How to Set Up Automatic Kernel Updates

Prerequisites

Before enabling auto kernel updates, make sure you have:

• SSH access to your VPS
• Root or sudo privileges

Method 1: Ubuntu/Debian – Using unattended-upgrades

Connect to your VPS:

ssh hxroot@YOUR_SERVER_IP -p 22

Install if not already:

sudo apt install unattended-upgrades -y

Configure to include kernel updates:

sudo nano /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades

Ensure these lines are uncommented:

"${distro_id}:${distro_codename}-security";
"${distro_id}:${distro_codename}-updates";

Enable automatic reboot if needed:

Unattended-Upgrade::Automatic-Reboot "true";
Unattended-Upgrade::Automatic-Reboot-Time "03:00";

Method 2: CentOS/RHEL – Using kpatch (Live Patching)

Install kpatch (paid feature on some distros):

sudo yum install kpatch

Method 3: Ubuntu Livepatch (Free for up to 3 machines)

Install and enable:

sudo snap install canonical-livepatch
sudo canonical-livepatch enable YOUR_TOKEN

Check status:

canonical-livepatch status

Method 4: Update kernel but delay reboot

With unattended-upgrades, set:

Unattended-Upgrade::Automatic-Reboot "false";

Then create a script to check and notify:

#!/bin/bash
if [ -f /var/run/reboot-required ]; then
    echo "Kernel update pending on $(hostname)" | mail -s "Reboot Required" admin@example.com
fi

Check Reboot Status

ls /var/run/reboot-required

Manually Show Pending Kernel Updates

sudo apt list --upgradable | grep linux