diff --git a/iso/builder/build-debug.sh b/iso/builder/build-debug.sh
index 6db3317..bf2f9b0 100644
--- a/iso/builder/build-debug.sh
+++ b/iso/builder/build-debug.sh
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ export BEE_OVERLAY_DIR="${OVERLAY_DIR}"
 # mkimage stores each section in a hash-named subdir; apks_* dirs contain downloaded packages.
 if [ -d /var/tmp/bee-iso-work ]; then
     find /var/tmp/bee-iso-work -maxdepth 1 -mindepth 1 \
-        -not -name 'apks_*' -exec rm -rf {} + 2>/dev/null || true
+        -not -name 'apks_*' -not -name 'kernel_*' -exec rm -rf {} + 2>/dev/null || true
 fi
 
 # Run from /var/tmp to avoid git repo context conflicts and to ensure enough scratch space.