CentOS 7 MySQL 5.7 root password reset

To reset MySQL 5.7 root password on CentOS 7 server, do the following

Stop MySQL Server

systemctl stop mysqld

Set the MySQL MYSQLD_OPTS environment to start MySQL with –skip-grant-tables

systemctl set-environment MYSQLD_OPTS="--skip-grant-tables"

Start MySQL with –skip-grant-tables

systemctl start mysqld

Login as user root

mysql -u root

Update MySQL root password

ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'NEW_MYSQL_PASSWORD_HERE';

Or

UPDATE mysql.user SET authentication_string = PASSWORD('NEW_MYSQL_PASSWORD_HERE') WHERE User = 'root' AND Host = 'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Exit MySQL command prompt

quit

Stop MySQL server

systemctl stop mysqld

Unset the MySQL environment option

systemctl unset-environment MYSQLD_OPTS

Start MySQL normally

systemctl start mysqld

Now you should be able to log in with new MySQL root password using

mysql -u root -p

See Reset MySQL root password, mysql_safe: command not found