Amazon RDS for MariaDB 10.6 End of Standard Support: December 31, 2026
Amazon RDS for MariaDB 10.6 reaches the end of RDS standard support on December 31, 2026. The date is in the major-versions table on AWS's MariaDB on Amazon RDS versions page. AWS released MariaDB 10.6 on RDS on February 3, 2022. The MariaDB community's own support for 10.6 ended earlier, on July 6, 2026.
AWS's dates for RDS for MariaDB 10.6 and the versions you can move to
| MariaDB on RDS | RDS release | RDS end of standard support |
|---|---|---|
| 10.6 | February 3, 2022 | December 31, 2026 |
| 10.11 | August 21, 2023 | February 2028 |
| 11.4 | October 15, 2024 | May 2029 |
| 11.8 | August 25, 2025 | June 2028 |
| 12.3 | August 7, 2026 | June 2029 |
AWS prints the end dates for 10.11, 11.4, 11.8 and 12.3 as a month only and notes that such dates “are approximate and are updated with an exact date when it’s known.” The version before 10.6, 10.5, left RDS standard support on August 31, 2026 and is on AWS's list of deprecated RDS for MariaDB versions. Every version is on the Amazon RDS for MariaDB page.
What AWS says happens after the end of standard support
AWS's MariaDB upgrade documentation says major version upgrades can contain changes that are not backward-compatible, so “Amazon RDS doesn't apply major version upgrades automatically.” The Amazon RDS FAQ makes one exception, deprecation. For a deprecated major version it says AWS will provide “a minimum six (6) month period after the announcement of a deprecation” for you to upgrade, and then “an automatic upgrade to the next major version will be applied to any instances still running the deprecated version during their scheduled maintenance windows.”
When this guide was written, AWS's deprecated-versions list for RDS for MariaDB named 10.0 to 10.5, not 10.6, and AWS's documentation gave no date for an automatic upgrade of 10.6. The six-month period in the FAQ runs from AWS's deprecation announcement. Check the minor version as well: AWS's minor-version table ends some older 10.6 minor versions before the major version, and the FAQ says instances on a deprecated minor version are scheduled for automatic upgrade to the latest supported minor version.
How this compares with the community MariaDB 10.6 end of life
The MariaDB community stopped supporting 10.6 on July 6, 2026. AWS's versions page says RDS for MariaDB major versions “remain available at least until community end of life for the corresponding community version”; for 10.6, AWS set its end of standard support later, on December 31, 2026. For the community dates, the release model and the community versions after 10.6, see the MariaDB end of life guide and the MariaDB 10.6 page.
What to do
- List every RDS for MariaDB 10.6 instance. Include read replicas: AWS says read replicas must be upgraded before the source instance.
- Pick the target by its own dates. AWS supports in-place upgrades from any MariaDB version to 10.11, 11.4, 11.8 or 12.3. 10.11 leaves RDS standard support in February 2028; 11.4 runs to May 2029 and 12.3 to June 2029.
- Test on a copy first. AWS notes that in MariaDB 11.8 the default for
require_secure_transportis1, which requires SSL/TLS connections, and that an instance with a custom parameter group needs a parameter group for the new engine version. AWS suggests a blue/green deployment to reduce upgrade downtime. - Upgrade before December 31, 2026, on your own schedule, rather than waiting for a deprecation notice and an automatic upgrade.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Amazon RDS for MariaDB 10.6 reach end of standard support?
AWS's MariaDB on Amazon RDS versions page gives MariaDB 10.6 an RDS end of standard support date of December 31, 2026. The MariaDB community end of life for 10.6 was July 6, 2026.
Is RDS Extended Support available for MariaDB 10.6?
AWS's documentation says RDS Extended Support is available for RDS for MySQL and for RDS for PostgreSQL. MariaDB is not on that list, and AWS publishes no Extended Support option or price for RDS for MariaDB.
Will AWS upgrade a MariaDB 10.6 instance automatically?
AWS's RDS documentation says major version upgrades are not applied automatically, except when a major version is deprecated. The RDS FAQ says that for a deprecated major version AWS gives a minimum six month period after the deprecation announcement, after which an automatic upgrade to the next major version is applied during scheduled maintenance windows. AWS's deprecated-versions list named 10.0 to 10.5, not 10.6, when this guide was written.
Which version should I upgrade RDS for MariaDB 10.6 to?
AWS supports in-place major version upgrades from any MariaDB version to 10.11, 11.4, 11.8 or 12.3. 11.4 and 12.3 have the latest RDS end of standard support dates of the four; every version's dates are on the Amazon RDS for MariaDB page.
Related
- Amazon RDS for MariaDB — every version and its dates
- MariaDB end of life — the community dates behind the RDS table
- RDS for MySQL 8.0 Extended Support — the paid option MySQL has and MariaDB does not
- RDS for PostgreSQL 11 Extended Support — the same option on PostgreSQL