Turns out I have been updating wrong all this time! 🤦🏼

2026-05-01 16:29 UTC

I’ve been running my home lab since 2021 and honestly thought my update routine was solid: apt update && apt upgrade, reboot, job done. Turns out I was wrong. I was checking CVE‑2026‑31431 (Copy Fail) this morning and realised that despite my “successful” updates, I was still running a vulnerable kernel from March. I’ve had to rethink how I handle host updates. If you’re relying on a standard upgrade and a reboot to keep Proxmox or Debian hosts safe, you might want to check if yours is lying to you as well.

Replies (15)

@chgxvjh@hexbear.net 2026-05-01 16:53

Yeah, apt is an unwieldy piece of shit.

Open ##1855627
@boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net 2026-05-01 16:58

Uhm, you dont update the host OS??

Open ##1855652
@BrightCandle@lemmy.world 2026-05-01 17:04

apt dist-upgrade is a necessary change to your process in place of just upgrade.

Open ##1855653
@hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 2026-05-01 17:04

Shouldn’t the upgrade also update the bootloader’s default entry to a new kernel? The way I’ve been doing it was apt update && apt dist-upgrade as well. And then reboot once every 1 to 2 years if I feel like it or there’s all these news articles about a severe bug in the kernel.

Open ##1855654
@actionjbone@sh.itjust.works 2026-05-01 17:42

Thanks for sharing this. I’m very confident with Linux, but I hadn’t thought about this! Your blog post was concise, too. I hate scrolling forever before finding the solution.

Open ##1855810
@ShortN0te@lemmy.ml 2026-05-01 23:53

When a kernel update requires a change in dependencies, something Proxmox kernels do frequently, apt just quietly “keeps back” the package. It doesn’t fail, it doesn’t break the system, and it doesn’t trigger a rollback. It just waits for me to notice. This should save a click for hopefully everyone. Yes obviously, if you do not update the packages then they do not get updated. If you do not read the output of a command then you will not notuce that.

Open ##1864203
@mech@feddit.org 2026-05-02 02:10

I’ve been running Debian since 2007 and never understood the point of apt upgrade . When I update, I want the updated version for everything on my system. I don’t want to arbitrarily hold back packages just because a dependency changed. I’ll decide for myself if that’s an issue in my deployment. And Debian is generally very good at keeping everything running exactly the same way between releases. I pin the release by name (not “stable”) and then dist-upgrade always.

Open ##1867792
@alsimoneau@lemmy.ca 2026-05-02 02:11

Yay!

Open ##1867801
@otter@lemmy.ca 2026-05-02 02:42

I cross posted this to !selfhosted@lemmy.world, I hope that was ok! I figured it would be good to spread the knowledge

Open ##1868224
@SchwertImStein@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-05-02 05:29

Would apt-get images of apt have saved you?

Open ##1872524
@immobile7801@piefed.social 2026-05-02 15:04

I had a similar experience with this vulnerability. I had no idea another command was required to update the kernel. Kind of odd if you ask me, but i’m sure they did it so you’re forced to realize you’re updating the kernel.

Open ##1885744
@fratermus@piefed.social 2026-05-02 15:04

apt just quietly “keeps back” the package. It doesn’t fail, it doesn’t break the system, and it doesn’t trigger a rollback. It just waits for me to notice. Since I wasn’t looking at the list of upgradable packages Depends on what quietly means. To me it means “with no indication”. Any written warning is quiet, I guess, if one is not reading it.

Open ##1885790
@faith@lemmy.ml 2026-05-03 16:23

pacman -Syu goes brrr

Open ##1929546
@Akrenion@slrpnk.net 2026-05-03 16:35

There’s no point in digital hoarding; it just clutters the boot partition and makes future updates messier. I feel personally attacked.

Open ##1952383
@racketlauncher831@lemmy.ml 2026-05-02 01:59

This is specific to Debian and Ubuntu so why not being more specific in the title?

Open ##2006641