Grafana 11.5.0 can't connect to external MySQL database after upgrade from 11.3.1 version

The problem

After upgrade Grafana to 11.5.0 using official Helm chart from 11.3.1 or 11.4.0 versions, the k8s pod can't start successfully returning these errors:

The fix

Grafana 11.5.0 failing to connect to an external MySQL database after upgrading from 11.3.1/11.4.0 was fixed by upgrading to 11.6.1; the reporter confirmed the pod starts and everything works there (also verified with PostgreSQL). If Grafana won't start against your database right after an upgrade, check whether a newer patch release already fixed it before digging into your DB config.

In gh:grafana/grafana#99774 (https://github.com/grafana/grafana/issues/99774), the reporter ran into this: After upgrade Grafana to 11.5.0 using official Helm chart from 11.3.1 or 11.4.0 versions, the k8s pod can't start successfully returning these errors: The verified resolution: Grafana 11.5.0 failing to connect to an external MySQL database after upgrading from 11.3.1/11.4.0 was fixed by upgrading to 11.6.1; the reporter confirmed the pod starts and everything works there (also verified with PostgreSQL). If Grafana won't start against your database right after an upgrade, check whether a newer patch release already fixed it before digging into your DB config.