I'd recently updated php, mysql, and php-apache packages to following versions: php 5.3.1-4 mysql 5.1.43-1 php-apache 5.3.1-4 After update my existing webapps started showing error: Unable to connect to database, with nothing changed on the webapps side. After assuming that recent update cause them to break, I downgraded all related packages, and then upgraded them one-by-one. Following is the final combination which worked for me: php 5.3.1-4 mysql 5.1.43-1 php-apache 5.3.1-3 If anyone also exhibits this behaviour, then I can report this as bug.
Yes I was having the same problems with MythWeb and a FluxBB local install - both php & mysql based.
Downgrading php-apache to 5.3.1-3 has now fixed it. Thanks!