Debian

Created August 18, 2024 · Updated June 29, 2026 · 2 min read · 350 words

Resources

Securing Debian Manual

Package versions

Debian 11

rclone 1.53.3 python 3.9.2 kernel 5.10.0

FAQ

“Repository […] changed its Version value from […] to […]”

This means that the major and minor version you are running is no longer current and a newer version is available from the repo. From that point, you should no longer receive further updates from the repository (when running apt-get upgrade) unless you allow the updater to switch to the newer version.

To resolve this issue, just run the following command:

apt-get update --allow-releaseinfo-change

Source: https://www.itechlounge.net/2022/01/linux-inrelease-changed-its-version-value-from-10-1-to-10-2/

Update packages

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Upgrade Debian 10 (buster) to Debian 11 (bullseye)

Backup all valuable data!

Update the Debian 10 (Buster) system

apt update
apt upgrade
apt full-upgrade
apt --purge autoremove
reboot

Check the currently installed version:
Terminal window
```
cat /etc/debian_version
```

Replace Debian 10 with Debian 11 Repositories

# Backup
mkdir ~/apt
cp /etc/apt/sources.list ~/apt
cp -r /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ ~/apt

# Replace
sed -i 's/buster/bullseye/g' /etc/apt/sources.list
sed -i 's/buster/bullseye/g' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*

In Debian 11 Bullseye the security suite is now named bullseye-security instead of bullseye/updates. So you need to locate the following debian-security lines in the /etc/apt/sources.list file:

deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye/updates main
deb-src http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye/updates main

And replace them with these ones:

deb https://deb.debian.org/debian-security/ bullseye-security main
deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian-security/ bullseye-security main

Perform a Minimal System Upgrade first
Terminal window
```
apt update
apt upgrade --without-new-pkgs
```

If apt-listchanges is installed, press Q to close its pager with release notes. You will be asked to confirm to stop running services.

Perform full upgrade:
Terminal window
```
apt full-upgrade
reboot
```
Check the currently installed version:
Terminal window
```
cat /etc/debian_version
```
Clean up obsolete packages
Terminal window
```
apt --purge autoremove
apt autoclean
```

Upgrade Debian 11 (bullseye) to Debian 12 (bookworm)

Backup all valuable data!

Update the Debian 11 (Bullseye) system

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt full-upgrade
sudo apt --purge autoremove
sudo reboot

Replace Debian 11 with Debian 12 Repositories

# Backup
mkdir ~/apt
cp /etc/apt/sources.list ~/apt
cp -r /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ ~/apt

# Replace
sudo sed -i 's/bullseye/bookworm/g' /etc/apt/sources.list
sed -i 's/bullseye/bookworm/g' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*

Perform full upgrade:
Terminal window
```
sudo apt full-upgrade
sudo reboot
```
Check the currently installed version:
Terminal window
```
lsb_release -a
cat /etc/os-release
uname -rms
```
Clean up obsolete packages
Terminal window
```
sudo apt --purge autoremove
```

kernel: rc rc0: receive overflow

When my sudo journalctl got spammed with these messages on a NUC with an IR sensor, I followed these instructions to resolve that issue.

dpkg-deb: error: decompress subprocess was killed by signal (Segmentation fault), core dumped

This problem was caused by a faulty download and could be solved by a simple sudo apt-get clean.
- Source