# MySQL 8: Public Key Retrieval is not allowed

> Resolve the Public Key Retrieval error after upgrading to MySQL 8 in Cascade CMS.

URL: https://www.hannonhill.com/cascadecms/latest/articles/cascade-administration/public-key-retrieval.html
category: Cascade Administration
article-type: troubleshooting
content-kind: faq
release-availability: all
tags: errors, database
updated: 2026-10-06

After upgrading to MySQL 8, you may encounter the following error on startup:

```bash
liquibase.exception.JDBCException: java.sql.SQLException:
Cannot create PoolableConnectionFactory (Public Key Retrieval is not allowed)
...
Caused by: com.mysql.jdbc.exceptions.jdbc4.MySQLNonTransientConnectionException:
Public Key Retrieval is not allowed
```

To remedy this:

1. Stop Cascade CMS
1. Edit your `tomcat/conf/context.xml` file and add `allowPublicKeyRetrieval=true` to your `url` parameter. Example:

```xml
url="jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/cascade?useUnicode=true&characterEncoding=UTF-8&useSSL=false&allowPublicKeyRetrieval=true"
```

1. Start Cascade CMS