PostgreSQL: password authentication is failing, but the password is correct

Question

I'm coding a simple "connect to db" program in Node.js using the pg module.

Until yesterday, everything was working fine, but now for some reason this error appears:

error: password authentication failed for user "ezert"

I don't understand what is going on, because I know the password used in the script is correct.

Full code:

const { Client } = require('pg'); // quando definido entre parêntesis, declara-se que se trata de um contrutor

let connectionURL = 'postgresql://ezert:<MY PASSWORD>@localhost:5432/mydb';

const client = new Client({
    connectionURL: connectionURL
});

client.connect();

client.query("SELECT * FROM my_table", function (err, result) {

    if (err) {

        console.log('[ERROR]:\n' + err);
        return;

    }

    console.log('[RESULT]:');
    console.log(result.rows);
    return;

});

You will find a more complete message in the PostgreSQL server's log file. — jjanes, Mar 13 '20 at 18:29
@SandeepPatel I use DBeaver and it executes this exact same query with no problem... — Ezert Aracksam, Mar 13 '20 at 18:30
are u using any special character in password? If so that could be a problem. you can also try altering password `sudo -u ezert psql -c "ALTER USER ezert PASSWORD 'newpassword';" — Sandeep Patel, Mar 13 '20 at 18:35
@SandeepPatel I already have tried to alter my password, but the problem persists... — Ezert Aracksam, Mar 13 '20 at 19:36
I've fixed it thanks to this thread: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7695962/postgresql-password-authentication-failed-for-user-postgres/24680845#24680845 — Ezert Aracksam, Mar 13 '20 at 20:28

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 13 '20 at 21:35

This is a problem with PostgreSQL, not with Node.js.

To solve it:

Edit the following file: /etc/postgresql/YOUR_PG_VERSION/main/pg_hba.conf
Change all authentication methods to trust.
Change the Unix password for postgres user.
Restart your server.
Login with psql -h localhost -U postgres, using the password you chose at (3).
Now you can reset the pg_hba.conf file to the default values, if you want.

PostgreSQL: password authentication is failing, but the password is correct

1 Answers1