This MariaDB plugin authenticates database users against the system password file /etc/shadow or other authentication mechanisms supported by saslauthd. Enable the saslauthd daemon with: chmod +x /etc/rc.d/rc.saslauthd /etc/rc.d/rc.saslauthd start Restart MariaDB after package installation to enable the plugin. To create a database user which uses saslauthd, use CREATE USER username@hostname IDENTIFIED WITH saslauthd; Optionally, a different system user as well as a realm can be specified. Example: CREATE USER 'jekyll' IDENTIFIED WITH saslauthd AS 'hyde@EXAMPLE.COM'; saslauthd needs clear text passwords. Secure non-local connections between your database clients and the server with TLS. See the MariaDB documentation for more information.