diff --git a/roles/database_server/tasks/main.yml b/roles/database_server/tasks/main.yml
index 2cc551597f234eb71df8f4a77956ead59982db33..28d08d137adf544045cddd4dc4a40865b4a8ab36 100644
--- a/roles/database_server/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/database_server/tasks/main.yml
@@ -33,20 +33,48 @@
     group: root
     mode: 0400
 
-- name: Set UTF-8 encoding as default for MariaDB
+- name: Check if root user authentication is based on use of unix_socket module (Stretch default)
+  command: mysql --skip-column-names -B -e "select 1 from mysql.user where user='root' and plugin='unix_socket';"
+  when: "ansible_distribution_release == 'stretch'"
+  register: "root_using_unix_socket_authentication"
+  changed_when: false
+
+- name: Disable use of unix socket login on Debian Stretch (temporary workaround)
+  command: "mysql -B -e \"update mysql.user set plugin='' where user='root' and plugin='unix_socket'; flush privileges;\""
+  when: "ansible_distribution_release == 'stretch' and root_using_unix_socket_authentication.stdout != ''"
+
+- name: Remove UTF-8 encoding configuration file from the old location on Debian Stretch
+  file:
+    path: "/etc/mysql/conf.d/utf8.cnf"
+    state: absent
+  when: "ansible_distribution_release == 'stretch'"
+  register: mariadb_utf8_configuration_stretch
+
+- name: Set UTF-8 encoding as default for MariaDB (on Jessie)
   copy:
     src: "utf8.cnf"
     dest: "/etc/mysql/conf.d/utf8.cnf"
     owner: root
     group: root
     mode: 0644
-  register: mariadb_utf8_configuration
+  when: "ansible_distribution_release == 'jessie'"
+  register: mariadb_utf8_configuration_jessie
+
+- name: Set UTF-8 encoding as default for MariaDB (on Stretch)
+  copy:
+    src: "utf8.cnf"
+    dest: "/etc/mysql/mariadb.conf.d/90-utf8.cnf"
+    owner: root
+    group: root
+    mode: 0644
+  when: "ansible_distribution_release == 'stretch'"
+  register: mariadb_utf8_configuration_stretch
 
 - name: Restart MariaDB in order to use UTF-8 as default character set
   service:
     name: mysql
     state: restarted
-  when: mariadb_utf8_configuration.changed
+  when: mariadb_utf8_configuration_jessie.changed or mariadb_utf8_configuration_stretch.changed
   tags:
     # [ANSIBLE0016] Tasks that run when changed should likely be handlers
     #   UTF-8 configuration must be applied immediatelly in order to ensure that