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The MD5 SQL Function in MySQL and MariaDB - MD5 128-bit checksum

MD5	Syntax:	MD5(String)
	Return value:	CHAR
	Function type:	Encryption & Compression

Function Description

The MD5() function calculates an MD5 128-bit checksum for "String".

The return value is a 32-hex digit string in the character set and collation of the current connection.

Numeric values as an argument are interpreted as a character string.

If the value of the "String" argument is NULL, the MD5() function returns NULL.

Before MariaDB version 5.5, the return value was a binary string.

SQL Examples for the MD5 function


select md5('test');
select md5(123456);
select char_length(md5('test')),bit_length(unhex(md5('test')));

select md5('');
select md5(null);

md5('test')
varchar(32) BINARY
098f6bcd4621d373cade4e832627b4f6

md5(123456)
varchar(32) BINARY
e10adc3949ba59abbe56e057f20f883e

char_length(md5('test'))

bit_length(unhex(md5('test')))

int(10)

bigint(11)

128

md5('')
varchar(32) BINARY
d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e

md5(null)
varchar(32) BINARY
NULL

The examples were created with the MyWAY SQL manager: Download

How to use the MD5() function in MySQL and MariaDB databases

Both MySQL and MariaDB provide a MD5() function used to calculate the MD5 hash of a string. The function takes a string as input and returns a 32-character string with a hexadecimal representation of the MD5 hash. This hash value is often used for simple hashing purposes, such as storing passwords or verifying the integrity of data. MD5 is considered a rather weak hashing algorithm by today's standards, mainly due to its susceptibility to collisions. For more security, stronger hashing algorithms such as SHA-256 or bcrypt should be used.

The MD5() function is not reversible. Once a string hashed with MD5, it is no longer possible to create the original string from the hash value.

Further MySQL und MariaDB SQL Encryption & Compression

AES_DECRYPT	AES_DECRYPT(String, Key)
	More about AES_DECRYPT Function

AES_ENCRYPT	AES_ENCRYPT(String, Key)
	More about AES_ENCRYPT Function

COMPRESS	COMPRESS(String)
	More about COMPRESS Function

DECODE	DECODE(Binary string, Password)
	More about DECODE Function

DES_DECRYPT	DES_DECRYPT(Binary string [, Key])
	More about DES_DECRYPT Function

DES_ENCRYPT	DES_ENCRYPT(String [, Key])
	More about DES_ENCRYPT Function

ENCODE	ENCODE(String, Password)
	More about ENCODE Function

ENCRYPT	ENCRYPT(String [, Salt])
	More about ENCRYPT Function

FROM_BASE64	FROM_BASE64(String)
	More about FROM_BASE64 Function

OLD_PASSWORD	OLD_PASSWORD(String)
	More about OLD_PASSWORD Function

PASSWORD	PASSWORD(String)
	More about PASSWORD Function

RANDOM_BYTES	RANDOM_BYTES(Length)
	More about RANDOM_BYTES Function

SHA	SHA(String)
	More about SHA Function

SHA1	SHA1(String)
	More about SHA1 Function

SHA2	SHA2(String, Length)
	More about SHA2 Function

TO_BASE64	TO_BASE64(String)
	More about TO_BASE64 Function

UNCOMPRESS	UNCOMPRESS(Binary string)
	More about UNCOMPRESS Function

Numeric functions	String functions	Regular Expressions	Date and Time functions
Comparison functions	Encryption & Compression	Conversion functions	NULL functions
Aggregate functions	Window functions	JSON functions	Geometric functions
Sequence functions	Information functions	Dynamic Columns	Miscellaneous functions

More information about the MD5 SQL function: mysql.com and mariadb.com

Updated: 2025-11-04

2020-2025 Heino Cunze-Fischer