What’s New in MariaDB 11

Here is a summary of the key updates in MariaDB from versions 11.0 to 11.8:

MariaDB 11.8 (Released August 2025)

Highlights:

• Vector Data Support: Built-in vector data type, distance functions (VEC_DISTANCE), and indexing for AI/ML search workloads.
• Optimizer Enhancements: New hints (MAX_EXECUTION_TIME, subquery hints), improved optimizer for SUBSTR(...) = const_str, and partial virtual column support.
• GIS Upgrades: Added ST_Validate, ST_GeoHash, ST_Simplify, ST_IsValid, ST_Collect; supports geohash ↔ latitude/longitude conversion.
• InnoDB: Reduced adaptive-hash contention under high concurrency.
• Backup & Import:
  • --no-autocommit default speeds up bulk import.
  • --innodb-optimize-keys delays secondary index creation until after load.
• Integrity & Verification: CHECK TABLE ... EXTENDED now verifies foreign keys.
• Deprecations: Old mysql/mysqldump binaries replaced by mariadb/mariadb-dump; legacy charset-compression syntax removed.
• Status: Long-term support (LTS) release.

MariaDB 11.7 (Released September 2024)

• Early vector and ROW type support.
• New optimizer improvements and UUID function enhancements.
• Charset narrowing optimization enabled by default.
• Galera Cluster performance improvements.
• Backup improvements for secure password handling.

MariaDB 11.6 (Released August 2024)

• Spider Engine: Major stability fixes.
• Character Sets: Fixed crashes during charset conversions.
• Replication: Improved semisynchronous replication reliability.

MariaDB 11.5 (Released August 2024)

• Replication: Enhanced for XA transactions and performance under load.
• Optimizer: Further improvements in query planning and execution.
• Partitioning: Fixed server crashes and stability issues in partition handling.

MariaDB 11.4 (Released May 2024)

• Backup: Faster backups through optimized data handling.
• Performance: General storage and index handling improvements.

MariaDB 11.3 (Released February 2024)

• InnoDB: Stability and throughput improvements.
• Security: Stricter default configuration for better out-of-box protection.

MariaDB 11.2 (Released November 2023)

• Performance: Improved optimizer and query execution for complex workloads.
• Data Types: Extended geospatial support and new built-in functions.

MariaDB 11.1 (Released August 2023)

• JSON: Faster JSON queries and enhanced JSON operators.
• Privileges: Expanded role-based privilege controls.

MariaDB 11.0 (Released June 2023)

• Performance: Optimized joins, better query execution, and faster storage engines.
• Security: Improved encryption options and authentication methods.
• Replication: More efficient replication handling for distributed setups.