diff --git a/functions.php b/functions.php
index b8367c0..e94afed 100644
--- a/functions.php
+++ b/functions.php
@@ -366,7 +366,176 @@ function upload_results( $results, $rev, $message, $env, $api_key ) {
 }
 
 /**
- Collects details about the testing environment.
+ * Parse a WordPress-style database host into mysqli connection pieces.
+ *
+ * @param string $host Database host string.
+ *
+ * @return array|false Parsed connection pieces, or false on invalid input.
+ */
+function wpt_runner_parse_db_host( $host ) {
+	$host = (string) $host;
+	$socket = null;
+	$port = null;
+	$is_ipv6 = false;
+
+	if ( '' === $host ) {
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	$socket_pos = strpos( $host, ':/' );
+	if ( false !== $socket_pos ) {
+		$socket = substr( $host, $socket_pos + 1 );
+		$host = substr( $host, 0, $socket_pos );
+	}
+
+	if ( substr_count( $host, ':' ) > 1 ) {
+		if ( 1 !== preg_match( '/^(?:\[(?P<host>[0-9a-fA-F:.]+)\](?::(?P<port>[0-9]+))?|(?P<host_unbracketed>[0-9a-fA-F:.]+))$/', $host, $matches ) ) {
+			return false;
+		}
+		$parsed_host = ! empty( $matches['host'] ) ? $matches['host'] : ( isset( $matches['host_unbracketed'] ) ? $matches['host_unbracketed'] : '' );
+		$is_ipv6 = true;
+	} else {
+		if ( 1 !== preg_match( '/^(?P<host>[^:]*)(?::(?P<port>[0-9]+))?$/', $host, $matches ) ) {
+			return false;
+		}
+		$parsed_host = $matches['host'];
+	}
+
+	if ( '' === $parsed_host ) {
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	if ( isset( $matches['port'] ) && '' !== $matches['port'] ) {
+		$port = (int) $matches['port'];
+	}
+
+	return array(
+		'host'    => $parsed_host,
+		'port'    => $port,
+		'socket'  => $socket,
+		'is_ipv6' => $is_ipv6,
+	);
+}
+
+// The report.php fallback runs without WordPress bootstrap, so $wpdb is unavailable.
+// phpcs:disable WordPress.DB.RestrictedFunctions -- Direct mysqli is limited to database version reporting.
+/**
+ * Gets the database server version, if it can be detected safely.
+ *
+ * @param string $db_host     Database host.
+ * @param string $db_user     Database user.
+ * @param string $db_password Database password.
+ * @param string $db_name     Database name.
+ *
+ * @return string Raw server version string, or an empty string.
+ */
+function wpt_runner_get_db_server_version( $db_host, $db_user, $db_password, $db_name ) {
+	$db_host = trim( (string) $db_host );
+	$db_user = trim( (string) $db_user );
+	$db_password = (string) $db_password;
+	$db_name = trim( (string) $db_name );
+
+	if ( '' === $db_host ) {
+		$db_host = 'localhost';
+	}
+
+	if ( '' === $db_user || '' === $db_name ) {
+		return '';
+	}
+
+	if ( ! class_exists( 'mysqli' ) ) {
+		return '';
+	}
+
+	$required_functions = array(
+		'mysqli_close',
+		'mysqli_fetch_row',
+		'mysqli_free_result',
+		'mysqli_init',
+		'mysqli_options',
+		'mysqli_query',
+		'mysqli_real_connect',
+	);
+
+	foreach ( $required_functions as $function_name ) {
+		if ( ! function_exists( $function_name ) ) {
+			return '';
+		}
+	}
+
+	$parsed_host = wpt_runner_parse_db_host( $db_host );
+	if ( false === $parsed_host ) {
+		return '';
+	}
+	$connect_host = $parsed_host['host'];
+	// mysqlnd expects IPv6 hosts in brackets, matching WordPress core's connection handling.
+	if ( $parsed_host['is_ipv6'] && extension_loaded( 'mysqlnd' ) ) {
+		$connect_host = '[' . $connect_host . ']';
+	}
+
+	$mysqli = null;
+	$mysqli_report_mode = null;
+
+	try {
+		if ( class_exists( 'mysqli_driver' ) ) {
+			$mysqli_driver = new mysqli_driver();
+			$mysqli_report_mode = $mysqli_driver->report_mode;
+		}
+
+		if ( function_exists( 'mysqli_report' ) ) {
+			mysqli_report( MYSQLI_REPORT_OFF );
+		}
+
+		$mysqli = mysqli_init();
+		if ( false === $mysqli ) {
+			return '';
+		}
+
+		if ( defined( 'MYSQLI_OPT_CONNECT_TIMEOUT' ) ) {
+			mysqli_options( $mysqli, MYSQLI_OPT_CONNECT_TIMEOUT, 5 );
+		}
+
+		if ( ! @mysqli_real_connect(
+			$mysqli,
+			$connect_host,
+			$db_user,
+			$db_password,
+			$db_name,
+			$parsed_host['port'],
+			$parsed_host['socket']
+		) ) {
+			return '';
+		}
+
+		$result = @mysqli_query( $mysqli, 'SELECT VERSION()' );
+		if ( ! is_object( $result ) ) {
+			return '';
+		}
+
+		$row = mysqli_fetch_row( $result );
+		mysqli_free_result( $result );
+
+		if ( ! is_array( $row ) || ! isset( $row[0] ) || '' === (string) $row[0] ) {
+			return '';
+		}
+
+		return (string) $row[0];
+	} catch ( Throwable $e ) {
+		return '';
+	} finally {
+		if ( $mysqli instanceof mysqli ) {
+			@mysqli_close( $mysqli );
+		}
+		if ( null !== $mysqli_report_mode && function_exists( 'mysqli_report' ) ) {
+			mysqli_report( $mysqli_report_mode );
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// phpcs:enable WordPress.DB.RestrictedFunctions
+
+/**
+ * Collects details about the testing environment.
  *
  * The versions of PHP, PHP modules, database software, and system utilities
  * can impact the results of the test suite. This gathers the relevant details
@@ -378,14 +547,14 @@ function upload_results( $results, $rev, $message, $env, $api_key ) {
  *               - 'php_modules': An associative array of selected PHP modules and their versions.
  *               - 'system_utils': Versions of certain system utilities such as 'curl', 'imagemagick',
  *                 'graphicsmagick', and 'openssl'.
- *               - 'mysql_version': The version of MySQL installed.
+ *               - 'mysql_version': The version of the database server.
  *               - 'os_name': The name of the operating system.
  *               - 'os_version': The version of the operating system.
  *
  * @uses phpversion() to get the PHP version and module versions.
  *
- * @uses shell_exec() to execute system commands for retrieving MySQL version,
- *                    OS details, and versions of utilities like curl and OpenSSL.
+ * @uses shell_exec() to execute system commands for retrieving OS details
+ *                    and versions of utilities like curl and OpenSSL.
  *
  * @uses class_exists() to check for the availability of the Imagick and Gmagick
  *                      classes for version detection.
@@ -401,15 +570,26 @@ function get_env_details() {
 		$imagick_info = Imagick::queryFormats();
 	}
 
+	$wpt_db_host = trim( getenv( 'WPT_DB_HOST' ) );
+	if ( ! $wpt_db_host ) {
+		$wpt_db_host = 'localhost';
+	}
+	$wpt_db_user     = trim( getenv( 'WPT_DB_USER' ) );
+	$wpt_db_password = getenv( 'WPT_DB_PASSWORD' );
+	if ( false === $wpt_db_password ) {
+		$wpt_db_password = '';
+	}
+	$wpt_db_name = trim( getenv( 'WPT_DB_NAME' ) );
+
 	$env = array(
-		'php_version'   => phpversion(),
-		'php_modules'   => array(),
-		'gd_info'       => $gd_info,
-		'imagick_info'  => $imagick_info,
-		'mysql_version' => trim( shell_exec( 'mysql --version' ) ),
-		'system_utils'  => array(),
-		'os_name'       => trim( shell_exec( 'uname -s' ) ),
-		'os_version'    => trim( shell_exec( 'uname -r' ) ),
+		'php_version'    => phpversion(),
+		'php_modules'    => array(),
+		'gd_info'        => $gd_info,
+		'imagick_info'   => $imagick_info,
+		'mysql_version'  => wpt_runner_get_db_server_version( $wpt_db_host, $wpt_db_user, $wpt_db_password, $wpt_db_name ),
+		'system_utils'   => array(),
+		'os_name'        => trim( shell_exec( 'uname -s' ) ),
+		'os_version'     => trim( shell_exec( 'uname -r' ) ),
 	);
 	unset( $gd_info, $imagick_info );
 
@@ -460,18 +640,6 @@ function curl_selected_bits( $k ) {
 	$curl_bits                   = curl_version();
 	$env['system_utils']['curl'] = implode( ' ', array_values( array_filter( $curl_bits, 'curl_selected_bits', ARRAY_FILTER_USE_KEY ) ) );
 
-	$wpt_db_host = trim( getenv( 'WPT_DB_HOST' ) );
-	if ( ! $wpt_db_host ) {
-		$wpt_db_host = 'localhost';
-	}
-	$wpt_db_user     = trim( getenv( 'WPT_DB_USER' ) );
-	$wpt_db_password = trim( getenv( 'WPT_DB_PASSWORD' ) );
-	$wpt_db_name     = trim( getenv( 'WPT_DB_NAME' ) );
-
-	//$mysqli = new mysqli( $wpt_db_host, $wpt_db_user, $wpt_db_password, $wpt_db_name );
-	//$env['mysql_version'] = $mysqli->query("SELECT VERSION()")->fetch_row()[0];
-	//$mysqli->close();
-
 	if ( class_exists( 'Imagick' ) ) {
 		$imagick = new Imagick();
 		$version = $imagick->getVersion();
diff --git a/prepare.php b/prepare.php
index 9473ca2..16d6d75 100644
--- a/prepare.php
+++ b/prepare.php
@@ -123,31 +123,186 @@
  * When running from the command line during the WordPress installation
  * process, the PHP version and executable path are also output.
  */
-$system_logger = <<<EOT
+$system_logger = <<<'EOT'
 // Create the log directory to store test results
 if ( ! is_dir(  __DIR__ . '/tests/phpunit/build/logs/' ) ) {
 	mkdir( __DIR__ . '/tests/phpunit/build/logs/', 0777, true );
 }
 // Log environment details that are useful to have reported.
-\$gd_info = array();
-if( extension_loaded( 'gd' ) ) {
-	\$gd_info = gd_info();
+$gd_info = array();
+if ( extension_loaded( 'gd' ) ) {
+	$gd_info = gd_info();
 }
-\$imagick_info = array();
-if( extension_loaded( 'imagick' ) ) {
-	\$imagick_info = Imagick::queryFormats();
+$imagick_info = array();
+if ( extension_loaded( 'imagick' ) ) {
+	$imagick_info = Imagick::queryFormats();
 }
-\$env = array(
+if ( ! function_exists( 'wpt_runner_parse_db_host' ) ) {
+	function wpt_runner_parse_db_host( $host ) {
+		$host = (string) $host;
+		$socket = null;
+		$port = null;
+		$is_ipv6 = false;
+
+		if ( '' === $host ) {
+			return false;
+		}
+
+		$socket_pos = strpos( $host, ':/' );
+		if ( false !== $socket_pos ) {
+			$socket = substr( $host, $socket_pos + 1 );
+			$host = substr( $host, 0, $socket_pos );
+		}
+
+		if ( substr_count( $host, ':' ) > 1 ) {
+			if ( 1 !== preg_match( '/^(?:\[(?P<host>[0-9a-fA-F:.]+)\](?::(?P<port>[0-9]+))?|(?P<host_unbracketed>[0-9a-fA-F:.]+))$/', $host, $matches ) ) {
+				return false;
+			}
+			$parsed_host = ! empty( $matches['host'] ) ? $matches['host'] : ( isset( $matches['host_unbracketed'] ) ? $matches['host_unbracketed'] : '' );
+			$is_ipv6 = true;
+		} else {
+			if ( 1 !== preg_match( '/^(?P<host>[^:]*)(?::(?P<port>[0-9]+))?$/', $host, $matches ) ) {
+				return false;
+			}
+			$parsed_host = $matches['host'];
+		}
+
+		if ( '' === $parsed_host ) {
+			return false;
+		}
+
+		if ( isset( $matches['port'] ) && '' !== $matches['port'] ) {
+			$port = (int) $matches['port'];
+		}
+
+		return array(
+			'host'    => $parsed_host,
+			'port'    => $port,
+			'socket'  => $socket,
+			'is_ipv6' => $is_ipv6,
+		);
+	}
+}
+if ( ! function_exists( 'wpt_runner_get_db_server_version' ) ) {
+
+	// wp-tests-config.php is read before WordPress creates the global $wpdb.
+	// Using $wpdb here can leave the database server version empty during bootstrap.
+	// phpcs:disable WordPress.DB.RestrictedFunctions -- Direct mysqli is limited to database version reporting.
+	function wpt_runner_get_db_server_version( $db_host, $db_user, $db_password, $db_name ) {
+		$db_host = trim( (string) $db_host );
+		$db_user = trim( (string) $db_user );
+		$db_password = (string) $db_password;
+		$db_name = trim( (string) $db_name );
+
+		if ( '' === $db_host ) {
+			$db_host = 'localhost';
+		}
+
+		if ( '' === $db_user || '' === $db_name ) {
+			return '';
+		}
+
+		if ( ! class_exists( 'mysqli' ) ) {
+			return '';
+		}
+
+		$required_functions = array(
+			'mysqli_close',
+			'mysqli_fetch_row',
+			'mysqli_free_result',
+			'mysqli_init',
+			'mysqli_options',
+			'mysqli_query',
+			'mysqli_real_connect',
+		);
+
+		foreach ( $required_functions as $function_name ) {
+			if ( ! function_exists( $function_name ) ) {
+				return '';
+			}
+		}
+
+		$parsed_host = wpt_runner_parse_db_host( $db_host );
+		if ( false === $parsed_host ) {
+			return '';
+		}
+		$connect_host = $parsed_host['host'];
+		// mysqlnd expects IPv6 hosts in brackets, matching WordPress core's connection handling.
+		if ( $parsed_host['is_ipv6'] && extension_loaded( 'mysqlnd' ) ) {
+			$connect_host = '[' . $connect_host . ']';
+		}
+
+		$mysqli = null;
+		$mysqli_report_mode = null;
+
+		try {
+			if ( class_exists( 'mysqli_driver' ) ) {
+				$mysqli_driver = new mysqli_driver();
+				$mysqli_report_mode = $mysqli_driver->report_mode;
+			}
+
+			if ( function_exists( 'mysqli_report' ) ) {
+				mysqli_report( MYSQLI_REPORT_OFF );
+			}
+
+			$mysqli = mysqli_init();
+			if ( false === $mysqli ) {
+				return '';
+			}
+
+			if ( defined( 'MYSQLI_OPT_CONNECT_TIMEOUT' ) ) {
+				mysqli_options( $mysqli, MYSQLI_OPT_CONNECT_TIMEOUT, 5 );
+			}
+
+			if ( ! @mysqli_real_connect(
+				$mysqli,
+				$connect_host,
+				$db_user,
+				$db_password,
+				$db_name,
+				$parsed_host['port'],
+				$parsed_host['socket']
+			) ) {
+				return '';
+			}
+
+			$result = @mysqli_query( $mysqli, 'SELECT VERSION()' );
+			if ( ! is_object( $result ) ) {
+				return '';
+			}
+
+			$row = mysqli_fetch_row( $result );
+			mysqli_free_result( $result );
+
+			if ( ! is_array( $row ) || ! isset( $row[0] ) || '' === (string) $row[0] ) {
+				return '';
+			}
+
+			return (string) $row[0];
+		} catch ( Throwable $e ) {
+			return '';
+		} finally {
+			if ( $mysqli instanceof mysqli ) {
+				@mysqli_close( $mysqli );
+			}
+			if ( null !== $mysqli_report_mode && function_exists( 'mysqli_report' ) ) {
+				mysqli_report( $mysqli_report_mode );
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	// phpcs:enable WordPress.DB.RestrictedFunctions
+}
+$env = array(
 	'php_version'    => phpversion(),
 	'php_modules'    => array(),
-	'gd_info'        => \$gd_info,
-	'imagick_info'   => \$imagick_info,
-	'mysql_version'  => trim( shell_exec( 'mysql --version' ) ),
+	'gd_info'        => $gd_info,
+	'imagick_info'   => $imagick_info,
+	'mysql_version'  => wpt_runner_get_db_server_version( DB_HOST, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, DB_NAME ),
 	'system_utils'   => array(),
 	'os_name'        => trim( shell_exec( 'uname -s' ) ),
 	'os_version'     => trim( shell_exec( 'uname -r' ) ),
 );
-\$php_modules = array(
+$php_modules = array(
 	'bcmath',
 	'ctype',
 	'curl',
@@ -184,39 +339,42 @@
 	'zip',
 	'zlib',
 );
-foreach( \$php_modules as \$php_module ) {
-	\$env['php_modules'][ \$php_module ] = phpversion( \$php_module );
+foreach ( $php_modules as $php_module ) {
+	$env['php_modules'][ $php_module ] = phpversion( $php_module );
+}
+function curl_selected_bits( $k ) {
+	return in_array( $k, array( 'version', 'ssl_version', 'libz_version' ), true );
 }
-function curl_selected_bits(\$k) { return in_array(\$k, array('version', 'ssl_version', 'libz_version')); }
-\$curl_bits = curl_version();
-\$env['system_utils']['curl'] = implode(' ',array_values(array_filter(\$curl_bits, 'curl_selected_bits',ARRAY_FILTER_USE_KEY) ));
+$curl_bits                   = curl_version();
+$env['system_utils']['curl'] = implode( ' ', array_values( array_filter( $curl_bits, 'curl_selected_bits', ARRAY_FILTER_USE_KEY ) ) );
 if ( class_exists( 'Imagick' ) ) {
-	\$imagick = new Imagick();
-	\$version = \$imagick->getVersion();
-	preg_match( '/Magick (\d+\.\d+\.\d+-\d+|\d+\.\d+\.\d+|\d+\.\d+\-\d+|\d+\.\d+)/', \$version['versionString'], \$version );
-	\$env['system_utils']['imagemagick'] = \$version[1];
+	$imagick = new Imagick();
+	$version = $imagick->getVersion();
+	preg_match( '/Magick (\d+\.\d+\.\d+-\d+|\d+\.\d+\.\d+|\d+\.\d+\-\d+|\d+\.\d+)/', $version['versionString'], $version );
+	$env['system_utils']['imagemagick'] = $version[1];
 } elseif ( class_exists( 'Gmagick' ) ) {
-	\$gmagick = new Gmagick();
-	\$version = \$gmagick->getversion();
-	preg_match( '/Magick (\d+\.\d+\.\d+-\d+|\d+\.\d+\.\d+|\d+\.\d+\-\d+|\d+\.\d+)/', \$version['versionString'], \$version );
-	\$env['system_utils']['graphicsmagick'] = \$version[1];
+	$gmagick = new Gmagick();
+	$version = $gmagick->getversion();
+	preg_match( '/Magick (\d+\.\d+\.\d+-\d+|\d+\.\d+\.\d+|\d+\.\d+\-\d+|\d+\.\d+)/', $version['versionString'], $version );
+	$env['system_utils']['graphicsmagick'] = $version[1];
 }
-\$env['system_utils']['openssl'] = str_replace( 'OpenSSL ', '', trim( shell_exec( 'openssl version' ) ) );
-//\$mysqli = new mysqli( WPT_DB_HOST, WPT_DB_USER, WPT_DB_PASSWORD, WPT_DB_NAME );
-//\$env['mysql_version'] = \$mysqli->query("SELECT VERSION()")->fetch_row()[0];
-//\$mysqli->close();
-file_put_contents( __DIR__ . '/tests/phpunit/build/logs/env.json', json_encode( \$env, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT ) );
+$env['system_utils']['openssl'] = str_replace( 'OpenSSL ', '', trim( shell_exec( 'openssl version' ) ) );
+file_put_contents( __DIR__ . '/tests/phpunit/build/logs/env.json', json_encode( $env, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT ) );
 if ( 'cli' === php_sapi_name() && defined( 'WP_INSTALLING' ) && WP_INSTALLING ) {
 	echo PHP_EOL;
-	echo 'PHP version: ' . phpversion() . ' (' . realpath( \$_SERVER['_'] ) . ')' . PHP_EOL;
+	echo 'PHP version: ' . phpversion() . ' (' . realpath( $_SERVER['_'] ) . ')' . PHP_EOL;
 	echo PHP_EOL;
 }
 EOT;
 
-// Initialize a string that will be used to identify the database settings section in the configuration file.
-$logger_replace_string = '// ** Database settings ** //' . PHP_EOL;
+// Initialize a string that will be used to identify the post-database-settings section in the configuration file.
+$logger_replace_string = 'define( \'DB_COLLATE\', \'\' );' . PHP_EOL;
+
+if ( false === strpos( $contents, $logger_replace_string ) ) {
+	error_message( 'Unable to insert the system logger after the database constants in wp-tests-config.php.' );
+}
 
-// Prepend the logger script to the database settings identifier to ensure it gets included in the wp-tests-config.php file.
+// Append the logger script to the database settings constants to ensure DB_* constants are available.
 $system_logger = $logger_replace_string . $system_logger;
 
 // Define a string that will set the 'WP_PHP_BINARY' constant to the path of the PHP executable.