diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 027ddc8f0..39c1b710e 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ toolchain go1.24.2
 require (
 	filippo.io/edwards25519 v1.1.0
 	github.com/BurntSushi/toml v1.3.2
-	github.com/Masterminds/semver v1.5.0
 	github.com/go-sql-driver/mysql v1.7.1
 	github.com/goccy/go-json v0.10.2
 	github.com/google/uuid v1.3.0
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 78f0c521d..1975f684f 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -2,8 +2,6 @@ filippo.io/edwards25519 v1.1.0 h1:FNf4tywRC1HmFuKW5xopWpigGjJKiJSV0Cqo0cJWDaA=
 filippo.io/edwards25519 v1.1.0/go.mod h1:BxyFTGdWcka3PhytdK4V28tE5sGfRvvvRV7EaN4VDT4=
 github.com/BurntSushi/toml v1.3.2 h1:o7IhLm0Msx3BaB+n3Ag7L8EVlByGnpq14C4YWiu/gL8=
 github.com/BurntSushi/toml v1.3.2/go.mod h1:CxXYINrC8qIiEnFrOxCa7Jy5BFHlXnUU2pbicEuybxQ=
-github.com/Masterminds/semver v1.5.0 h1:H65muMkzWKEuNDnfl9d70GUjFniHKHRbFPGBuZ3QEww=
-github.com/Masterminds/semver v1.5.0/go.mod h1:MB6lktGJrhw8PrUyiEoblNEGEQ+RzHPF078ddwwvV3Y=
 github.com/benbjohnson/clock v1.1.0/go.mod h1:J11/hYXuz8f4ySSvYwY0FKfm+ezbsZBKZxNJlLklBHA=
 github.com/creack/pty v1.1.9/go.mod h1:oKZEueFk5CKHvIhNR5MUki03XCEU+Q6VDXinZuGJ33E=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.0/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
diff --git a/mysql/util.go b/mysql/util.go
index f8e5813fb..2e426262f 100644
--- a/mysql/util.go
+++ b/mysql/util.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package mysql
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
+	"cmp"
 	"compress/zlib"
 	"crypto/rand"
 	"crypto/rsa"
@@ -13,11 +14,11 @@ import (
 	"io"
 	mrand "math/rand"
 	"runtime"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"filippo.io/edwards25519"
-	"github.com/Masterminds/semver"
 	"github.com/go-mysql-org/go-mysql/utils"
 	"github.com/pingcap/errors"
 )
@@ -452,21 +453,46 @@ func ErrorEqual(err1, err2 error) bool {
 	return e1.Error() == e2.Error()
 }
 
+func compareSubVersion(typ, a, b, aFull, bFull string) (int, error) {
+	if a == "" || b == "" {
+		return 0, nil
+	}
+
+	var aNum, bNum int
+	var err error
+
+	if aNum, err = strconv.Atoi(a); err != nil {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("cannot parse %s version %s of %s", typ, a, aFull)
+	}
+	if bNum, err = strconv.Atoi(b); err != nil {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("cannot parse %s version %s of %s", typ, b, bFull)
+	}
+
+	return cmp.Compare(aNum, bNum), nil
+}
+
+// Compares version triplet strings, ignoring anything past `-` in version.
+// A version string like 8.0 will compare as if third triplet were a wildcard.
+// A version string like 8 will compare as if second & third triplets were wildcards.
 func CompareServerVersions(a, b string) (int, error) {
-	var (
-		aVer, bVer *semver.Version
-		err        error
-	)
+	aNumbers, _, _ := strings.Cut(a, "-")
+	bNumbers, _, _ := strings.Cut(b, "-")
 
-	if aVer, err = semver.NewVersion(a); err != nil {
-		return 0, fmt.Errorf("cannot parse %q as semver: %w", a, err)
+	aMajor, aRest, _ := strings.Cut(aNumbers, ".")
+	bMajor, bRest, _ := strings.Cut(bNumbers, ".")
+
+	if majorCompare, err := compareSubVersion("major", aMajor, bMajor, a, b); err != nil || majorCompare != 0 {
+		return majorCompare, err
 	}
 
-	if bVer, err = semver.NewVersion(b); err != nil {
-		return 0, fmt.Errorf("cannot parse %q as semver: %w", b, err)
+	aMinor, aPatch, _ := strings.Cut(aRest, ".")
+	bMinor, bPatch, _ := strings.Cut(bRest, ".")
+
+	if minorCompare, err := compareSubVersion("minor", aMinor, bMinor, a, b); err != nil || minorCompare != 0 {
+		return minorCompare, err
 	}
 
-	return aVer.Compare(bVer), nil
+	return compareSubVersion("patch", aPatch, bPatch, a, b)
 }
 
 var encodeRef = map[byte]byte{
diff --git a/mysql/util_test.go b/mysql/util_test.go
index 175e907e4..c068c8991 100644
--- a/mysql/util_test.go
+++ b/mysql/util_test.go
@@ -15,13 +15,29 @@ func TestCompareServerVersions(t *testing.T) {
 	}{
 		{A: "1.2.3", B: "1.2.3", Expect: 0},
 		{A: "5.6-999", B: "8.0", Expect: -1},
+		{A: "5.6.3-999", B: "5.6", Expect: 0},
+		{A: "5.6.3-999", B: "5.5-tag", Expect: 1},
 		{A: "8.0.32-0ubuntu0.20.04.2", B: "8.0.28", Expect: 1},
+		{A: "a.b.c", B: "8.0", Expect: 2},
 	}
 
 	for _, test := range tests {
 		got, err := CompareServerVersions(test.A, test.B)
-		require.NoError(t, err)
-		require.Equal(t, test.Expect, got)
+		if test.Expect == 2 {
+			require.Error(t, err)
+		} else {
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			require.Equal(t, test.Expect, got)
+		}
+
+		// test logic is commutative
+		got, err = CompareServerVersions(test.B, test.A)
+		if test.Expect == 2 {
+			require.Error(t, err)
+		} else {
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			require.Equal(t, -test.Expect, got)
+		}
 	}
 }