diff --git a/misc/tools.func b/misc/tools.func
index 5233c07c08..dd35c5c7fd 100644
--- a/misc/tools.func
+++ b/misc/tools.func
@@ -2940,9 +2940,16 @@ setup_mariadb() {
   # Resolve "latest" to actual version
   if [[ "$MARIADB_VERSION" == "latest" ]]; then
     if ! curl -fsI --max-time 10 http://mirror.mariadb.org/repo/ >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-      msg_warn "MariaDB mirror not reachable - trying cached package list fallback"
-      # Fallback: try to use a known stable version
-      MARIADB_VERSION="12.0"
+      msg_warn "MariaDB mirror not reachable - trying mariadb_repo_setup fallback"
+      # Try using official mariadb_repo_setup script as fallback
+      if curl -fsSL --max-time 15 https://r.mariadb.com/downloads/mariadb_repo_setup 2>/dev/null | bash -s -- --skip-verify >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        msg_ok "MariaDB repository configured via mariadb_repo_setup"
+        # Extract version from configured repo
+        MARIADB_VERSION=$(grep -oP 'repo/\K[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mariadb.list 2>/dev/null | head -n1 || echo "12.2")
+      else
+        msg_warn "mariadb_repo_setup failed - using hardcoded fallback version"
+        MARIADB_VERSION="12.2"
+      fi
     else
       MARIADB_VERSION=$(curl -fsSL --max-time 15 http://mirror.mariadb.org/repo/ 2>/dev/null |
         grep -Eo '[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+/' |
@@ -2952,8 +2959,14 @@ setup_mariadb() {
         head -n1 || echo "")
 
       if [[ -z "$MARIADB_VERSION" ]]; then
-        msg_warn "Could not parse latest GA MariaDB version from mirror - using fallback"
-        MARIADB_VERSION="12.0"
+        msg_warn "Could not parse latest GA MariaDB version from mirror - trying mariadb_repo_setup"
+        if curl -fsSL --max-time 15 https://r.mariadb.com/downloads/mariadb_repo_setup 2>/dev/null | bash -s -- --skip-verify >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+          msg_ok "MariaDB repository configured via mariadb_repo_setup"
+          MARIADB_VERSION=$(grep -oP 'repo/\K[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mariadb.list 2>/dev/null | head -n1 || echo "12.2")
+        else
+          msg_warn "mariadb_repo_setup failed - using hardcoded fallback version"
+          MARIADB_VERSION="12.2"
+        fi
       fi
     fi
   fi