🔴 Critical   ⏱ 5–30 min  Last verified: 19 May 2026
Affected versions: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

📖 ~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

Kernel updates complete but out-of-tree modules fail, breaking critical drivers.

Environment & Reproduction

Common with NVIDIA, VirtualBox, or other DKMS-managed modules.

sudo dkms status

Root Cause Analysis

Missing headers or module source incompatibility with the new kernel ABI.

Quick Triage

Confirm running kernel and header packages.

uname -r && apt list --installed | grep linux-headers

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Review DKMS build logs for compiler and symbol failures.

sudo cat /var/lib/dkms/*/*/build/make.log
Illustrative mockup for ubuntu-24-04-lts — dkms_build_error
DKMS build error log — Illustrative mockup — Progressive Robot

Solution – Primary Fix

Install exact headers and rebuild all DKMS modules.

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sudo apt install --reinstall linux-headers-$(uname -r) build-essential dkms && sudo dkms autoinstall
Illustrative mockup for ubuntu-24-04-lts — install_kernel_headers
Installing matching kernel headers — Illustrative mockup — Progressive Robot

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Boot a previous kernel until module vendor compatibility updates are available.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

`dkms status` shows installed modules for active kernel and features work after reboot.

Rollback Plan

Use GRUB advanced options to boot prior kernel and remove failed module version.

Prevention & Hardening

Test kernel and DKMS compatibility in staging before production rollout.

Automate patch management and compliance across your fleet with our DevOps services.

Related to secure boot module signing failures and `modprobe` symbol errors.

Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

View all Ubuntu 24.04 LTS tutorials on the Tutorials Hub →

Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.

References & Further Reading

Ubuntu DKMS and kernel header troubleshooting documentation.

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