How I Upgraded MariaDB on Webuzo (From EOL 11.7 to 11.8) Without Losing Data


If you’re running Webuzo and recently saw this warning in your panel:

“The MariaDB version 11.7.0-preview-MariaDB you are using has reached its End of Life (EOL). You are strongly urged to upgrade…” This post is for you. Unlike WHM/cPanel which has a one-click MySQL/MariaDB upgrade wizard, Webuzo has no automated upgrade path — you have to do it manually. Here’s exactly what I did.


Why Webuzo Doesn’t Have Auto-Upgrade Webuzo manages MariaDB as part of its own EMPS stack (self-contained binaries under /usr/local/apps/), not via the OS package manager. So there’s no apt upgrade mariadb-server shortcut — you install the new version as a “system app” via the panel, with a force-install flag.

Step-by-Step Process

  1. Dump All Databases First SSH into your server and run:
mysqldump -u root -p --all-databases > /root/alldbdump.sql

You’ll see a deprecation notice like this — it’s harmless, just enter your password:

mysqldump: Deprecated program name. It will be removed in a future release,
use '/usr/local/apps/mariadb117/bin/mariadb-dump' instead

Verify the dump completed successfully:

ls -lh /root/alldbdump.sql

Make sure the file isn’t 0 bytes. 2. Back Up Your MySQL Config

cp /etc/my.cnf /root/my.cnf.bak
  1. Backup via Webuzo Panel Too Go to Admin → Server Utilities → Backup and run a full backup. Belt and suspenders.
  2. Install New MariaDB Version via Webuzo In the Webuzo admin panel, go to Apps → Install Apps, find the MariaDB version you want (I went with 11.8), and check the “Force Install” checkbox. This reinstalls over the existing version while preserving your data directory.
  3. Run the Upgrade Tool After Install Once the new version is running:
mariadb-upgrade -u root -p

This upgrades system tables and checks all existing tables for compatibility. 6. Verify

mariadb --version
mariadb -u root -p -e "SELECT VERSION();"

Both should now report 11.8.x. Test your sites/apps.

Notes Don’t downgrade — MariaDB major version downgrades are not officially supported and can corrupt data LTS recommendation: If you want a safer long-term target, MariaDB 10.11 LTS (supported until 2028) is a solid choice over a bleeding-edge release The mysqldump deprecation warning is cosmetic — use mariadb-dump going forward if you want to avoid it