
| User                  | varchar(16) binary                |      | PRI |         |       |
| Password              | varchar(16) binary                |      |     |         |       |
| Select_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Insert_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Update_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Delete_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Create_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Drop_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Reload_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Shutdown_priv         | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Process_priv          | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| File_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Grant_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| References_priv       | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Index_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Alter_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Show_db_priv          | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Super_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Create_tmp_table_priv | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Lock_tables_priv      | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Execute_priv          | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Repl_slave_priv       | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| Repl_client_priv      | enum('N','Y')                     |      |     | N       |       |
| ssl_type              | enum('','ANY','X509','SPECIFIED') |      |     |         |       |
| ssl_cipher            | blob                              |      |     |         |       |
| x509_issuer           | blob                              |      |     |         |       |
| x509_subject          | blob                              |      |     |         |       |
| max_questions         | int(11) unsigned                  |      |     | 0       |       |
| max_updates           | int(11) unsigned                  |      |     | 0       |       |
| max_connections       | int(11) unsigned                  |      |     | 0       |       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
31 rows in set (0.01 sec)

Picture this scenario:

  • You install 5.0
  • You uninstall 5.0
  • You forgot to move /var/lib/mysql out of the way
  • You install 5.1

The user permissions start getting shifted. Whenever you run SHOW GRANTS;, it is hardwired to expect columns in specfic places in mysql.user (given the fact that mysql.user is a MyISAM and its ROW_FORMAT is Dynamic (Default)). It is very easy to see a user suddenly lose permissions when you reload a MySQL 5.0 version of mysql.user into a MySQL 5.1 instance.

In the future, should you ever decide to reload users into MySQL, try to dump the users to a text file using pt-show-grants rather than mysqldump.

I actually wrote my own version of pt-show-grants as follows:

mysql -hhostaddr -umyuserid -pmypassword --skip-column-names -A -e"SELECT CONCAT('SHOW GRANTS FOR ''',user,'''@''',host,''';') FROM mysql.user WHERE user<>''" | mysql -hhostaddr -umyuserid -pmypassword --skip-column-names -A | sed 's/$/;/g' > MySQLUserGrants.sql

This will produce all user grants as SQL, which is far more portable than standard mysql techniques. Simply reload the SQL script and the GRANTS are executed. Of course, such reloading is only forward compatible, never backward.


The comment by gbn brought me to the solution: No idea how it came, but root@localhost was lacking some privileges. So first obtain them all via

UPDATE mysql.user SET XXX_priv = 'Y' WHERE user = 'root' AND host = 'localhost'

There are quite a few columns, so using something like

SELECT GROUP_CONCAT(concat(' ', column_name, '=\'Y\''))
  FROM information_schema.columns
  WHERE table_schema = 'mysql'
  AND table_name = 'user'
  AND column_name LIKE '%_priv'

can save quite some typing. Probably FLUSH PRIVILEGES is needed after the UPDATEs. Once I have all privileges, I can also GRANT them.


I've seen an issue where you can't GRANT CREATE TABLESPACE.

However, I'm not sure of all details and I saw it on 5.5/Solaris

My comment above and your response indicates that this may apply here. That is, you can GRANT everything except CREATE TABLESPACE permissions