Ubuntu 20.04 Broken Dependencies and Held Packages

📖 ~1 min read

Table of contents

1. Symptom & Impact
2. Environment & Reproduction
3. Root Cause Analysis
4. Quick Triage
5. Step-by-Step Diagnosis
6. Solution – Primary Fix
7. Solution – Alternative Approaches
8. Verification & Acceptance Criteria
9. Rollback Plan
10. Prevention & Hardening
11. Related Errors & Cross-Refs
12. References & Further Reading

Symptom & Impact

Upgrade attempts fail due to unmet dependencies or held package versions.

Environment & Reproduction

Apt reports unmet dependencies and refuses to proceed.

Root Cause Analysis

Systems mixing PPAs, pinned versions, or partial distribution upgrades.

Quick Triage

Repository mismatch or hold flags prevent required package transitions.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Run apt-cache policy and apt-mark showhold to map version conflicts.

Solution – Primary Fix

Disable conflicting repos, unhold packages, then run apt –fix-broken install and dist-upgrade.

Solution – Alternative Approaches

No held conflict remains and apt upgrade exits successfully.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

Limit third-party repositories and review pinning strategy periodically.

Rollback Plan

Escalate when essential packages require unsafe forced removals.

Prevention & Hardening

Re-enable official repos only and downgrade from cached packages if needed.

Related Errors & Cross-Refs

Apt pinning documentation and Ubuntu package management best practices.

Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

View all Ubuntu 20.04 LTS tutorials on the Tutorials Hub →

Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.

References & Further Reading

Held packages can be listed and cleared using apt-mark commands.