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KernelCare support for Proxmox VE 9

Taha Ali
  • Updated

Issue

  • Does KernelCare support Proxmox Virtual Environment (Proxmox VE) 9?
  • Is Proxmox VE 9 on the roadmap?
  • Will any kernel released by Proxmox be supported, or only specific versions?
  • kcarectl --update reports that no updates are available on a Proxmox host:
  root@server:~# kcarectl --update
  New kernel detected (debian 7.0.6-2-pve 3e3ddb425ac08bf6594920230b4237b5888fd6cf).
  There are no updates for this kernel yet.
  • The compatibility checker returns NEEDS REVIEW:
  root@server:~# curl -s -L https://kernelcare.com/checker | python3
  NEEDS REVIEW
  We support your distribution, but we're having trouble detecting your precise
  kernel configuration.

Environment

  • KernelCare Enterprise 
  • Proxmox Virtual Environment (Proxmox VE) 9.x 
  • Debian 13 (trixie) base 
  • Proxmox kernels: 6.17.x-pve, 7.0.x-pve

Solution

  1. KernelCare does not provide live patches for Proxmox VE 9, and Proxmox VE 9 is not currently on the roadmap. The supported Proxmox releases are Proxmox VE 7 (the 5.15 kernel line) and Proxmox VE 8, and both still receive patches. No configuration change on your server makes a Proxmox VE 9 kernel eligible for live patching.
  2. Confirm which Proxmox VE release and kernel the host runs:
   pveversion
   uname -r

A 6.17.x-pve or 7.0.x-pve kernel means the host is on Proxmox VE 9 and is not covered.

  1. Check the current coverage for any kernel with Check my OS compatibility at https://patches.kernelcare.com 
  2. Interpret the messages above as follows:
    • NEEDS REVIEW on a Proxmox VE 9 host is expected and does not indicate a misconfiguration. The checker recognises the supported Debian 13 base, but the running kernel is Proxmox's own -pve build, which is a different, uncovered kernel.
    • There are no updates for this kernel yet on a Proxmox VE 9 kernel is also expected, for the same reason.
    • The same message on a Proxmox VE 8 kernel means something different: that platform is supported, and the message indicates the patchset for that specific kernel build has not been published yet. Open a support ticket with the output of uname -a, pveversion, kcarectl --uname, and kcarectl --info, and the patchset will be tracked and released.
  3. Choose how to proceed on Proxmox VE 9 hosts:
    • Apply kernel updates the conventional way, with a reboot, until support exists.
    • Keep hosts on Proxmox VE 8, which remains actively live patched.
    • Contact the Sales team at sales@tuxcare.com or your account manager to discuss whether a custom offering is feasible. Onboarding a new platform is driven by aggregated paid demand, so it helps to state how many servers you plan to run on Proxmox VE 9 and over what timeframe.
  4. If you plan an in-place upgrade from Proxmox VE 8 to Proxmox VE 9, revert the live patches and remove the agent before you start:
   kcarectl --unload
   apt-get remove kernelcare

Upgrading with patches still applied has been linked to kernel crashes during the upgrade.

  1. If you purchased a licence for Proxmox VE 9 coverage specifically, contact the Billing team. Initial purchases fall under the 30-day money-back guarantee.

Cause

Proxmox VE ships its own kernel build, identified by the -pve suffix. KernelCare live patches are built, tested, and validated against a specific kernel binary, so a patch produced for one distribution's kernel cannot be applied to a differently built kernel of the same upstream version.

This is why Debian 13 and Proxmox VE 9 are treated as separate platforms even though Proxmox VE 9 is based on Debian 13: stock Debian 13 kernels are supported, while the Proxmox -pve kernels shipped with Proxmox VE 9 are a separate platform that has not been onboarded. The same applies in reverse to earlier releases — Proxmox VE 7 and Proxmox VE 8 are supported as Proxmox platforms in their own right, not through the Debian entries.

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