Mysql – Why is a connection via an SSH tunnel presenting as 127.0.0.1 and not localhost

I stumbled upon this question when I myself had encountered this error. I could finally figure out the configuration.

1. I didn't touch anything in /etc/mysql/my.cnf which already has bind_address = 127.0.0.1. So only localhost can connect.
2. I use OpenSSH server. So in its config file /etc/ssh/sshd_config I changed from no to yes the param responsible for TCP forwarding, thus AllowTcpForwarding yes.

3. Finally I have the following entered in MySQL WorkBench.

   • SSH Hostname: 192.168.0.8:22 (my SSH server listens to port 22)
   • SSH Username: sshuser
   • SSH Key File: *C:\Users\windowsuser\.ssh\id_rsa* (should be private key, even though it says public)
   • MySQL Hostname: 127.0.0.1 (this should not be changed, since MySQL server by default is bound to localhost only which I didn't change)
   • MySQL Server Port: 3306 (also default)
   • Username: root

The only remaining thing for you is to configure correctly your SSH server to work with keys rather than passwords. Hope this will help someone.

Since you are connecting through a SSH tunnel, this means that the MySQL port 3306 from us-east-1.amazonaws.com is being opened locally on your computer. The ip address of your computer is 127.0.0.1 or localhost. When you connect to the mysql server on us-east-1.amazonaws.com, you're actually accessing it via 127.0.0.1, i.e. your computer. If you had another tunnel open, or MySQL running locally on your computer, then it may be that other MySQL server that's rejecting your authentication attempts

There are some tests you can try :

1. What ports is you Windows computer listening on

From a command prompt : netstat -a (lists all the ports that are open)

In linux it would be : netstat -tlpn

2. Basic connectivity test

From a DOS command prompt or linux console : telnet 127.0.0.1 3306

If you get a time out, or some other program responds then your tunnel isn't setup correctly.

3. Change the port number that MySQL Workbench is opening locally

We're assuming that MySQL workbench is creating the tunnel on your computer. If so, in MySQL workbench, try tunneling through another port number like 9000.

Make sure that 9000 wasn't listed as an open port from : netstat -a

If you have ssh access to us-east-1.amazonaws.com

4. Try connecting to MySQL from us-east-1.amazonaws.com

mysql -u myuser -h 127.0.0.1 -p

And as Rolando said, you'll want to verify that you are connecting with the right credentials. For example, if you are connecting as myuser@127.0.0.1 and you have a user myuser without a host, you probably won't be able to connect using user@127.0.0.1.