diff --git a/playbooks/roles/gerrit/templates/root.my.cnf.j2 b/playbooks/roles/gerrit/templates/root.my.cnf.j2
index 379921f764..c44c5ee6fb 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/gerrit/templates/root.my.cnf.j2
+++ b/playbooks/roles/gerrit/templates/root.my.cnf.j2
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@
 host={{ gerrit_mysql_host }}
 user=gerrit2
 password={{ gerrit_mysql_password }}
-ssl=false
+ssl-mode=DISABLED