diff --git a/.github/workflows/reusable-phpunit-tests-v3.yml b/.github/workflows/reusable-phpunit-tests-v3.yml
index 56e40e762cd27..fd21b3a9b48f5 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/reusable-phpunit-tests-v3.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/reusable-phpunit-tests-v3.yml
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: WordPress Docker container debug information
         run: |
-          docker compose run --rm mysql ${{ env.LOCAL_DB_TYPE }} --version
+          docker compose run --rm mysql ${{ env.LOCAL_DB_TYPE == 'mariadb' && contains( fromJSON('["5.5", "10.0", "10.1", "10.2", "10.3"]'), env.LOCAL_DB_VERSION ) && 'mysql' || env.LOCAL_DB_TYPE }} --version
           docker compose run --rm php php --version
           docker compose run --rm php php -m
           docker compose run --rm php php -i
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index adb4fc946d9a8..fc8c00f6821af 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -139,11 +139,14 @@ The development environment can be reset. This will destroy the database and att
 npm run env:reset
 ```
 
-### Apple Silicon machines and old MySQL versions
+### Apple Silicon machines and old MySQL/MariaDB versions
 
-The MySQL Docker images do not support Apple Silicon processors (M1, M2, etc.) for MySQL versions 5.7 and earlier.
+Older MySQL and MariaDB Docker images do not support Apple Silicon processors (M1, M2, etc.). This is true for:
 
-When using MySQL <= 5.7 on an Apple Silicon machine, you must create a `docker-compose.override.yml` file with the following contents:
+- MySQL versions 5.7 and earlier
+- MariaDB 5.5
+
+When using these versions on an Apple Silicon machine, you must create a `docker-compose.override.yml` file with the following contents:
 
 ```
 services:
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 8b90b678a00a2..a95735fdd35a0 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ services:
     command: ${LOCAL_DB_AUTH_OPTION-}
 
     healthcheck:
-      test: [ "CMD-SHELL", "if [ \"$LOCAL_DB_TYPE\" = \"mariadb\" ]; then mariadb-admin ping -h localhost; else mysqladmin ping -h localhost; fi" ]
+      test: [ "CMD-SHELL", "if [ \"$LOCAL_DB_TYPE\" = \"mariadb\" ]; then case \"$LOCAL_DB_VERSION\" in 5.5|10.0|10.1|10.2|10.3) mysqladmin ping -h localhost || exit $?;; *) mariadb-admin ping -h localhost || exit $?;; esac; else mysqladmin ping -h localhost || exit $?; fi" ]
       timeout: 5s
       interval: 5s
       retries: 10