How to Install & Configure phpMyAdmin on CentOS 8

PhpMyAdmin is a powerful tool for managing databases efficiently. It is commonly employed for remote management of MySQL or MariaDB databases.

In this tutorial, we will walk you through installing phpMyAdmin on a CentOS 8 system.

Requirements

• CentOS 8 Linux is installed on the server.
• Implementing a MySQL or MariaDB database
• Open the terminal window or command line by searching for it in your computer’s search bar.
• Account with elevated privileges

First, let’s go through the process of installing phpMyAdmin on CentOS 8.

The phpMyAdmin tool is not available in the default CentOS 8 repositories. Nevertheless, the file can be downloaded manually.

1. Open a terminal window and input the command below to initiate the download of the phpMyAdmin file:

wget https://files.phpmyadmin.net/phpMyAdmin/4.9.4/phpMyAdmin-4.9.4-all-languages.zip

Just a heads up: The current version of phpMyAdmin is 4.9.4, as of the time this article was written. Make sure to visit the developer’s download page to get the most up-to-date version.

Step 2: Unpack the .zip file archive.

unzip phpMyAdmin-4.9.4-all-languages.zip

3. Transfer the extracted files to the /usr/share/phpmyadmin directory.

sudo mv phpMyAdmin-4.9.4-all-languages.zip /usr/share/phpmyadmin

4. Navigate to different folders:

cd /usr/share/phpmyadmin

5. Give the sample php configuration file a new name:

sudo mv config.sample.inc.php config.inc.php

Step 6: Now, let’s open the php configuration file for editing.

sudo nano config.inc.php

7. Locate the specified line:

cfg['blowfish_secret'] = '';

8. Modify the line and input the new php root password within the single-quotes, like this:

cfg['blowfish_secret']='my_password';

9. Remember to save the file using the shortcut Ctrl+o and then close it with Ctrl+x.

10. Now, let’s proceed to create and set permissions on a temporary phpMyAdmin directory:

mkdir /usr/share/phpmyadmin/tmp

chown -R apache:apache /usr/share/phpmyadmin

chmod 777 /usr/share/phpmyadmin/tmp

2. Next, we will need to configure Apache to work with phpMyAdmin.

1. Generate an Apache configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf.d/phpmyadmin.conf

2. This generates a fresh, empty configuration file. Please input the code below:

Alias /phpmyadmin /usr/share/phpmyadmin
<Directory /usr/share/phpmyadmin/>
   AddDefaultCharset UTF-8
   <IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
     # Apache 2.4
     <RequireAny>
      Require all granted
     </RequireAny>
    </IfModule>
    <IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
      # Apache 2.2
      Order Deny,Allow
      Deny from All
      Allow from 127.0.0.1
      Allow from ::1
    </IfModule>
</Directory>
<Directory /usr/share/phpmyadmin/setup/>
   <IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
     # Apache 2.4
     <RequireAny>
       Require all granted
     </RequireAny>
   </IfModule>
   <IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
     # Apache 2.2
     Order Deny,Allow
     Deny from All
     Allow from 127.0.0.1
     Allow from ::1
   </IfModule>
</Directory>

3. Save the file using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+o and exit by pressing Ctrl+x.

4. Lastly, you’ll need to restart the Apache service in order for the changes made in the configuration file to take effect.

systemctl restart httpd

Please run the command “systemctl status httpd” to check if Apache has restarted and is currently running.

Step 3: Set up SELinux and Firewall settings

SELinux is an acronym for Security-Enhanced Linux. This enhancement at the kernel level is designed to enhance security. Modify this protocol to enable phpMyAdmin functionality.

1. Begin by installing the software package listed below:

yum –y install policycoreutils-python-utils

It is possible that certain versions of CentOS 8 already come with this package pre-installed. Given this scenario, the output signifies that it is not relevant and you can proceed to the subsequent step.

2. To grant access to the phpmyadmin directory, execute the following commands:

semanage fcontext –a –t httpd_sys_rw_content_t '/usr/share/phpmyadmin/'

semanage fcontext –a –t httpd_sys_rw_content_t "usr/share/phpmyadmin/tmp(/.*)?"

restorecon -Rv '/usr/share/phpmyadmin/'

It may take a moment for the first two commands to complete. The third command iterates through the phpmyadmin directory to implement the modifications.

Configure the firewall settings to permit network traffic.

1. Use the following command to create a firewall rule that allows HTTP traffic:

firewall–cmd ––permanent ––add-service=http

2. Remember to reload the firewall after making these modifications.

firewall-cmd ––reload

4. Proceed to test phpMyAdmin.

1. Launch a web browser and go to the specified URL:

localhost/phpmyadmin

The browser should show the phpMyAdmin login page. Nevertheless, when you make an attempt to log in, an error message might pop up:

“The client encountered an authentication method that is not recognized by the server.”

This error results from the password authentication mechanism being upgraded in MySQL 8.x. This authentication method has not been implemented in the latest version of PhpMyAdmin.

To bypass this measure, you can open the MySQL shell and change the root user.

mysql –u root –p

password
ALTER USER ‘root’@’localhost’ IDENTIFIED WITH myswl_native_password BY ‘password’;

ALTER ‘root’@’localhost’ IDENTIFIED WITH myswl_native_password BY ‘password’;

3. Use the specific password you set when securing the MySQL installation.

4. Please refresh the web browser phpMyAdmin page and proceed to log in using your MySQL username and password.

Step 5: Secure Access to phpMyAdmin (Optional)

By now, you should have successfully set up the phpMyAdmin utility. This section provides valuable insights on how to safeguard sensitive databases from unauthorized access.

Restrict phpMyAdmin Access to a Specific IP Address

1. Open the phpmyadmin.conf file in a text editor (let’s use nano):

sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf.d/phpmyadmin.conf

2. Locate the following sections:

Require all granted

3. Use the following lines instead:

Require ip your_system's_ip_address

Require ip ::1

4. Save and close the file.

Note: Please replace “your_system’s_ip_address” with the system’s actual IP address. If you need to enable access for multiple systems, include a line for each IP address.

Implement an additional layer of password authentication.

1. Generate a fresh authentication file. Open up a terminal window and type in the following command:

mkdir /etc/phpmyadmin

htpasswd –c /etc/phpmyadmin/.htpasswd admin

2. You will be asked to provide and verify an administrator password. Please complete the task and remember to document the password.

3. Now, let’s make some changes to Apache so that it can use .htpasswd. Open the file /etc/httpd/conf.d/phpmyadmin.conf and update it accordingly:

nano /etc/httpd/conf.d/phpmyadmin.conf

4. Add the following lines just below the AddDefaultCharset UTF-8 line:

Options +FollowSymLinks +Multiviews +Indexes
    AllowOverride None
    AuthType basic
    AuthName "Authentication Required"
    AuthUserFile /etc/phpmyadmin/.htpasswd
    Require valid-user

5. Save the file and exit.

6. Lastly, restart Apache.

systemctl restart httpd

Access phpMyAdmin using the new login information.

1. Return to localhost/phpmyadmin.

2: Input the newly-created administrator username and password.

You should be directed to the main login screen, which is displayed after the preceding section.

In conclusion

By carefully following the steps outlined in this guide, you have now successfully installed and configured phpMyAdmin on your CentOS 8 system. This setup not only allows for efficient management of MySQL or MariaDB databases but also incorporates enhanced security measures to protect your database access. With phpMyAdmin, you can now efficiently handle database operations and ensure your data is securely managed through a web interface. Remember to periodically check for updates to maintain security and functionality. Implement this powerful software tool to efficiently handle and organize your MySQL databases.

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