Proposal: Clarifying Core’s Database Support Policy

TL;DR Over 37% of WordPress sites are running a version of database software that has reached end of life and is no longer receiving maintenance or security updates. To encourage broader adoption of secure and supported database versions, WordPress should clarify that only LTS releases of MySQL and MariaDB are officially supported by excluding those with short lifespans or no guarantee of backward compatibility.

As a community, we frequently champion efforts to keep software and tools updated to their latest versions. This typically surfaces for users in the form of PHP upgrades, and for contributors with tools like Node.js and