One thing I've found helpful when Debian systems are causing problems is (1) ignore the config churn and (2) just attach GDB to edit raw memory, to make a proce

One thing I've found helpful when Debian systems are causing problems is (1) ignore the config churn and (2) just attach GDB to edit raw memory, to make a process stop doing whatever it is that it's doing. It shouldn't be necessary but sadly in a world where engineering practices "evolve" this rapidly that's usually easier.