Overview

Most successful server compromises exploit known vulnerabilities that were fixed months earlier. Keeping your operating system and applications updated is the single most valuable security task you can perform.

Before you begin

• Root or sudo access.
• A snapshot or backup taken before major upgrades, especially kernel or distribution version changes.

Steps

1. Review available updates first. On Debian/Ubuntu:

bash sudo apt update sudo apt list --upgradable

On AlmaLinux/Rocky/RHEL/Fedora:

bash sudo dnf check-update

1. Install updates. Apply security and package updates:

```bash sudo apt upgrade

or

sudo dnf upgrade ```

1. Reboot when the kernel or core libraries change. Check whether a reboot is required:

bash [ -f /var/run/reboot-required ] && echo "reboot required" sudo reboot

1. Enable automatic security updates. On Debian/Ubuntu:

bash sudo apt install unattended-upgrades sudo dpkg-reconfigure --priority=low unattended-upgrades

Confirm /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20auto-upgrades contains:

APT::Periodic::Update-Package-Lists "1"; APT::Periodic::Unattended-Upgrade "1";

On RHEL-family systems use dnf-automatic:

bash sudo dnf install dnf-automatic sudo systemctl enable --now dnf-automatic.timer

1. Keep applications patched too — control panels, PHP, WordPress plugins, and any software you installed manually.

2. Verify reboot time is scheduled and that your Pod comes back cleanly. Check uptime and services after rebooting.

Troubleshooting

• Problem: Updates are held back. Solution: Run sudo apt full-upgrade (Debian) or review dnf module streams; held packages usually indicate a dependency change that needs attention.
• Problem: A reboot never completes. Solution: Use the VNC console in the ALYPOD Console to inspect boot messages, or restore a snapshot.

Related articles

• [Security best practices for your Pod]
• [Protecting your server against malware]
• [The server will not boot]