diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 4193748c61..8bf4be4ea8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -41,12 +41,11 @@ jobs:
       ryuk-disabled: false
 
   # The job below is a copy of the job above, but with ryuk disabled.
-  # It's executed in a secondary stage to avoid concurrency issues.
+  # It's executed in the first stage to avoid concurrency issues.
   test-reaper-off:
     # do not run this job if it's a PR from dependabot that is not approved yet
     if: ${{ !(github.event_name == 'pull_request' && github.event.pull_request.state != 'approved' && github.triggering_actor == 'dependabot[bot]') }}
     name: "Test with reaper off"
-    needs: test
     strategy:
       matrix:
         go-version: [1.20.x, 1.x]
@@ -61,12 +60,11 @@ jobs:
       ryuk-disabled: true
 
   # The job below is a copy of the job above, but with Docker rootless.
-  # It's executed in a secondary stage to avoid concurrency issues.
+  # It's executed in the first stage to avoid concurrency issues.
   test-rootless-docker:
     # do not run this job if it's a PR from dependabot that is not approved yet
     if: ${{ !(github.event_name == 'pull_request' && github.event.pull_request.state != 'approved' && github.triggering_actor == 'dependabot[bot]') }}
     name: "Test with Rootless Docker"
-    needs: test
     strategy:
       matrix:
         go-version: [1.20.x, 1.x]
diff --git a/docker_test.go b/docker_test.go
index 27c447f294..66c7ae7167 100644
--- a/docker_test.go
+++ b/docker_test.go
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 const (
-	mysqlImage        = "docker.io/mysql:8.0.30"
+	mysqlImage        = "docker.io/mysql:8.0.36"
 	nginxDelayedImage = "docker.io/menedev/delayed-nginx:1.15.2"
 	nginxImage        = "docker.io/nginx"
 	nginxAlpineImage  = "docker.io/nginx:alpine"
@@ -508,7 +508,10 @@ func TestContainerCreation(t *testing.T) {
 		fmt.Printf("%v", networkAliases)
 		t.Errorf("Expected number of connected networks %d. Got %d.", 0, len(networkAliases))
 	}
-	if len(networkAliases["bridge"]) != 0 {
+
+	if os.Getenv("XDG_RUNTIME_DIR") != "" {
+		t.Log("[Docker Rootless] do not assert that the container should have zero aliases in the bridge network")
+	} else if len(networkAliases["bridge"]) != 0 {
 		t.Errorf("Expected number of aliases for 'bridge' network %d. Got %d.", 0, len(networkAliases["bridge"]))
 	}
 }
@@ -1271,7 +1274,7 @@ func TestContainerCustomPlatformImage(t *testing.T) {
 		c, err := GenericContainer(ctx, GenericContainerRequest{
 			ProviderType: providerType,
 			ContainerRequest: ContainerRequest{
-				Image:         "docker.io/mysql:5.7",
+				Image:         "docker.io/mysql:8.0.36",
 				ImagePlatform: "linux/amd64",
 			},
 			Started: false,
diff --git a/docs/features/image_name_substitution.md b/docs/features/image_name_substitution.md
index 59693d3fcb..08e9e1d6a0 100644
--- a/docs/features/image_name_substitution.md
+++ b/docs/features/image_name_substitution.md
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ Consider this if:
 
 * Developers and CI machines need to use different image names. For example, developers are able to pull images from Docker Hub, but CI machines need to pull from a private registry.
 * Your private registry has copies of images from Docker Hub where the names are predictable, and just adding a prefix is enough. 
-  For example, `registry.mycompany.com/mirror/mysql:8.0.24` can be derived from the original Docker Hub image name (`mysql:8.0.24`) with a consistent prefix string: `registry.mycompany.com/mirror`
+  For example, `registry.mycompany.com/mirror/mysql:8.0.36` can be derived from the original Docker Hub image name (`mysql:8.0.36`) with a consistent prefix string: `registry.mycompany.com/mirror`
 
 In this case, image name references in code are **unchanged**.
 i.e. you would leave as-is:
diff --git a/docs/features/wait/log.md b/docs/features/wait/log.md
index 6aaeb1988c..66c418b284 100644
--- a/docs/features/wait/log.md
+++ b/docs/features/wait/log.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ The Log wait strategy will check if a string occurs in the container logs for a
 
 ```golang
 req := ContainerRequest{
-    Image:        "docker.io/mysql:8.0.30",
+    Image:        "docker.io/mysql:8.0.36",
     ExposedPorts: []string{"3306/tcp", "33060/tcp"},
     Env: map[string]string{
         "MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD": "password",
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Using a regular expression:
 
 ```golang
 req := ContainerRequest{
-    Image:        "docker.io/mysql:8.0.30",
+    Image:        "docker.io/mysql:8.0.36",
     ExposedPorts: []string{"3306/tcp", "33060/tcp"},
     Env: map[string]string{
         "MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD": "password",
diff --git a/docs/features/wait/multi.md b/docs/features/wait/multi.md
index 62a2e26894..bfd053955b 100644
--- a/docs/features/wait/multi.md
+++ b/docs/features/wait/multi.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Available Options:
 
 ```golang
 req := ContainerRequest{
-    Image:        "docker.io/mysql:8.0.30",
+    Image:        "docker.io/mysql:8.0.36",
     ExposedPorts: []string{"3306/tcp", "33060/tcp"},
     Env: map[string]string{
         "MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD": "password",
diff --git a/docs/modules/mysql.md b/docs/modules/mysql.md
index fbbef2b7d9..5fbaa1bd49 100644
--- a/docs/modules/mysql.md
+++ b/docs/modules/mysql.md
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ When starting the MySQL container, you can pass options in a variadic way to con
 #### Image
 
 If you need to set a different MySQL Docker image, you can use `testcontainers.WithImage` with a valid Docker image
-for MySQL. E.g. `testcontainers.WithImage("mysql:5.6")`.
+for MySQL. E.g. `testcontainers.WithImage("mysql:8.0.36")`.
 
 By default, the container will use the following Docker image:
 
diff --git a/from_dockerfile_test.go b/from_dockerfile_test.go
index 093a95e1dc..0e3a4ff10d 100644
--- a/from_dockerfile_test.go
+++ b/from_dockerfile_test.go
@@ -213,6 +213,4 @@ func TestBuildImageFromDockerfile_TargetDoesNotExist(t *testing.T) {
 		Started: true,
 	})
 	require.Error(t, err)
-
-	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "failed to reach build target target-foo in Dockerfile")
 }
diff --git a/modulegen/_template/ci.yml.tmpl b/modulegen/_template/ci.yml.tmpl
index 2d605d0d1b..9cbe9b0a6e 100644
--- a/modulegen/_template/ci.yml.tmpl
+++ b/modulegen/_template/ci.yml.tmpl
@@ -41,12 +41,11 @@ jobs:
       ryuk-disabled: false
 
   # The job below is a copy of the job above, but with ryuk disabled.
-  # It's executed in a secondary stage to avoid concurrency issues.
+  # It's executed in the first stage to avoid concurrency issues.
   test-reaper-off:
     # do not run this job if it's a PR from dependabot that is not approved yet
     if: {{ "${{ !(github.event_name == 'pull_request' && github.event.pull_request.state != 'approved' && github.triggering_actor == 'dependabot[bot]') }}" }}
     name: "Test with reaper off"
-    needs: test
     strategy:
       matrix:
         go-version: [1.20.x, 1.x]
@@ -61,12 +60,11 @@ jobs:
       ryuk-disabled: true
 
   # The job below is a copy of the job above, but with Docker rootless.
-  # It's executed in a secondary stage to avoid concurrency issues.
+  # It's executed in the first stage to avoid concurrency issues.
   test-rootless-docker:
     # do not run this job if it's a PR from dependabot that is not approved yet
     if: {{ "${{ !(github.event_name == 'pull_request' && github.event.pull_request.state != 'approved' && github.triggering_actor == 'dependabot[bot]') }}" }}
     name: "Test with Rootless Docker"
-    needs: test
     strategy:
       matrix:
         go-version: [1.20.x, 1.x]
diff --git a/modulegen/main_test.go b/modulegen/main_test.go
index 4d28da665c..f861a8d3ac 100644
--- a/modulegen/main_test.go
+++ b/modulegen/main_test.go
@@ -482,11 +482,11 @@ func assertModuleGithubWorkflowContent(t *testing.T, module context.Testcontaine
 
 	modulesList, err := ctx.GetModules()
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, "        module: ["+strings.Join(modulesList, ", ")+"]", data[108])
+	assert.Equal(t, "        module: ["+strings.Join(modulesList, ", ")+"]", data[106])
 
 	examplesList, err := ctx.GetExamples()
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, "        module: ["+strings.Join(examplesList, ", ")+"]", data[128])
+	assert.Equal(t, "        module: ["+strings.Join(examplesList, ", ")+"]", data[126])
 }
 
 // assert content go.mod
diff --git a/modules/compose/testdata/docker-compose-complex.yml b/modules/compose/testdata/docker-compose-complex.yml
index 8185d87643..46a674ca04 100644
--- a/modules/compose/testdata/docker-compose-complex.yml
+++ b/modules/compose/testdata/docker-compose-complex.yml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ services:
     ports:
      - "9080:80"
   mysql:
-    image: docker.io/mysql:8
+    image: docker.io/mysql:8.0.36
     environment:
       - MYSQL_DATABASE=db
       - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=my-secret-pw
diff --git a/modules/compose/testdata/docker-compose-override.yml b/modules/compose/testdata/docker-compose-override.yml
index 07b13609ed..3fcb135947 100644
--- a/modules/compose/testdata/docker-compose-override.yml
+++ b/modules/compose/testdata/docker-compose-override.yml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ services:
   nginx:
     image: docker.io/nginx:stable-alpine
   mysql:
-    image: docker.io/mysql:8
+    image: docker.io/mysql:8.0.36
     environment:
       MYSQL_RANDOM_ROOT_PASSWORD: Y
     ports:
diff --git a/modules/mariadb/testdata/my.cnf b/modules/mariadb/testdata/my.cnf
index c5e11ebb49..3db92faa9c 100644
--- a/modules/mariadb/testdata/my.cnf
+++ b/modules/mariadb/testdata/my.cnf
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ read_buffer_size = 256K
 read_rnd_buffer_size = 256K
 net_buffer_length = 2K
 thread_stack = 512K
-skip-host-cache
+host_cache_size=0
 skip-name-resolve
 
 # Don't listen on a TCP/IP port at all. This can be a security enhancement,
diff --git a/modules/mysql/examples_test.go b/modules/mysql/examples_test.go
index fa2c19ff6e..29668dc3c4 100644
--- a/modules/mysql/examples_test.go
+++ b/modules/mysql/examples_test.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package mysql_test
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"database/sql"
 	"fmt"
 	"path/filepath"
 
@@ -14,7 +15,7 @@ func ExampleRunContainer() {
 	ctx := context.Background()
 
 	mysqlContainer, err := mysql.RunContainer(ctx,
-		testcontainers.WithImage("mysql:8"),
+		testcontainers.WithImage("mysql:8.0.36"),
 		mysql.WithConfigFile(filepath.Join("testdata", "my_8.cnf")),
 		mysql.WithDatabase("foo"),
 		mysql.WithUsername("root"),
@@ -43,3 +44,53 @@ func ExampleRunContainer() {
 	// Output:
 	// true
 }
+
+func ExampleRunContainer_connect() {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	mysqlContainer, err := mysql.RunContainer(ctx,
+		testcontainers.WithImage("mysql:8.0.36"),
+		mysql.WithConfigFile(filepath.Join("testdata", "my_8.cnf")),
+		mysql.WithDatabase("foo"),
+		mysql.WithUsername("root"),
+		mysql.WithPassword("password"),
+		mysql.WithScripts(filepath.Join("testdata", "schema.sql")),
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+
+	defer func() {
+		if err := mysqlContainer.Terminate(ctx); err != nil {
+			panic(err)
+		}
+	}()
+
+	connectionString, _ := mysqlContainer.ConnectionString(ctx)
+
+	db, err := sql.Open("mysql", connectionString)
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+	defer db.Close()
+
+	if err = db.Ping(); err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+	stmt, err := db.Prepare("SELECT @@GLOBAL.tmpdir")
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+	defer stmt.Close()
+	row := stmt.QueryRow()
+	tmpDir := ""
+	err = row.Scan(&tmpDir)
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+
+	fmt.Println(tmpDir)
+
+	// Output:
+	// /tmp
+}
diff --git a/modules/mysql/mysql.go b/modules/mysql/mysql.go
index ec98b481be..2ebfce1710 100644
--- a/modules/mysql/mysql.go
+++ b/modules/mysql/mysql.go
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ const (
 )
 
 // defaultImage {
-const defaultImage = "mysql:8"
+const defaultImage = "mysql:8.0.36"
 
 // }
 
diff --git a/modules/mysql/mysql_test.go b/modules/mysql/mysql_test.go
index 723b2930c9..daf5d879dc 100644
--- a/modules/mysql/mysql_test.go
+++ b/modules/mysql/mysql_test.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package mysql
+package mysql_test
 
 import (
 	"context"
@@ -9,13 +9,13 @@ import (
 	// Import mysql into the scope of this package (required)
 	_ "github.com/go-sql-driver/mysql"
 
-	"github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go"
+	"github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/mysql"
 )
 
 func TestMySQL(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx := context.Background()
 
-	container, err := RunContainer(ctx)
+	container, err := mysql.RunContainer(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -57,10 +57,10 @@ func TestMySQL(t *testing.T) {
 func TestMySQLWithNonRootUserAndEmptyPassword(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx := context.Background()
 
-	_, err := RunContainer(ctx,
-		WithDatabase("foo"),
-		WithUsername("test"),
-		WithPassword(""))
+	_, err := mysql.RunContainer(ctx,
+		mysql.WithDatabase("foo"),
+		mysql.WithUsername("test"),
+		mysql.WithPassword(""))
 	if err.Error() != "empty password can be used only with the root user" {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -69,10 +69,10 @@ func TestMySQLWithNonRootUserAndEmptyPassword(t *testing.T) {
 func TestMySQLWithRootUserAndEmptyPassword(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx := context.Background()
 
-	container, err := RunContainer(ctx,
-		WithDatabase("foo"),
-		WithUsername("root"),
-		WithPassword(""))
+	container, err := mysql.RunContainer(ctx,
+		mysql.WithDatabase("foo"),
+		mysql.WithUsername("root"),
+		mysql.WithPassword(""))
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -106,55 +106,11 @@ func TestMySQLWithRootUserAndEmptyPassword(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestMySQLWithConfigFile(t *testing.T) {
-	ctx := context.Background()
-
-	container, err := RunContainer(ctx, testcontainers.WithImage("mysql:5.6"),
-		WithConfigFile(filepath.Join("testdata", "my_5.6.cnf")))
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-
-	// Clean up the container after the test is complete
-	t.Cleanup(func() {
-		if err := container.Terminate(ctx); err != nil {
-			t.Fatalf("failed to terminate container: %s", err)
-		}
-	})
-
-	// perform assertions
-	connectionString, _ := container.ConnectionString(ctx)
-
-	db, err := sql.Open("mysql", connectionString)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	defer db.Close()
-
-	if err = db.Ping(); err != nil {
-		t.Errorf("error pinging db: %+v\n", err)
-	}
-	stmt, err := db.Prepare("SELECT @@GLOBAL.innodb_file_format")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	defer stmt.Close()
-	row := stmt.QueryRow()
-	innodbFileFormat := ""
-	err = row.Scan(&innodbFileFormat)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Errorf("error fetching innodb_file_format value")
-	}
-	if innodbFileFormat != "Barracuda" {
-		t.Fatal("The InnoDB file format has been set by the ini file content")
-	}
-}
-
 func TestMySQLWithScripts(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx := context.Background()
 
-	container, err := RunContainer(ctx,
-		WithScripts(filepath.Join("testdata", "schema.sql")))
+	container, err := mysql.RunContainer(ctx,
+		mysql.WithScripts(filepath.Join("testdata", "schema.sql")))
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
diff --git a/modules/mysql/testdata/my_5.6.cnf b/modules/mysql/testdata/my_5.6.cnf
deleted file mode 100644
index 78012cc4bf..0000000000
--- a/modules/mysql/testdata/my_5.6.cnf
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,54 +0,0 @@
-[mysqld]
-user = mysql
-port   		= 3306
-#socket 		= /tmp/mysql.sock
-skip-external-locking
-key_buffer_size = 16K
-max_allowed_packet = 1M
-table_open_cache = 4
-sort_buffer_size = 64K
-read_buffer_size = 256K
-read_rnd_buffer_size = 256K
-net_buffer_length = 2K
-thread_stack = 128K
-
-
-innodb_file_format=Barracuda
-
-
-
-
-
-# Don't listen on a TCP/IP port at all. This can be a security enhancement,
-# if all processes that need to connect to mysqld run on the same host.
-# All interaction with mysqld must be made via Unix sockets or named pipes.
-# Note that using this option without enabling named pipes on Windows
-# (using the "enable-named-pipe" option) will render mysqld useless!
-#
-#skip-networking
-#server-id      	= 1
-
-# Uncomment the following if you want to log updates
-#log-bin=mysql-bin
-
-# binary logging format - mixed recommended
-#binlog_format=mixed
-
-# Causes updates to non-transactional engines using statement format to be
-# written directly to binary log. Before using this option make sure that
-# there are no dependencies between transactional and non-transactional
-# tables such as in the statement INSERT INTO t_myisam SELECT * FROM
-# t_innodb; otherwise, slaves may diverge from the master.
-#binlog_direct_non_transactional_updates=TRUE
-
-# Uncomment the following if you are using InnoDB tables
-innodb_data_file_path = ibdata1:10M:autoextend
-# You can set .._buffer_pool_size up to 50 - 80 %
-# of RAM but beware of setting memory usage too high
-innodb_buffer_pool_size = 16M
-#innodb_additional_mem_pool_size = 2M
-# Set .._log_file_size to 25 % of buffer pool size
-innodb_log_file_size = 5M
-innodb_log_buffer_size = 8M
-innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit = 1
-innodb_lock_wait_timeout = 50
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/modules/mysql/testdata/my_8.cnf b/modules/mysql/testdata/my_8.cnf
index 7eb6b0faf7..c4c6039b8a 100644
--- a/modules/mysql/testdata/my_8.cnf
+++ b/modules/mysql/testdata/my_8.cnf
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 # this will increase compatibility with older clients. For background, see:
 # https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.1/en/server-system-variables.html#sysvar_default_authentication_plugin
 # default-authentication-plugin=mysql_native_password
-skip-host-cache
+host_cache_size=0
 skip-name-resolve
 datadir=/var/lib/mysql
 socket=/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock
diff --git a/modules/pulsar/go.mod b/modules/pulsar/go.mod
index a335bfabfa..01d9bf5180 100644
--- a/modules/pulsar/go.mod
+++ b/modules/pulsar/go.mod
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 // indirect
 	github.com/docker/distribution v2.8.2+incompatible // indirect
 	github.com/docker/go-units v0.5.0 // indirect
-	github.com/dvsekhvalnov/jose2go v1.5.0 // indirect
+	github.com/dvsekhvalnov/jose2go v1.6.0 // indirect
 	github.com/go-ole/go-ole v1.2.6 // indirect
 	github.com/godbus/dbus v0.0.0-20190726142602-4481cbc300e2 // indirect
 	github.com/gogo/protobuf v1.3.2 // indirect
diff --git a/modules/pulsar/go.sum b/modules/pulsar/go.sum
index 4e655090e8..7de947d2b9 100644
--- a/modules/pulsar/go.sum
+++ b/modules/pulsar/go.sum
@@ -109,8 +109,8 @@ github.com/docker/go-connections v0.5.0/go.mod h1:ov60Kzw0kKElRwhNs9UlUHAE/F9Fe6
 github.com/docker/go-units v0.4.0/go.mod h1:fgPhTUdO+D/Jk86RDLlptpiXQzgHJF7gydDDbaIK4Dk=
 github.com/docker/go-units v0.5.0 h1:69rxXcBk27SvSaaxTtLh/8llcHD8vYHT7WSdRZ/jvr4=
 github.com/docker/go-units v0.5.0/go.mod h1:fgPhTUdO+D/Jk86RDLlptpiXQzgHJF7gydDDbaIK4Dk=
-github.com/dvsekhvalnov/jose2go v1.5.0 h1:3j8ya4Z4kMCwT5nXIKFSV84YS+HdqSSO0VsTQxaLAeM=
-github.com/dvsekhvalnov/jose2go v1.5.0/go.mod h1:QsHjhyTlD/lAVqn/NSbVZmSCGeDehTB/mPZadG+mhXU=
+github.com/dvsekhvalnov/jose2go v1.6.0 h1:Y9gnSnP4qEI0+/uQkHvFXeD2PLPJeXEL+ySMEA2EjTY=
+github.com/dvsekhvalnov/jose2go v1.6.0/go.mod h1:QsHjhyTlD/lAVqn/NSbVZmSCGeDehTB/mPZadG+mhXU=
 github.com/envoyproxy/go-control-plane v0.9.0/go.mod h1:YTl/9mNaCwkRvm6d1a2C3ymFceY/DCBVvsKhRF0iEA4=
 github.com/envoyproxy/go-control-plane v0.9.1-0.20191026205805-5f8ba28d4473/go.mod h1:YTl/9mNaCwkRvm6d1a2C3ymFceY/DCBVvsKhRF0iEA4=
 github.com/envoyproxy/go-control-plane v0.9.4/go.mod h1:6rpuAdCZL397s3pYoYcLgu1mIlRU8Am5FuJP05cCM98=