[fixed] After upgrading Ubuntu Linux Kernel, Panic!
I updated the index of programs via sudo apt update, then did a full upgrade using this command sudo apt full-upgrade. It errors! After restarting the kernel panicked.
Linux kernel panic 🔗
Here is the error message:
Setting up linux-image-6.17.0-14-generic (6.17.0-14.14~24.04.1) ...
Setting up linux-headers-6.17.0-14-generic (6.17.0-14.14~24.04.1) ...
/etc/kernel/header_postinst.d/dkms:
Autoinstall of module nvidia/580.126.09 for kernel 6.17.0-14-generic (x86_64)
Module /lib/modules/6.17.0-14-generic/kernel/nvidia-580/nvidia.ko already installed at version 580.126.09, override by sp
ecifying --force
Module /lib/modules/6.17.0-14-generic/kernel/nvidia-580/nvidia-modeset.ko already installed at version 580.126.09, overri
de by specifying --force
Module /lib/modules/6.17.0-14-generic/kernel/nvidia-580/nvidia-drm.ko already installed at version 580.126.09, override b
y specifying --force
Module /lib/modules/6.17.0-14-generic/kernel/nvidia-580/nvidia-uvm.ko already installed at version 580.126.09, override b
y specifying --force
Module /lib/modules/6.17.0-14-generic/kernel/nvidia-580/nvidia-peermem.ko already installed at version 580.126.09, overri
de by specifying --force
Error! Installation aborted.
Sign command: /usr/bin/kmodsign
Signing key: /var/lib/shim-signed/mok/MOK.priv
Public certificate (MOK): /var/lib/shim-signed/mok/MOK.der
Autoinstall of module virtualbox/7.0.16 for kernel 6.17.0-14-generic (x86_64)
Building module(s)...(bad exit status: 2)
Failed command:
make -j8 KERNELRELEASE=6.17.0-14-generic -C /lib/modules/6.17.0-14-generic/build M=/var/lib/dkms/virtualbox/7.0.16/build
ERROR: Cannot create report: [Errno 17] File exists: '/var/crash/virtualbox-dkms.0.crash'
Error! Bad return status for module build on kernel: 6.17.0-14-generic (x86_64)
Consult /var/lib/dkms/virtualbox/7.0.16/build/make.log for more information.
Autoinstall on 6.17.0-14-generic failed for module(s) nvidia(6) virtualbox(10).
Error! One or more modules failed to install during autoinstall.
Refer to previous errors for more information.
run-parts: /etc/kernel/header_postinst.d/dkms exited with return code 1
dpkg: error processing package linux-headers-6.17.0-14-generic (--configure):
installed linux-headers-6.17.0-14-generic package post-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 1
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of linux-headers-generic-hwe-24.04:
linux-headers-generic-hwe-24.04 depends on linux-headers-6.17.0-14-generic; however:
Package linux-headers-6.17.0-14-generic is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing package linux-headers-generic-hwe-24.04 (--configure):
dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of linux-generic-hwe-24.04:
linux-generic-hwe-24.04 depends on linux-headers-generic-hwe-24.04 (= 6.17.0-14.14~24.04.1); however:
Package linux-headers-generic-hwe-24.04 is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing package linux-generic-hwe-24.04 (--configure):
dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
Processing triggers for linux-image-6.17.0-14-generic (6.17.0-14.14~24.04.1) ...
No apport report written because the error message indicates its a followup error from a previous failure.
No apport report written because the error message indicates its a followup error from a previous failure.
/etc/kernel/postinst.d/dkms:
Autoinstall of module nvidia/580.126.09 for kernel 6.17.0-14-generic (x86_64)
Module /lib/modules/6.17.0-14-generic/kernel/nvidia-580/nvidia.ko already installed at version 580.126.09, override by sp
ecifying --force
Module /lib/modules/6.17.0-14-generic/kernel/nvidia-580/nvidia-modeset.ko already installed at version 580.126.09, overri
de by specifying --force
Module /lib/modules/6.17.0-14-generic/kernel/nvidia-580/nvidia-drm.ko already installed at version 580.126.09, override b
y specifying --force
Module /lib/modules/6.17.0-14-generic/kernel/nvidia-580/nvidia-uvm.ko already installed at version 580.126.09, override b
y specifying --force
Module /lib/modules/6.17.0-14-generic/kernel/nvidia-580/nvidia-peermem.ko already installed at version 580.126.09, overri
de by specifying --force
Error! Installation aborted.
Sign command: /usr/bin/kmodsign
Signing key: /var/lib/shim-signed/mok/MOK.priv
Public certificate (MOK): /var/lib/shim-signed/mok/MOK.der
Autoinstall of module virtualbox/7.0.16 for kernel 6.17.0-14-generic (x86_64)
Building module(s)...(bad exit status: 2)
Failed command:
make -j8 KERNELRELEASE=6.17.0-14-generic -C /lib/modules/6.17.0-14-generic/build M=/var/lib/dkms/virtualbox/7.0.16/build
ERROR: Cannot create report: [Errno 17] File exists: '/var/crash/virtualbox-dkms.0.crash'
Error! Bad return status for module build on kernel: 6.17.0-14-generic (x86_64)
Consult /var/lib/dkms/virtualbox/7.0.16/build/make.log for more information.
Autoinstall on 6.17.0-14-generic failed for module(s) nvidia(6) virtualbox(10).
Error! One or more modules failed to install during autoinstall.
Refer to previous errors for more information.
run-parts: /etc/kernel/postinst.d/dkms exited with return code 1
dpkg: error processing package linux-image-6.17.0-14-generic (--configure):
installed linux-image-6.17.0-14-generic package post-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 1
No apport report written because MaxReports is reached already
Errors were encountered while processing:
linux-headers-6.17.0-14-generic
linux-headers-generic-hwe-24.04
linux-generic-hwe-24.04
linux-image-6.17.0-14-generic
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
DKMS dependency hell 🔗
This is a classic “DKMS dependency hell” scenario caused by a kernel upgrade (6.17.0-14-generic) breaking two kernel modules: VirtualBox and Nvidia.
You have two distinct problems blocking dpkg:
- VirtualBox (Build Failure): The module compilation failed (
bad exit status: 2). VirtualBox 7.0.16 is likely too old for Kernel 6.17 and requires patching or an update. - Nvidia (State Conflict): The installer aborted because it detected module files (
.ko) already exist on the disk, but the DKMS system doesn’t believe they are installed, leading to a refusal to overwrite without--force.
Here is the logical path to resolve this and unblock your package manager.
Step 1: Remove the Failing VirtualBox Module 🔗
Since the build is failing, we must remove the DKMS entry to allow the kernel update to complete. You can reinstall a compatible version later.
Run this to remove the broken DKMS entry:
sudo dkms remove virtualbox/7.0.16 --all
If dkms complains or the package is stubborn, simply remove the package itself for now:
sudo apt remove virtualbox-dkms
Step 2: Clean the Nvidia DKMS State 🔗
The Nvidia driver is stuck in a half-installed state. We need to tell DKMS to “forget” this version so dpkg can cleanly retry the trigger.
Remove the specific Nvidia DKMS entry:
sudo dkms remove nvidia/580.126.09 --all
Step 3: Resume the Update 🔗
Now that the blockers are cleared, force dpkg to configure the pending packages.
sudo dpkg --configure -a
If that completes successfully, ensure all dependencies are resolved:
sudo apt --fix-broken install
Reflection on the root cause analysis & next steps 🔗
- VirtualBox: You are running Kernel 6.17 (likely a very recent mainline or HWE edge kernel for 2026). VirtualBox 7.0.16 (from 2024) is chemically incompatible with this kernel version. You will need to install a newer version of VirtualBox (e.g., 7.1+ or 8.x) that supports Kernel 6.17 headers once your system is stable.
- Nvidia: The version 580.xx is also quite high (likely a beta or “New Feature” branch). If the issue persists after Step 3, the driver installation might be corrupted. You may need to purge and reinstall the Nvidia drivers completely:
sudo apt purge nvidia* libnvidia*
sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall
reinstall up-to-date Virtualbox 🔗
I followed the instructions on virtualbox.org .
I added the following line to your /etc/apt/sources.list/virtualbox.list. And I replaced <mydist> with ’noble’ as I have Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/oracle-virtualbox-2016.gpg] https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian <mydist> contrib
which will be:
deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/oracle-virtualbox-2016.gpg] https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian noble contrib
Download the Oracle public key for verifying the signatures, then You can add these keys with (registering) with this one command:
wget -O- https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc | sudo gpg --yes --output /usr/share/keyrings/oracle-virtualbox-2016.gpg --dearmor
Then update the apt index:
sudo apt update
search for virtualbox and copy the latest version, in my case the latest version is virtualbox-7.2.
sudo apt search --names-only virtualbox
Then install it with this command:
sudo apt install virtualbox-7.2
reinstall Nvidia driver 🔗
I reinstalled the Nvidia drivers:
sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall
Or via the graphical user interface included in Ubuntu (like you can see in the video).
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