diff --git a/pkg/driver/distro/debian.go b/pkg/driver/distro/debian.go
index 19ddafc1..fa91374f 100644
--- a/pkg/driver/distro/debian.go
+++ b/pkg/driver/distro/debian.go
@@ -68,10 +68,13 @@ func (d *debian) FixupKernel(kr kernelrelease.KernelRelease) kernelrelease.Kerne
 		archExtra = fmt.Sprintf("-%s%s", matches[1], matches[2])
 	}
 	if debianKernelVersionRegex.MatchString(kr.KernelVersion) {
+		newKV := debianKernelVersionRegex.FindStringSubmatch(kr.KernelVersion)[0]
 		// Real kernel release becomes: "5.10.178-3-rt-amd64"
-		realKernelReleaseStr := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s", kr.KernelVersion, archExtra)
+		realKernelReleaseStr := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s", newKV, archExtra)
 		// Parse it once again to a KernelRelease struct
 		kr, _ = driverkernel.FetchInfo(realKernelReleaseStr, "1")
+		return kr
 	}
-	return kr
+	// No substitutions needed; call generic FixupKernel.
+	return d.generic.FixupKernel(kr)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/driver/distro/debian_test.go b/pkg/driver/distro/debian_test.go
index c589e2a0..14afd528 100644
--- a/pkg/driver/distro/debian_test.go
+++ b/pkg/driver/distro/debian_test.go
@@ -92,37 +92,50 @@ func TestDistroDebianFixup(t *testing.T) {
 		krInput    string
 		kvInput    string
 		krExpected string
+		kvExpected string
 	}
 	testCases := []testCase{
 		{
-			// Substitution needed since kernelversion contains the real kernelrelease
+			// Substitution needed since kernelversion contains the real kernelrelease (-rt)
 			krInput:    "5.10.0-0.deb10.22-rt-amd64",
-			kvInput:    "5.10.178-3",
+			kvInput:    "#1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Debian 5.10.178-3",
 			krExpected: "5.10.178-3-rt-amd64",
+			kvExpected: "1",
 		},
 		{
-			// Substitution needed since kernelversion contains the real kernelrelease
-			krInput:    "5.10.0-0.deb10.22-amd64",
-			kvInput:    "5.10.178-3",
-			krExpected: "5.10.178-3-amd64",
+			// Substitution needed since kernelversion contains the real kernelrelease (generic flavor)
+			krInput:    "6.1.0-13-amd64",
+			kvInput:    "#1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Debian 6.1.55-1 (2023-09-29)",
+			krExpected: "6.1.55-1-amd64",
+			kvExpected: "1",
 		},
 		{
 			// Substitution NOT needed
 			krInput:    "5.10.0-0.deb10.22-amd64",
-			kvInput:    "1",
+			kvInput:    "#1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC",
 			krExpected: "5.10.0-0.deb10.22-amd64",
+			kvExpected: "1",
 		},
 		{
-			// Substitution NOT needed
+			// Substitution NOT needed; kernelversion is 39
 			krInput:    "5.10.0-0",
-			kvInput:    "1",
+			kvInput:    "#39 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC",
 			krExpected: "5.10.0-0",
+			kvExpected: "39",
+		},
+		{
+			// Substitution NOT needed
+			krInput:    "6.5.3-1~bpo12+1-rt-amd64",
+			kvInput:    "#1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC",
+			krExpected: "6.5.3-1~bpo12+1-rt-amd64",
+			kvExpected: "1",
 		},
 		{
 			// Substitution NOT needed
 			krInput:    "6.5.3-1~bpo12+1-rt-amd64",
-			kvInput:    "1",
+			kvInput:    "malformed",
 			krExpected: "6.5.3-1~bpo12+1-rt-amd64",
+			kvExpected: "malformed",
 		},
 	}
 	for _, tCase := range testCases {
@@ -131,5 +144,6 @@ func TestDistroDebianFixup(t *testing.T) {
 		kr.KernelVersion = tCase.kvInput
 		fixedKr := deb.FixupKernel(kr)
 		assert.Equal(t, tCase.krExpected, fixedKr.String())
+		assert.Equal(t, tCase.kvExpected, fixedKr.KernelVersion)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/pkg/driver/distro/distro.go b/pkg/driver/distro/distro.go
index 58931025..4eeae4f5 100644
--- a/pkg/driver/distro/distro.go
+++ b/pkg/driver/distro/distro.go
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
+	"net/url"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -125,7 +126,7 @@ func getOSReleaseDistro(kr *kernelrelease.KernelRelease) (Distro, error) {
 }
 
 func toURL(repo, driverVer, fileName, arch string) string {
-	return fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s/%s/%s", repo, driverVer, arch, fileName)
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s/%s/%s", repo, url.QueryEscape(driverVer), arch, fileName)
 }
 
 func toLocalPath(driverVer, fileName, arch string) string {
@@ -138,7 +139,10 @@ func toFilename(d Distro, kr *kernelrelease.KernelRelease, driverName string, dr
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s_%s_%s_%s%s", driverName, d, fixedKR.String(), fixedKR.KernelVersion, driverType.Extension())
 }
 
-func copyDataToLocalPath(destination string, src io.Reader) error {
+// copyDataToLocalPath will copy a src Reader to a destination file, creating it and its paths if needed.
+// Moreover, it will also take care of closing the reader.
+func copyDataToLocalPath(destination string, src io.ReadCloser) error {
+	defer src.Close()
 	err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(destination), 0o750)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -162,6 +166,13 @@ func Build(ctx context.Context,
 	driverType drivertype.DriverType,
 	driverVer string,
 ) (string, error) {
+	driverFileName := toFilename(d, &kr, driverName, driverType)
+	destination := toLocalPath(driverVer, driverFileName, kr.Architecture.ToNonDeb())
+	if exist, _ := utils.FileExists(destination); exist {
+		printer.Logger.Info("Skipping build, driver already present.", printer.Logger.Args("path", destination))
+		return destination, nil
+	}
+
 	env, err := d.customizeBuild(ctx, printer, driverType, kr)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
@@ -173,15 +184,16 @@ func Build(ctx context.Context,
 	// Copy the path to the expected location.
 	// NOTE: for kmod, this is not useful since the driver will
 	// be loaded directly by dkms.
-	driverFileName := toFilename(d, &kr, driverName, driverType)
-	filePath := toLocalPath(driverVer, driverFileName, kr.Architecture.ToNonDeb())
-	printer.Logger.Info("Copying built driver to its destination.", printer.Logger.Args("src", path, "dst", filePath))
+	printer.Logger.Info("Copying built driver to its destination.", printer.Logger.Args("src", path, "dst", destination))
 	f, err := os.Open(filepath.Clean(path))
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
-	defer f.Close()
-	return filePath, copyDataToLocalPath(filePath, f)
+	err = copyDataToLocalPath(destination, f)
+	if err == nil {
+		printer.Logger.Info("Driver built.", printer.Logger.Args("path", destination))
+	}
+	return destination, err
 }
 
 // Download will try to download drivers for a distro trying specified repos.
@@ -224,7 +236,11 @@ func Download(ctx context.Context,
 			}
 			continue
 		}
-		return destination, copyDataToLocalPath(destination, resp.Body)
+		err = copyDataToLocalPath(destination, resp.Body)
+		if err == nil {
+			printer.Logger.Info("Driver downloaded.", printer.Logger.Args("path", destination))
+		}
+		return destination, err
 	}
 	return destination, fmt.Errorf("unable to find a prebuilt driver")
 }
diff --git a/pkg/driver/distro/generic.go b/pkg/driver/distro/generic.go
index d6bbb023..43f24e8c 100644
--- a/pkg/driver/distro/generic.go
+++ b/pkg/driver/distro/generic.go
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 package driverdistro
 
 import (
+	"strings"
+
 	"github.com/blang/semver"
 	"github.com/falcosecurity/driverkit/pkg/kernelrelease"
 	"golang.org/x/net/context"
@@ -41,6 +43,10 @@ func (g *generic) String() string {
 
 //nolint:gocritic // the method shall not be able to modify kr
 func (g *generic) FixupKernel(kr kernelrelease.KernelRelease) kernelrelease.KernelRelease {
+	// Take eg: "#1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Tue, 10 Oct 2023 21:10:21 +0000" and return "1".
+	kv := strings.TrimLeft(kr.KernelVersion, "#")
+	kv = strings.Split(kv, " ")[0]
+	kr.KernelVersion = kv
 	return kr
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/driver/distro/ubuntu.go b/pkg/driver/distro/ubuntu.go
index b7710acc..e8706a9f 100644
--- a/pkg/driver/distro/ubuntu.go
+++ b/pkg/driver/distro/ubuntu.go
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ func (u *ubuntu) FixupKernel(kr kernelrelease.KernelRelease) kernelrelease.Kerne
 	// and everything starting from the first whitespace,
 	// so that eg: we receive "26~22.04.1-Ubuntu",
 	// therefore we only need to drop "-Ubuntu" suffix
+	// Take eg: "#1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Tue, 10 Oct 2023 21:10:21 +0000" and return "1".
+	kr = u.generic.FixupKernel(kr)
 	kr.KernelVersion = strings.TrimSuffix(kr.KernelVersion, "-Ubuntu")
 	return kr
 }
diff --git a/pkg/driver/distro/ubuntu_test.go b/pkg/driver/distro/ubuntu_test.go
index 07729e8e..bbcb151e 100644
--- a/pkg/driver/distro/ubuntu_test.go
+++ b/pkg/driver/distro/ubuntu_test.go
@@ -32,43 +32,43 @@ func TestDistroUbuntuInitFixup(t *testing.T) {
 	testCases := []testCase{
 		{
 			krInput:        "5.0.0-1028-aws-5.0",
-			kvInput:        "26~22.04.1-Ubuntu",
+			kvInput:        "#26~22.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Mon Apr 24 01:58:15 UTC 2023",
 			flavorExpected: "ubuntu-aws",
 			kvExpected:     "26~22.04.1",
 		},
 		{
 			krInput:        "5.0.0-1028-aws-5.0",
-			kvInput:        "26",
+			kvInput:        "#26",
 			flavorExpected: "ubuntu-aws",
 			kvExpected:     "26",
 		},
 		{
 			krInput:        "5.0.0-1028-aws-5.0",
-			kvInput:        "26-Ubuntu",
+			kvInput:        "#26-Ubuntu",
 			flavorExpected: "ubuntu-aws",
 			kvExpected:     "26",
 		},
 		{
 			krInput:        "5.0.0",
-			kvInput:        "26",
+			kvInput:        "#26",
 			flavorExpected: "ubuntu-generic",
 			kvExpected:     "26",
 		},
 		{
 			krInput:        "6.5.0-9-lowlatency",
-			kvInput:        "9.1",
+			kvInput:        "#9.1",
 			flavorExpected: "ubuntu-lowlatency",
 			kvExpected:     "9.1",
 		},
 		{
 			krInput:        "6.5.0-1008-gcp",
-			kvInput:        "8",
+			kvInput:        "#8",
 			flavorExpected: "ubuntu-gcp",
 			kvExpected:     "8",
 		},
 		{
 			krInput:        "6.5.0-1008-aws",
-			kvInput:        "8~22.04.1",
+			kvInput:        "#8~22.04.1",
 			flavorExpected: "ubuntu-aws",
 			kvExpected:     "8~22.04.1",
 		},
diff --git a/pkg/driver/kernel/kernel.go b/pkg/driver/kernel/kernel.go
index 47a947d3..3ee78092 100644
--- a/pkg/driver/kernel/kernel.go
+++ b/pkg/driver/kernel/kernel.go
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ package driverkernel
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"runtime"
-	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/falcosecurity/driverkit/pkg/kernelrelease"
 	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
@@ -44,21 +43,10 @@ func FetchInfo(enforcedKR, enforcedKV string) (kernelrelease.KernelRelease, erro
 		kv = enforcedKV
 	}
 	kernelRel := kernelrelease.FromString(kr)
-	kernelRel.KernelVersion = formatVersion(kv)
+	kernelRel.KernelVersion = kv
 	kernelRel.Architecture = kernelrelease.Architecture(runtime.GOARCH)
 	// we don't use this, it is used by bpf build to customize the kernel config LOCALVERSION.
 	// Expected value is empty.
 	kernelRel.Extraversion = ""
 	return kernelRel, nil
 }
-
-// formatVersion takes a kernelversion string (as taken from `uname -v`
-// and extracts the first part of the string.
-// Eg: '#1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Tue, 10 Oct 2023 21:10:21 +0000' -> '1'.
-// Eg: '#26~22.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Mon Apr 24 01:58:15 UTC 2023' -> '26~22.04.1-Ubuntu'.
-func formatVersion(kv string) string {
-	// Take eg: "#1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Tue, 10 Oct 2023 21:10:21 +0000" and return "1".
-	kv = strings.Trim(kv, "#")
-	kv = strings.Split(kv, " ")[0]
-	return kv
-}