Another Ubuntu Bug With a Stopgap Fix: apt-get update Hangs for Hours

apt-get update randomly hangs for hours on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS — known since 22.04, still not fixed. Worst part: it silently blocks unattended-upgrades, so your servers stop receiving security updates. The ‘fix’ is a cron job that kills stuck apt processes.

February 13, 2026 · 1 min