diff --git a/build_debian.sh b/build_debian.sh
index 53ac934bd357..19ee92b8620d 100755
--- a/build_debian.sh
+++ b/build_debian.sh
@@ -418,7 +418,7 @@ done < files/image_config/sysctl/sysctl-net.conf
 sudo augtool --autosave "$sysctl_net_cmd_string" -r $FILESYSTEM_ROOT
 
 # Upgrade pip via PyPI and uninstall the Debian version
-sudo https_proxy=$https_proxy LANG=C chroot $FILESYSTEM_ROOT pip2 install --upgrade pip
+sudo https_proxy=$https_proxy LANG=C chroot $FILESYSTEM_ROOT pip2 install --upgrade 'pip<21'
 sudo https_proxy=$https_proxy LANG=C chroot $FILESYSTEM_ROOT pip3 install --upgrade pip
 sudo LANG=C DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive chroot $FILESYSTEM_ROOT apt-get purge -y python-pip python3-pip