MySql ERROR 1045 (00000): Access denied - different MySQL versions - mysql

Question

I need to get an old MySQL Client (4.1) to connect to an even older MySQL Server (3.23).
The goal is to do a Java/JDBC connect to the old Linux/MySQL 3.23 database, in order to update text information for a Lucene search (which will also run on linuxdev2).
The problem is that I can't connect to the Linux/MySQL 3.23 server from a remote Linux/MySql 4.1 client. I can't connect from JDBC; I can't connect from "mysql":
LOCAL (intranet):
mysql -uSOMEUSER -pSOMEPASSWORD mysql => OK
REMOTE (from linuxdev2):
mysql -uSOMEUSER -pSOMEPASSWORD -hintranet mysql => FAILS:
ERROR 1045 (00000): Access denied for user: 'SOMEUSER#linuxdev2' (Using password: YES)
PERMISSIONS (on intranet):
mysql> select User,Host,Password from user order by User;
+-----------+-----------------------------+------------------+
| User | Host | Password |
+-----------+-----------------------------+------------------+
| SOMEUSER | % | 233780be35015f2c |
| SOMEUSER | localhost | 233780be35015f2c |
| ...
These are the hosts:
Component Intranet: Linuxdev2:
--------- -------- ---------
Java N/A Sun Java 1.5.0_03
JDBC N/A mysql-connector-java-3.1.6-3
MySQl Server mysql-server-3.23.22-6 mysql-4.1.10a-3.8
MySql Client mysql-3.23.22-6 mysql-client-4.1.10a-3
I took an Ethereal trace and verified the TCP/IP connection from linuxdev2 to intranet is OK:
a) They connect on port 3306
b) Linuxdev2 does a "Login request Caps"
c) Intranet replies with "Response Error Code: 415" (access denied)

Answer 1

MySQL's password algorithm changed in v4.1 - the same password() function, but different hashing algorithms, so connecting with a v4.1+ client to an older v3.x server using password()-created passwords won't work.
Ref: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/password-hashing.html