Removal of SHA hashed password authentication

Detail name	Value
Changelog Number	6819
Type	Improvement
Status	Resolved
Fix Versions	Exasol 7.0.0, Exasol 6.1.11, Exasol 6.2.8
Resolution Date	2020-07-16

Background

Prior to version 4.1 (released in early 2013) passwords were hashed with the SHA hashing algorithm. From version 4.1 on passwords were hashed with a secure algorithm, whenever a user was created or a password was changed.

Problem

SHA hashed passwords have to be removed, however there are two cases in which users might still have SHA hashed passwords:

1. A password was not changed since 2013
2. The commandline parameter -useCaseSensitivePasswords=0 is in use

Solution

• The commandline parameter -useCaseSensitivePasswords is removed
• Users with SHA hashed password cannot login any more

If you might be affected, please check for such users. You can do so by running the following SQL statement as DBA:

select user_name from exa_dba_users where len(password) = 48;

If users are affected use DBA to change/reset the password immediately. Otherwise the user cannot login any more.

Changed behavior