[BUG]: Debian Unstable "lsblk failed with exit code 1" "version `LIBSYSTEMD_251' not found"

[rasher]

What happened?

I'm getting the following error message repeated on console, and "Storage" step is empty.

OS package version of libsystemd0 is 260.1-1.

Partial output of readelf -V libsystemd.so.0 which feels relevant. There is indeed no LIBSYSTEMD_251 entry. Though I don't understand enough to know what that indicates exactly.

Version definition section '.gnu.version_d' contains 32 entries:
 Addr: 0x000000000000b520  Offset: 0x0000b520  Link: 28 (.dynstr)
  000000: Rev: 1  Flags: BASE  Index: 1  Cnt: 1  Name: libsystemd.so.0
  0x001c: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 2  Cnt: 1  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_209
  0x0038: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 3  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_211
  0x0054: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_209
  0x005c: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 4  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_213
  0x0078: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_211
  0x0080: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 5  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_214
  0x009c: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_213
  0x00a4: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 6  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_216
  0x00c0: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_214
  0x00c8: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 7  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_217
  0x00e4: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_216
  0x00ec: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 8  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_219
  0x0108: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_217
  0x0110: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 9  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_220
  0x012c: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_219
  0x0134: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 10  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_221
  0x0150: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_220
  0x0158: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 11  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_222
  0x0174: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_221
  0x017c: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 12  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_226
  0x0198: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_222
  0x01a0: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 13  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_227
  0x01bc: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_226
  0x01c4: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 14  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_229
  0x01e0: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_227
  0x01e8: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 15  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_230
  0x0204: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_229
  0x020c: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 16  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_231
  0x0228: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_230
  0x0230: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 17  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_232
  0x024c: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_231
  0x0254: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 18  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_233
  0x0270: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_232
  0x0278: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 19  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_234
  0x0294: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_233
  0x029c: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 20  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_236
  0x02b8: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_234
  0x02c0: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 21  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_237
  0x02dc: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_236
  0x02e4: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 22  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_238
  0x0300: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_237
  0x0308: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 23  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_239
  0x0324: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_238
  0x032c: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 24  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_240
  0x0348: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_239
  0x0350: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 25  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_241
  0x036c: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_240
  0x0374: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 26  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_243
  0x0390: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_241
  0x0398: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 27  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_245
  0x03b4: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_243
  0x03bc: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 28  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_246
  0x03d8: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_245
  0x03e0: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 29  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_247
  0x03fc: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_246
  0x0404: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 30  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_248
  0x0420: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_247
  0x0428: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 31  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_249
  0x0444: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_248
  0x044c: Rev: 1  Flags: none  Index: 32  Cnt: 2  Name: LIBSYSTEMD_252
  0x0468: Parent 1: LIBSYSTEMD_249

Version

2.0.7 (Default)

What host operating system were you using?

Debian and derivatives (eg Ubuntu)

Host OS Version

Debian Unstable

Selected OS

Raspberry Pi OS (32-bit)

Which Raspberry Pi Device are you using?

Raspberry Pi Zero, Zero W, Zero WH

What kind of storage device are you using?

microSD Card in an internal reader

OS Customisation

• Yes, I was using OS Customisation when the bug occurred.

Relevant log output

lsblk failed with exit code 1
  stderr: "/usr/bin/lsblk: /tmp/.mount_imagerDgFleh/usr/lib/libsystemd.so.0: version `LIBSYSTEMD_251' not found (required by /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libmount.so.1)\n"

[phattmatt]

Hi @rasher,

I've reproduced this error on a freshly installed instance of Debian Unstable.

The root cause appears to be:

1. AppImage relies on the local copy of lsblk
2. Local lsblk is linked to the local copy of libmount.so1
3. Local copy of /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libmount.so.1 relies on LIBSYSTEMD_251
4. Local copy of /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libsystemd.so.0 provides LIBSYSTEMD_251
5. However, the AppImage is overriding this with a bundled copy of libsystemd.so.0 which does not provide LIBSYSTEMD_251 (it does provide LIBSYSTEMD_252)

I managed to get Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.7-desktop-x86_64.AppImage working by extracting the contents, removing the bundled copy of libsystemd.so.0 and then running it:

matt@debian:~$ cd Downloads/
matt@debian:~/Downloads$ wget https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-imager/releases/download/v2.0.7/Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.7-desktop-x86_64.AppImage
--2026-04-06 13:10:22--  https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-imager/releases/download/v2.0.7/Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.7-desktop-x86_64.AppImage
Resolving github.com (github.com)... 20.26.156.215
Connecting to github.com (github.com)|20.26.156.215|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 302 Found
Location: https://release-assets.githubusercontent.com/github-production-release-asset/211858553/42ec1495-3e37-451f-8fc9-ab11d7c50a65?sp=r&sv=2018-11-09&sr=b&spr=https&se=2026-04-06T13%3A10%3A07Z&rscd=attachment%3B+filename%3DRaspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.7-desktop-x86_64.AppImage&rsct=application%2Foctet-stream&skoid=96c2d410-5711-43a1-aedd-ab1947aa7ab0&sktid=398a6654-997b-47e9-b12b-9515b896b4de&skt=2026-04-06T12%3A09%3A43Z&ske=2026-04-06T13%3A10%3A07Z&sks=b&skv=2018-11-09&sig=kZGXsIXa%2BedHBU4ajvYT0mKsynoSBpG1leXGsAfk6Xw%3D&jwt=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJnaXRodWIuY29tIiwiYXVkIjoicmVsZWFzZS1hc3NldHMuZ2l0aHVidXNlcmNvbnRlbnQuY29tIiwia2V5Ijoia2V5MSIsImV4cCI6MTc3NTQ3OTIwMywibmJmIjoxNzc1NDc3NDAzLCJwYXRoIjoicmVsZWFzZWFzc2V0cHJvZHVjdGlvbi5ibG9iLmNvcmUud2luZG93cy5uZXQifQ.fNwrA92KcnDvKXhIhezRIrM79U2w2hJzFZjT4yH7s0A&response-content-disposition=attachment%3B%20filename%3DRaspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.7-desktop-x86_64.AppImage&response-content-type=application%2Foctet-stream [following]
--2026-04-06 13:10:22--  https://release-assets.githubusercontent.com/github-production-release-asset/211858553/42ec1495-3e37-451f-8fc9-ab11d7c50a65?sp=r&sv=2018-11-09&sr=b&spr=https&se=2026-04-06T13%3A10%3A07Z&rscd=attachment%3B+filename%3DRaspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.7-desktop-x86_64.AppImage&rsct=application%2Foctet-stream&skoid=96c2d410-5711-43a1-aedd-ab1947aa7ab0&sktid=398a6654-997b-47e9-b12b-9515b896b4de&skt=2026-04-06T12%3A09%3A43Z&ske=2026-04-06T13%3A10%3A07Z&sks=b&skv=2018-11-09&sig=kZGXsIXa%2BedHBU4ajvYT0mKsynoSBpG1leXGsAfk6Xw%3D&jwt=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJnaXRodWIuY29tIiwiYXVkIjoicmVsZWFzZS1hc3NldHMuZ2l0aHVidXNlcmNvbnRlbnQuY29tIiwia2V5Ijoia2V5MSIsImV4cCI6MTc3NTQ3OTIwMywibmJmIjoxNzc1NDc3NDAzLCJwYXRoIjoicmVsZWFzZWFzc2V0cHJvZHVjdGlvbi5ibG9iLmNvcmUud2luZG93cy5uZXQifQ.fNwrA92KcnDvKXhIhezRIrM79U2w2hJzFZjT4yH7s0A&response-content-disposition=attachment%3B%20filename%3DRaspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.7-desktop-x86_64.AppImage&response-content-type=application%2Foctet-stream
Resolving release-assets.githubusercontent.com (release-assets.githubusercontent.com)... 185.199.108.133, 185.199.110.133, 185.199.111.133, ...
Connecting to release-assets.githubusercontent.com (release-assets.githubusercontent.com)|185.199.108.133|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 38152696 (36M) [application/octet-stream]
Saving to: ‘Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.7-desktop-x86_64.AppImage’

Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.7-desktop-x 100%[====================================================================>]  36.38M  26.3MB/s    in 1.4s    

2026-04-06 13:10:24 (26.3 MB/s) - ‘Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.7-desktop-x86_64.AppImage’ saved [38152696/38152696]

matt@debian:~/Downloads$ chmod +x Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.7-desktop-x86_64.AppImage 
matt@debian:~/Downloads$ ./Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.7-desktop-x86_64.AppImage --appimage-extract
matt@debian:~/Downloads$ cd squashfs-root/
matt@debian:~/Downloads/squashfs-root$ rm ./usr/lib/libsystemd.so.0 
matt@debian:~/Downloads/squashfs-root$ ./AppRun

By removing the bundled file the app/system will resort to the local copy.

All of this is working fine on a fresh install of Debian Trixie; considering this issue is only being seen on Debian Unstable (which is explicitly advertised as being unstable), I'm not sure what the permanent 'fix' might be.

[chorca]

Just adding that this is also occurring on Archlinux, so not only a Debian issue.

I also validated the workaround fixes this.

[tdewey-rpi]

This is deeply unexpected - the AppImage creation scripts explicitly exclude libsystemd from packaging, and did in the 2.0.7 timeframe.

This isn't the first time I've observed the AppImage tooling pull in a dependency while ignoring the exclusions, however, and a mechanism exists to enforce the dependency isn't packaged. That mechanism will be extended for 2.0.8.

[tdewey-rpi]

Explicit mitigations released in v2.0.8, just now. Please confirm if you still observe the issue.

[phattmatt]

Hi @tdewey-rpi,

Unfortunately I'm still seeing the error in v2.0.8:

matt@debian:~/Downloads$ wget https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-imager/releases/download/v2.0.8/Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.8-desktop-x86_64.AppImage
--2026-04-08 17:49:57--  https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-imager/releases/download/v2.0.8/Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.8-desktop-x86_64.AppImage
Resolving github.com (github.com)... 20.26.156.215
Connecting to github.com (github.com)|20.26.156.215|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 302 Found
Location: https://release-assets.githubusercontent.com/github-production-release-asset/211858553/ea02f142-a498-4fc8-8777-b162509da2bb?sp=r&sv=2018-11-09&sr=b&spr=https&se=2026-04-08T17%3A26%3A27Z&rscd=attachment%3B+filename%3DRaspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.8-desktop-x86_64.AppImage&rsct=application%2Foctet-stream&skoid=96c2d410-5711-43a1-aedd-ab1947aa7ab0&sktid=398a6654-997b-47e9-b12b-9515b896b4de&skt=2026-04-08T16%3A26%3A23Z&ske=2026-04-08T17%3A26%3A27Z&sks=b&skv=2018-11-09&sig=IwYXfY8UwfRHN68Ta7rePS7M2KFyXTayv0lNkWmk1HQ%3D&jwt=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJnaXRodWIuY29tIiwiYXVkIjoicmVsZWFzZS1hc3NldHMuZ2l0aHVidXNlcmNvbnRlbnQuY29tIiwia2V5Ijoia2V5MSIsImV4cCI6MTc3NTY2ODc5NywibmJmIjoxNzc1NjY2OTk3LCJwYXRoIjoicmVsZWFzZWFzc2V0cHJvZHVjdGlvbi5ibG9iLmNvcmUud2luZG93cy5uZXQifQ.iiRF-uvyRlaWP7Z2yMWzPJFBxw_jpm-quYKX2hLjz6Y&response-content-disposition=attachment%3B%20filename%3DRaspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.8-desktop-x86_64.AppImage&response-content-type=application%2Foctet-stream [following]
--2026-04-08 17:49:57--  https://release-assets.githubusercontent.com/github-production-release-asset/211858553/ea02f142-a498-4fc8-8777-b162509da2bb?sp=r&sv=2018-11-09&sr=b&spr=https&se=2026-04-08T17%3A26%3A27Z&rscd=attachment%3B+filename%3DRaspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.8-desktop-x86_64.AppImage&rsct=application%2Foctet-stream&skoid=96c2d410-5711-43a1-aedd-ab1947aa7ab0&sktid=398a6654-997b-47e9-b12b-9515b896b4de&skt=2026-04-08T16%3A26%3A23Z&ske=2026-04-08T17%3A26%3A27Z&sks=b&skv=2018-11-09&sig=IwYXfY8UwfRHN68Ta7rePS7M2KFyXTayv0lNkWmk1HQ%3D&jwt=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJnaXRodWIuY29tIiwiYXVkIjoicmVsZWFzZS1hc3NldHMuZ2l0aHVidXNlcmNvbnRlbnQuY29tIiwia2V5Ijoia2V5MSIsImV4cCI6MTc3NTY2ODc5NywibmJmIjoxNzc1NjY2OTk3LCJwYXRoIjoicmVsZWFzZWFzc2V0cHJvZHVjdGlvbi5ibG9iLmNvcmUud2luZG93cy5uZXQifQ.iiRF-uvyRlaWP7Z2yMWzPJFBxw_jpm-quYKX2hLjz6Y&response-content-disposition=attachment%3B%20filename%3DRaspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.8-desktop-x86_64.AppImage&response-content-type=application%2Foctet-stream
Resolving release-assets.githubusercontent.com (release-assets.githubusercontent.com)... 185.199.108.133, 185.199.110.133, 185.199.109.133, ...
Connecting to release-assets.githubusercontent.com (release-assets.githubusercontent.com)|185.199.108.133|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 38177272 (36M) [application/octet-stream]
Saving to: ‘Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.8-desktop-x86_64.AppImage’

Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.8-desktop-x 100%[====================================================================>]  36.41M  38.9MB/s    in 0.9s    

2026-04-08 17:49:58 (38.9 MB/s) - ‘Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.8-desktop-x86_64.AppImage’ saved [38177272/38177272]

matt@debian:~/Downloads$ chmod +x Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.8-desktop-x86_64.AppImage 
matt@debian:~/Downloads$ ./Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.8-desktop-x86_64.AppImage 
Platform: Linux 6.19.11+deb14-amd64 (x86_64)
qt.qpa.plugin: Could not find the Qt platform plugin "wayland" in "/tmp/.mount_RaspbeCEPNeh/usr/plugins/platforms"
Text scale factor: 1
Not running with elevated privileges - device access may fail
libcurl initialized globally
CacheManager initialized with background thread
Detected total system memory: 7907 MB on "Linux"
Optimal async queue depth: 128 (available: 5396 MB, budget: 809 MB, block size: 1024 KB, baseline: 128 )
FileOperations log callback installed
Settings file "/home/matt/.config/Raspberry Pi/Raspberry Pi Imager.conf" not writable. Recreating it
Starting background cache operations
Found cached file info, starting background verification: "/home/matt/.cache/Raspberry Pi/Raspberry Pi Imager/lastdownload.cache"
Starting background drive list polling
lsblk failed with exit code 1
  stderr: "/usr/bin/lsblk: /tmp/.mount_RaspbeCEPNeh/usr/lib/libsystemd.so.0: version `LIBSYSTEMD_251' not found (required by /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libmount.so.1)\n"
Registered D-Bus service for URI callbacks
Drive enumeration failed: "Failed to enumerate drives: lsblk command failed or timed out"
Network now available and OS list empty - retrying fetch
Network thread pool created with 6 threads
CurlFetcher: fetched 204137 bytes from "downloads.raspberrypi.com" using HTTP/2
OSListModel: Pruning OS entry with no valid subitems: "Batocera.linux"
OSListModel: Pruning OS entry with no valid subitems: "IPFire"
OSListModel: Pruning OS entry with no valid subitems: "vetra player"
IconMultiFetcher: Event loop starting
qml: OS list now available - navigating to device selection
OS list refresh disabled (no interval provided)
lsblk failed with exit code 1
  stderr: "/usr/bin/lsblk: /tmp/.mount_RaspbeCEPNeh/usr/lib/libsystemd.so.0: version `LIBSYSTEMD_251' not found (required by /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libmount.so.1)\n"

libsystemd.so.0 appears to still be bundled:

matt@debian:~/Downloads$ ./Raspberry_Pi_Imager-v2.0.8-desktop-x86_64.AppImage --appimage-extract
matt@debian:~/Downloads$ ls ./squashfs-root/usr/lib/libsystemd.so.0 
./squashfs-root/usr/lib/libsystemd.so.0

[tdewey-rpi]

Found the issue in 2.0.8, and it's quite embarassing: I forgot that the desktop AppImage creation script is different to the others, in that it runs linuxdeploy twice (once to clear out unwanted Qt dependencies, another to actually create the AppImage). I added the removal to the first instance, which behaves like the other AppImages (embedded, cli), but when linuxdeploy ran again it promptly walked the dependency closure....and brought libsystemd back in.

[phattmatt]

"Let those who have never had to redo a quick fix cast the first stone" - Some historical person I assume.

[tdewey-rpi]

After much gnashing of teeth, this should finally be resolved with 3ca0078.

I've also pruned two other libraries that the host should be providing: libdbus-1, libcap