sqlmapproject/sqlmap · error · OperationalError

server does not support selecting a database during the hand

Error message

server does not support selecting a database during the handshake

What it means

Error "server does not support selecting a database during the handshake" thrown in sqlmapproject/sqlmap.

Source

Thrown at extra/dbwire/mysql.py:331

        if plugin == "caching_sha2_password":
            auth_response = _scramble_sha2(password or "", salt)
        else:
            plugin = "mysql_native_password"
            auth_response = _scramble_native(password or "", salt)

        # capabilities are NEGOTIATED: each side advertises what it can do and only the intersection is in
        # play. Sending a fixed set makes the client claim features a proxy/fork/older server never offered,
        # which is how a handshake ends up desynchronized rather than cleanly refused.
        if not (server_caps & _CLIENT_PROTOCOL_41):
            raise OperationalError("server does not support the 4.1 protocol, which this client requires")
        wanted = (_CLIENT_LONG_PASSWORD | _CLIENT_LONG_FLAG | _CLIENT_PROTOCOL_41 |
                  _CLIENT_TRANSACTIONS | _CLIENT_SECURE_CONNECTION | _CLIENT_PLUGIN_AUTH)
        if database:
            wanted |= _CLIENT_CONNECT_WITH_DB
        flags = wanted & server_caps
        flags |= _CLIENT_PROTOCOL_41 | _CLIENT_SECURE_CONNECTION     # mandatory for the packets built below
        if database and not (flags & _CLIENT_CONNECT_WITH_DB):
            raise OperationalError("server does not support selecting a database during the handshake")
        if not (flags & _CLIENT_PLUGIN_AUTH):
            plugin = None       # pre-4.1.1 style: no trailing plugin name in the handshake response
        response = struct.pack("<I", flags) + struct.pack("<I", _MAX_PACKET) + struct.pack("<B", 45) + (b"\x00" * 23)
        response += (user or "").encode("utf-8") + b"\x00"
        response += struct.pack("<B", len(auth_response)) + auth_response
        if database:
            response += database.encode("utf-8") + b"\x00"
        if plugin:
            response += plugin.encode("ascii") + b"\x00"
        _send_packet(sock, seq + 1, response)

        _finish_auth(sock, password or "", plugin or "mysql_native_password", salt)
        handshake_done(sock)
    except (DatabaseError, InterfaceError):
        _safe_close(sock)
        raise
    except Exception as ex:
        _safe_close(sock)

View on GitHub (pinned to 0a35b20e39)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at extra/dbwire/mysql.py:331 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

Understand the failure class

• SSL/TLS and certificate errors — how TLS handshakes and certificate validation fail.

AI-assisted analysis of sqlmapproject/sqlmap@0a35b20e39 (2026-08-26). Data as JSON: /api/errors/21974836d5a094aa. Report an issue: GitHub.