🔴 Critical   ⏱ 5–30 min  Last verified: 19 May 2026
Affected versions: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Ubuntu 24.04 Ubuntu 24.04.1

📖 ~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

Out-of-tree drivers fail to load after reboot into a new kernel.

Environment & Reproduction

Typical when matching kernel headers or toolchain pieces are missing.

uname -r
dkms status

Root Cause Analysis

DKMS cannot compile module sources against the active kernel ABI.

Quick Triage

Check header presence and read latest DKMS failure output.

dpkg -l | grep linux-headers
sudo dkms status

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Inspect make.log for compiler errors and missing symbols.

sudo find /var/lib/dkms -name make.log -print -exec tail -n 60 {} ;
Illustrative mockup for ubuntu-24-04-lts — terminal_or_console
Diagnosis commands for post 163 — Illustrative mockup — Progressive Robot

Solution – Primary Fix

Install matching headers and rebuild DKMS modules.

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sudo apt-get install --reinstall -y linux-headers-$(uname -r) build-essential dkms
sudo dkms autoinstall
Illustrative mockup for ubuntu-24-04-lts — log_or_dashboard
Fix validation evidence for post 163 — Illustrative mockup — Progressive Robot

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Boot previous working kernel until vendor module update is available.

grep menuentry /boot/grub/grub.cfg | head

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

dkms status reports installed module for active kernel and module loads.

dkms status
modprobe

Rollback Plan

Revert to prior kernel entry and remove failed DKMS build artifacts.

sudo dkms remove / --all

Prevention & Hardening

Stage kernel updates and validate DKMS compatibility before broad rollout.

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

sudo apt-get -s dist-upgrade

Related errors include bad return status for module build and unresolved symbols.

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 maintenance guides.

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