We're pleased to announce the release of Microsoft ODBC Driver 18.6.2.1 for SQL, bringing important bug fixes, improved stability, and new capabilities for developers and database administrators working with SQL Server, Azure SQL, and Microsoft Fabric.
What Is the Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL?
The Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL provides native connectivity from Windows, Linux, and macOS applications to SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, and Microsoft Fabric. It is the recommended driver for new application development using the ODBC API, and it supports , Always Encrypted, distributed transactions, and modern authentication methods including Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory).
Whether you're building high-throughput data pipelines, managing enterprise databases, or developing cloud-native applications on Microsoft Fabric, the ODBC driver is a foundational component of the SQL Server connectivity stack.
What's New in 18.6.2
Improved Vector Parameter Handling for Prepared Statements
Version 18.6.2 improves the handling of output and input/output vector parameters when using prepared statements. This enhancement benefits applications that rely on parameterized queries with array bindings — a common pattern in batch processing and high-performance data access layers.
Microsoft Fabric Redirection Support (Up to 10 Redirections)
The driver now allows up to 10 server redirections per connection attempt, up from previous limits. This change directly supports Microsoft Fabric redirection scenarios, where connections may be transparently routed through multiple endpoints before reaching the target workspace. If your applications connect to Fabric SQL endpoints, this update ensures more reliable connectivity in complex routing topologies.
Alpine Linux Packaging Improvements
Architecture detection and packaging have been improved for Alpine Linux environments, making it easier to deploy the driver in lightweight, container-based workloads that use Alpine as a base image.
Bug Fixes
This release addresses several important issues reported by the community and identified through internal testing:
Parameter Array Processing
- SQL_ATTR_PARAMS_PROCESSED_PTR accuracy — Fixed an issue where the number of processed parameter sets was not reported correctly when executing parameter arrays. Applications that inspect SQL_ATTR_PARAMS_PROCESSED_PTR after batch execution will now see the correct count.
- SQL_PARAM_IGNORE handling — Fixed SQL_ATTR_PARAMS_PROCESSED_PTR and row counting when SQL_PARAM_IGNORE is used within parameter arrays, ensuring that ignored parameters are accounted for properly.
Crash Fixes
- SQLNumResultCols segmentation fault — Resolved a segfault that occurred when calling SQLNumResultCols in describe-only scenarios where no parameter bindings are present.
- Table-valued parameter (TVP) NULL handling — Fixed a segmentation fault triggered by NULL values in TVP arguments. Applications passing TVPs with nullable columns should no longer experience unexpected crashes.
bcp_bind Consecutive Field Terminators (Known Issue from 18.6.1)
- bcp_bind fix — Corrected bcp_bind to properly handle consecutive field terminators without misinterpreting them as empty fields. This resolves a known issue introduced in version 18.6.1, where consecutive terminators were incorrectly interpreted as NULL values instead of empty strings. If you deferred upgrading to 18.6.1 because of this issue, 18.6.2 is the recommended target version.
Linux Packaging
- Debian EULA acceptance — Fixed Debian package installation to correctly honor EULA acceptance and complete successfully, eliminating a friction point for automated deployments.
- RPM side-by-side installation — Fixed RPM packaging rules to allow installing multiple driver versions side by side, which is important for environments that need to maintain backward compatibility or perform staged rollouts.
Distributed Transactions
- XA recovery — Fixed XA recovery to compute transaction IDs correctly, avoiding scenarios where recoverable transactions could be missed during the recovery process. This is a critical fix for applications using distributed transactions with XA transaction managers.
Upgrading from Older Versions
If you are upgrading from a version prior to 18.6.1, you will also benefit from the features introduced in that release:
- Vector data type support — Native support for the vector data type (float32), enabling AI and machine learning scenarios directly through ODBC.
- ConcatNullYieldsNull property — Connection-level control over null concatenation behavior.
- New platform support — Azure Linux 3.0 ARM, Debian 13, Red Hat 10, and Ubuntu 25.10.
Version 18.6.2 builds on these additions with the stability and correctness fixes described above.
Download & Installation
Windows
Linux & macOS
Installation packages for supported Linux distributions and macOS are available on Microsoft Learn:
Documentation & Release Notes
For the full list of changes, platform support details, and known issues, see the official release notes:
Get Started
We encourage all users to upgrade to version 18.6.2.1 to take advantage of the fixes and improvements in this release — particularly if you are using parameter arrays, table-valued parameters, bcp operations, or connecting to Microsoft Fabric endpoints.
As always, we welcome your feedback. If you encounter issues, please report them through the SQL Server feedback channel or open an issue on the Microsoft ODBC Driver GitHub repository.
Happy coding!
Microsoft