diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 261ce9e499..f291adf60d 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -4,15 +4,21 @@
 #
 # Cosmic JAR creation stage
 #
-FROM maven:3.9.1-eclipse-temurin-17 AS jar
+FROM maven:3.9.6-amazoncorretto-21 AS jar
 
 # Build in a separated location which won't have permissions issues.
 WORKDIR /opt/cosmic
+
 # Any changes to the pom will affect the entire build, so it should be copied first.
 COPY pom.xml ./pom.xml
+
 # Grab all the dependencies listed in the pom early, since it prevents changes to source code from requiring a complete re-download.
-# Skip compiling tests since we don't want all the dependecies to be downloaded.
-RUN mvn -f ./pom.xml clean dependency:go-offline -Dmaven.test.skip -T 1C
+# Skip compiling tests since we don't want all the dependencies to be downloaded.
+# RUN mvn -f ./pom.xml clean dependency:go-offline -Dmaven.test.skip -T 1C
+# TODO: The above command stopped working as of Java 21 upgrade due to:
+# Failed to execute goal org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-dependency-plugin:3.6.1:go-offline (default-cli) on project Cosmic: org.eclipse.aether.resolution.DependencyResolutionException: The following artifacts could
+# not be resolved: io.netty:netty-tcnative:jar:${os.detected.classifier}:2.0.65.Final (absent): Could not find artifact io.netty:netty-tcnative:jar:${os.detected.classifier}:2.0.65.Final in central (https://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2) -> [Help 1]
+
 # Source code changes may not change dependencies, so it can go last.
 # Skip compiling tests since we don't want all the dependecies to be downloaded for plugins.
 COPY src ./src
@@ -21,7 +27,7 @@ RUN mvn -f ./pom.xml clean package -Dmaven.test.skip -T 1C
 #
 # Server creation stage
 #
-FROM eclipse-temurin:17.0.6_10-jre
+FROM amazoncorretto:21
 
 # Host the server in a location that won't have permissions issues.
 WORKDIR /opt/server
diff --git a/config.yaml b/config.yaml
index 27d0706ab2..77ea225d1a 100644
--- a/config.yaml
+++ b/config.yaml
@@ -161,8 +161,8 @@ server:
     #Database Configuration
     DB_URL_FORMAT: "jdbc:mysql://%s:3306/cosmic" # If the docker ENV for DB_HOST is anything but "db", this string format should be changed from 3306 to 3307 (or whichever port it was changed to in docker) 
     DB_HOST: "localhost" 
-    DB_USER: "cosmic_server"
-    DB_PASS: "snailshell"
+    DB_USER: "root"
+    DB_PASS: ""
     INIT_CONNECTION_POOL_TIMEOUT: 90    # Seconds
 
     #Login Configuration
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 90bbb04fc0..8709cbe0e1 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -21,12 +21,11 @@ services:
       DB_HOST: "db" ## Remember if this is present it will OVERRIDE the host in the config.yaml, if you put here anything other than db, you'll need to change the config.yaml jdbc string to port 3307, and not port 3306
     
   db:
-    image: mysql:8.0.23
+    image: mysql:8.4.0
     environment:
-      MYSQL_RANDOM_ROOT_PASSWORD: "true"
       MYSQL_DATABASE: "cosmic"
-      MYSQL_USER: "cosmic_server"
-      MYSQL_PASSWORD: "snailshell"
+      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ""
+      MYSQL_ALLOW_EMPTY_PASSWORD: yes
     ports:
       - "3307:3306"
     volumes:
diff --git a/src/main/java/tools/DatabaseConnection.java b/src/main/java/tools/DatabaseConnection.java
index d7b51f0366..b0313b92fa 100644
--- a/src/main/java/tools/DatabaseConnection.java
+++ b/src/main/java/tools/DatabaseConnection.java
@@ -81,8 +81,9 @@ public class DatabaseConnection {
             return true;
         }
 
-        log.info("Initializing connection pool...");
         final HikariConfig config = getConfig();
+        log.info("Initializing database connection pool. Connecting to:'{}' with user:'{}'", config.getJdbcUrl(),
+                config.getUsername());
         Instant initStart = Instant.now();
         try {
             dataSource = new HikariDataSource(config);