Saturday, August 1, 2026
<p>MariaDB 10.6 reached its official End of Life on 6 July 2026. After five years of service as a Long Term Support release, it no longer receives security patches or bug fixes from the MariaDB Foundation.</p>
<h3>What This Means</h3>
<p>Your database won't stop working overnight — but the risks compound quickly. Any new vulnerabilities discovered in MariaDB 10.6 will remain unpatched. Compliance standards (PCI DSS, POPIA, etc.) generally require running supported, patched database versions. Staying on 10.6 puts you out of compliance and exposes your data to known and future vulnerabilities.</p>
<h3>For Hostify Shared Hosting Customers</h3>
<p>All Hostify shared hosting servers have already been upgraded to MariaDB 10.11 LTS or newer. Your databases are running on a fully supported, secure version — <strong>no action needed</strong>.</p>
<h3>For VPS and Dedicated Server Customers</h3>
<p>If you self-manage your VPS or dedicated server, now is the time to check which version of MariaDB you're running and plan your upgrade. Your upgrade options:</p>
<p><strong>MariaDB 10.11 LTS</strong> — Supported until February 2028. The most conservative upgrade from 10.6. Minimal compatibility changes, same release model you're used to. Best if you want the shortest, safest hop forward.</p>
<p><strong>MariaDB 11.4 LTS</strong> — Supported until May 2029. Includes the rewritten query optimizer from 11.0, improved JSON support, and better replication. A solid mid-range choice.</p>
<p><strong>MariaDB 11.8 LTS</strong> — Supported until June 2028. The newest LTS track with vector search support and the latest optimizer improvements. Best for workloads that benefit from modern query performance.</p>
<p><strong>MariaDB 12.3 LTS</strong> — Released May 2026, supported until May 2029. The cutting edge. Only recommended if you've tested thoroughly against your application stack.</p>
<h3>How to Check Your Version</h3>
<p>SSH into your server and run:</p>
<pre>mysql --version</pre>
<p>Or from cPanel, navigate to <em>Server Information</em> in the sidebar to see your current MySQL/MariaDB version.</p>
<h3>How to Upgrade on cPanel Servers</h3>
<p>If you're on a cPanel server, upgrading MariaDB is straightforward:</p>
<ol>
<li>Log into WHM as root</li>
<li>Navigate to <em>Home > Software > MySQL/MariaDB Upgrade</em></li>
<li>Select your target MariaDB version from the dropdown</li>
<li>Click <em>Upgrade</em></li>
</ol>
<p>The process typically takes 5–15 minutes. We recommend running it during a low-traffic window and taking a full backup beforehand.</p>
<h3>What About MySQL?</h3>
<p>If you run Oracle MySQL rather than MariaDB, please refer to our earlier announcement about MySQL 8.0 End of Life. MySQL 9.7 LTS is the current recommended target.</p>
<h3>Need Help?</h3>
<p>Our support team can guide you through the upgrade or handle it entirely if you're on a managed VPS plan. Open a ticket and we'll help you plan and execute a safe migration with minimal downtime.</p>
<p>Don't leave your database on an unsupported version — every month without patches increases your exposure.</p>