apt/apt-get update leads to error

Question

Edited:

Operating System: Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye)

Debian version: 11.5

apt history and dpkg history

---

I tried to install multiple packages using dpkg somefile.deb but it hasn't completed as having dependency problems due to lack of the internet connection.

Now that I run 'apt update' or 'apt-get update', I get these errors:

apt-get: /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.33' not found (required by /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libstdc++.so.6)
apt-get: /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.32' not found (required by /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libstdc++.so.6)
apt-get: /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.34' not found (required by /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libstdc++.so.6)

Answer 1

The culprit is package libstdc++6 which was upgraded to Debian testing/sid, preventing apt-get, which is a C++ application, to work anymore.

2022-10-18 10:37:01 upgrade libstdc++6:amd64 10.2.1-6 12.2.0-5
2022-10-18 10:37:01 status triggers-pending libc-bin:amd64 2.31-13+deb11u4
2022-10-18 10:37:01 status half-configured libstdc++6:amd64 10.2.1-6
2022-10-18 10:37:01 status unpacked libstdc++6:amd64 10.2.1-6
2022-10-18 10:37:01 status half-installed libstdc++6:amd64 10.2.1-6
2022-10-18 10:37:01 status unpacked libstdc++6:amd64 12.2.0-5

apt-get is not available anymore, but it leaves dpkg, a C application and thus not affected, to fix the problem.

So revert what you tried to installed that isn't intended for Debian 11: most likely lokinet-bin (its suffix does suggest it's not for Debian 11 but future Debian 12).

dpkg --purge lokinet-bin

Download from out-of-band information the correct libstdc++6 package. On any other functional Debian 11 system this would work:

apt-get --print-uris download libstdc++6

which could for example return (today):

'http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/g/gcc-10/libstdc%2b%2b6_10.2.1-6_amd64.deb' libstdc++6_10.2.1-6_amd64.deb 492540 SHA256:5c155c58935870bf3b4bfe769116841c0d286a74f59eccfd5645693ac23f06b1

which could then be downloaded from any mirror, including the mirror above, either from an other system and then transferred or directly on the damaged system if a download tool is available:

curl -JRLO 'http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/g/gcc-10/libstdc%2b%2b6_10.2.1-6_amd64.deb'

and be compared with the checksum from above:

$ sha256sum libstdc%2b%2b6_10.2.1-6_amd64.deb
5c155c58935870bf3b4bfe769116841c0d286a74f59eccfd5645693ac23f06b1  libstdc%2b%2b6_10.2.1-6_amd64.deb

checksums match.

You can also get it following links at https://packages.debian.org/bullseye/libstdc++6 or from https://snapshot.debian.org/

Finally install it over the offending version on the damaged system:

dpkg -i libstdc%2b%2b6_10.2.1-6_amd64.deb

apt-get should now become functional.

Before attempting again what you tried, please have a look at this Debian wiki: DontBreakDebian and especially Don't make a FrankenDebian, because that's exactly what happened in this case.