Announcing MariaDB Community Server 12.0 GA

Posted on August 7, 2025 by
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We are excited to announce the General Availability of MariaDB Community Server 12.0. As the first release of the 12.x rolling release series, this version builds upon the strong foundation of MariaDB 11.8 to deliver significant enhancements to our open source database. It introduces a pragmatic path to database freedom with enhanced Oracle compatibility, delivering hardened security for your data, and unlocking smarter performance and richer geospatial capabilities. 

What’s New in MariaDB 12.0

Deepening Oracle Compatibility

For years, enterprises have been trapped by the high costs and vendor lock-in of proprietary databases, held back by the deep investment in existing application code. MariaDB continues to invest in Oracle compatibility to ease the migration process from proprietary databases. This release adds new capabilities to make moving complex applications even smoother:

  • Native Support for SYS_REFCURSOR: This feature can be used with both the Oracle compatibility mode sql_mode=ORACLE and sql_mode=DEFAULT and functions as a standard stored routine variable, parameter, and return value. It can be used in the following ways:
    • Passed as an IN parameter to stored functions and procedures.
    • Passed as an OUT parameter to stored procedures.
    • Returned from a stored function.
  • More Efficient Triggers: You can now configure a single trigger to execute on multiple DML events (like INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE). This allows you to consolidate code, simplify maintenance, and more closely mirror the trigger logic from existing proprietary systems.

Advanced Security for Mission-Critical Applications

As security threats evolve, your database must evolve with them. MariaDB Community Server 12.0 introduces significant updates to help meet strict compliance requirements.

  • Enhanced Key Protection: If you use Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), with the file key management plugin, you can now use SHA2 digest when encrypting the key file, aligning with modern cryptographic standards.
  • Granular Auditing and Privileges: The Audit Plugin has been enhanced to log the client’s port and the TLS version used for the connection, providing richer data for security forensics.
  • Privilege Management and Delegation: The new SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION statement simplifies user impersonation and improves SQL standard compliance by allowing admins to change a session’s authorization identifier to that of another user.

Query Optimizer Enhancements

Typically, the query optimizer efficiently executes queries. However, optimizer hints are sometimes needed to achieve the best execution plan. MariaDB 12.0 addresses this by introducing new features and adding compatibility with MySQL optimizer hints.

  • New general optimizer hints and helper functions: To influence the general execution and execution plan, you can use the new optimizer hints and helper functions: QB_NAME, NO_RANGE_OPTIMIZATION, NO_ICP, MRR, NO_MRR, BKA, NO_BKA, BNL, NO_BNL, and MAX_EXECUTION_TIME.
  • New subquery optimizer hints: Optimizer hints, specifically SEMIJOIN and SUBQUERY, allow for the controlled conversion of subqueries.

New join order hints: JOIN_FIXED_ORDER, MySQL compatible alias to the existing STRAIGHT_JOIN. JOIN_ORDER, JOIN_PREFIX and JOIN_SUFFIX used to influence the query optimizer’s decision on the order in which tables are joined

SQL with Geometry Types

Geospatial data provides an essential dimension for data analysis and application development. MariaDB Community Server 12.0 expands its spatial capabilities with a host of new geometry functions and improved compatibility with other database systems.

  • Validation and Correction: Use ST_Validate and ST_IsValid to ensure your spatial data conforms to OGC standards.
  • Analysis and Simplification: Efficiently compare data with MBRCoveredBy and simplify complex geometries for faster processing with ST_Simplify.
  • Powerful Geohashing: Turn coordinates into compact, indexable strings with ST_GeoHash, and reverse the process with ST_PointFromGeoHash, ST_LatFromGeoHash, and ST_LongFromGeoHash. This is a powerful technique for high-performance proximity searches.

For a full list of changes and more detailed information, please refer to the official MariaDB 12.0 Changes & Improvements page. MariaDB 12.0 GA marks the beginning of a new rolling release series. We encourage you to explore these new features and provide feedback as we deliver quarterly updates (12.1, 12.2) on the path to our next Long-Term Support (LTS) version, planned for 12.3.

Download MariaDB Community Server 12.0 GA here.