i had 2 sites
1 was 1.3.9
1 was 1.5.4
i upgraded to mariadb
1.3.9 stopped working
1.5.4 worked great
i tried upgrading 1.3.9 to 1.5.4 install would not run
i tried a fresh install to a new subdomain
install would not run
i moved 1.3.9 files to a new server running mysql
it worked perfect upgraded to 1.5.4 ..no problems
i moved it back to the server with mariadb it worked perfect

if the site works on mariadb withoit issues why can't the install script be rewritten to support installing on mafriadb or upgrading from old versions to 1.5.4 when mariadb is the default db

just a heads up
cpanel is considering making mariadb the default db in future releases
so this might be a bug youd want to fix fast