Implicit authentication

Vertica has implicit (that is, not reflected in the CLIENT_AUTH system table) authentication records reserved for the dbadmin and users without passwords. These records cannot be dropped.

For the dbadmin user:

• The trust method is used if all of the following are true:

  • The dbadmin does not have a password.

  • The connection is local (that is, from a Vertica node).

• The hash method is used if all of the following are true:

  • The dbadmin has a password.

  • The connection is local (that is, from a Vertica node).

For a non-dbadmin user, the trust method is used if all of the following are true:

• The user does not have a password.

• No custom (that is, non-default) authentication methods are enabled.