diff --git a/roles/passenger/tasks/main.yml b/roles/passenger/tasks/main.yml
index c4fc486c..9e74e502 100644
--- a/roles/passenger/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/passenger/tasks/main.yml
@@ -54,6 +54,9 @@
       become: true
       ansible.builtin.apt:
         update_cache: true
+      # update cache fails on bionic because postgres no longer has a release
+      # only update cache on newer VMs; skip updating on older vms
+      when: ansible_distribution_version != "18.04"
 
     # Nginx and passenger installation.
     - name: Install Nginx and Passenger.