CVE-2026-61828
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedNixpkgs is a collection of software packages that can be installed with the Nix package manager. Prior to the 25.11 and 26.05 channel fixes, the NixOS module for MySQL services.mysql initializes the MySQL database in a way that allows local users, such as unprivileged web or CGI processes on the same host, to log in as the root user without a password when the service is used with mysql or percona-server. This issue is fixed in the 25.11 and 26.05.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe NixOS MySQL module (services.mysql) initializes the MySQL database with a configuration flaw that allows any local user on the same host to authenticate as the MySQL root user without providing a password. This enables local privilege escalation from any unprivileged process (such as web applications or CGI scripts) to full MySQL root access.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- Authentication
- X
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- X
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm NixOS MySQL module is in useCheck if your system uses the NixOS MySQL module by examining /etc/nixos/configuration.nix for 'services.mysql' entries or checking if MySQL was deployed via NixOSAffected if MySQL was deployed using NixOS services.mysql module
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Verify MySQL service is runningRun 'systemctl status mysql' or 'systemctl status mariadb' to confirm the MySQL/MariaDB service is active on the systemAffected if MySQL or MariaDB service is running
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Test passwordless root authenticationExecute 'mysql -u root' or 'mysql -u root -p' with an empty password to attempt unauthenticated access to MySQL as the root userAffected if You can connect to MySQL as root without providing any password
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Examine MySQL user authentication settingsRun 'SELECT user,host,plugin FROM mysql.user WHERE user="root";' inside MySQL to check which authentication method the root user is configured to useAffected if The root user is configured with unix_socket, auth_socket, or no password authentication (empty password field)
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Check MySQL initialization scriptsReview /var/lib/mysql or the MySQL data directory for any world-writable configuration files or initialization scripts that may allow passwordless accessAffected if MySQL initialization was performed with insecure settings allowing universal root access
Your system is affected if it runs MySQL via the NixOS services.mysql module and allows unauthenticated root access (empty password or unix_socket authentication).
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade to NixOS channels 25.11 or 26.05 which contain the fixed NixOS module configuration for MySQL service initialization.
Upgrade Nixpkgs channel to version 25.11 or 26.05 (e.g., nixos-25.11 or nixos-26.05)
- Identify your current Nixpkgs channel version using `nix-channel --list` or `nix-instantiate --eval -r '<nixpkgs>' -A lib.version`
- Upgrade the Nixpkgs channel to version 25.11 or 26.05 by running `nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-25.11 nixpkgs` (or nixos-26.05)
- Update the channel with `nix-channel --update`
- For NixOS systems: run `sudo nixos-rebuild switch` to apply the updated packages and MySQL service fix
- For non-NixOS with Nix: run `nix-env -u` to upgrade installed packages
- Restart the MySQL service to ensure it uses the properly initialized database with correct permissions
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-61828 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-61828 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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