diff --git a/debian/patches/loosen-rails-version.patch b/debian/patches/loosen-rails-version.patch
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7dc399fe32
--- /dev/null
+++ b/debian/patches/loosen-rails-version.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+Index: gitlab/Gemfile
+===================================================================
+--- gitlab.orig/Gemfile
++++ gitlab/Gemfile
+@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
+ source "https://rubygems.org"
+ 
+-gem 'rails', '4.1.11'
++gem 'rails', '~> 4.2.4'
+ 
+ # Specify a sprockets version due to security issue
+ # See https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rubyonrails-security/doAVp0YaTqY
diff --git a/debian/patches/series b/debian/patches/series
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..662c1acbea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/debian/patches/series
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+loosen-rails-version.patch