Why does AES_DECRYPT return a binary string instead of plaintext in MySQL?

AES Encryption and Decryption Using MySQL Functions

When working with sensitive data, encryption becomes crucial for protecting information from unauthorized access. MySQL provides various encryption functions, including AES_ENCRYPT and AES_DECRYPT, to safeguard data. However, some users encounter difficulties while attempting decryption after encryption using these functions.

Problem:

When querying a row from a table using AES_DECRYPT after encrypting it with AES_ENCRYPT, the result might appear as a binary string rather than the expected plaintext.

Solution:

According to the MySQL documentation, AES_DECRYPT should return the original string after decryption. However, there could be situations where it still returns a binary string.

The following code demonstrates a workaround for this issue:

SELECT *,
       CAST(AES_DECRYPT(first_name, 'usa2010') AS CHAR(50)) first_name_decrypt
FROM   user

By explicitly casting the decrypted value to a character type using CAST(), you can ensure that it is displayed as a readable string. Use the first_name_decrypt column in your queries to retrieve the decrypted plaintext instead of the original first_name column.

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