Using Docker Secrets to Manage Sensitive Data

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Using Docker Secrets to Manage Sensitive Data

In order to secure a MySQL database, we’ve decided to redeploy the container it sits in as a Swarm service, using secrets. We'll use OpenSSL to generate secure passwords for both the MySQL users `root` and `user`. Then, we'll save them to separate files. Next, we'll create secrets for these passwords and finally create the MySQL service using these secrets.

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Lab Info

Level

Advanced

Last updated

Sep 23, 2025

Duration

1h 0m

Challenge

Create Secrets

Note: Please allow the lab extra time to fully spin up.

Create the MySQL root password:

openssl rand -base64 20 > mysql_root_password.txt
docker secret create mysql_root_password mysql_root_password.txt

Create a MySQL user password:

openssl rand -base64 20 > mysql_password.txt
docker secret create mysql_password mysql_password.txt

Challenge

Create an Overlay Network for the Service
Create an overlay network:
```
docker network create -d overlay mysql_private
```

Challenge

Create the MySQL Service

Create a MySQL service:

docker service create 
     --name mysql_secrets 
     --replicas 1 
     --network mysql_private 
     --mount type=volume,destination=/var/lib/mysql 
     --secret mysql_root_password 
     --secret mysql_password 
     -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD_FILE="/run/secrets/mysql_root_password" 
     -e MYSQL_PASSWORD_FILE="/run/secrets/mysql_password" 
     -e MYSQL_USER="myUser" 
     -e MYSQL_DATABASE="myDB" 
     mysql:5.7

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