diff --git a/ndn-tools/debian/patches/downgrade-sphinx.patch b/ndn-tools/debian/patches/downgrade-sphinx.patch
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..32e5805
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ndn-tools/debian/patches/downgrade-sphinx.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+Index: ndn-tools_22.12-15-g7e9d7e4f-bp2/manpages/conf.py
+===================================================================
+--- ndn-tools_22.12-15-g7e9d7e4f-bp2.orig/manpages/conf.py
++++ ndn-tools_22.12-15-g7e9d7e4f-bp2/manpages/conf.py
+@@ -1,19 +1,32 @@
++# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
++#
+ # Configuration file for the Sphinx documentation builder.
+ #
+-# For the full list of built-in configuration values, see the documentation:
+-# https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/configuration.html
++# This file only contains a selection of the most common options. For a full
++# list see the documentation:
++# http://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/config
++
++# -- Path setup --------------------------------------------------------------
++
++# If extensions (or modules to document with autodoc) are in another directory,
++# add these directories to sys.path here. If the directory is relative to the
++# documentation root, use os.path.abspath to make it absolute, like shown here.
++#
++# import os
++# import sys
++# sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath('.'))
++
+ 
+ # -- Project information -----------------------------------------------------
+-# https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/configuration.html#project-information
+ 
+-project = 'NDN Essential Tools'
+-copyright = 'Copyright © 2014-2023 Named Data Networking Project.'
+-author = 'Named Data Networking Project'
++project = u'NDN Essential Tools'
++copyright = u'Copyright © 2014-2019 Named Data Networking Project.'
++author = u'Named Data Networking Project'
+ 
+-# The short X.Y version.
++# The short X.Y version
+ #version = ''
+ 
+-# The full version, including alpha/beta/rc tags.
++# The full version, including alpha/beta/rc tags
+ #release = ''
+ 
+ # There are two options for replacing |today|: either, you set today to some
+@@ -24,26 +37,34 @@ today_fmt = '%Y-%m-%d'
+ 
+ 
+ # -- General configuration ---------------------------------------------------
+-# https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/configuration.html#general-configuration
+ 
+-needs_sphinx = '4.0'
+-extensions = []
++# If your documentation needs a minimal Sphinx version, state it here.
++#
++needs_sphinx = '1.1'
+ 
+-templates_path = ['_templates']
+-exclude_patterns = ['Thumbs.db', '.DS_Store']
++# Add any Sphinx extension module names here, as strings. They can be
++# extensions coming with Sphinx (named 'sphinx.ext.*') or your custom
++# ones.
++extensions = [
++]
++
++# The master toctree document.
++master_doc = 'index'
+ 
+ 
+ # -- Options for manual page output ------------------------------------------
+-# https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/configuration.html#options-for-manual-page-output
+ 
+ # One entry per manual page. List of tuples
+ # (source start file, name, description, authors, manual section).
+ man_pages = [
+-    ('ndnpeek',       'ndnpeek',       'simple consumer to send one Interest and receive one Data', [], 1),
+-    ('ndnpoke',       'ndnpoke',       'simple producer to publish one Data',        [], 1),
+-    ('ndnping',       'ndnping',       'reachability testing client',                [], 1),
+-    ('ndnpingserver', 'ndnpingserver', 'reachability testing server',                [], 1),
+-    ('ndnputchunks',  'ndnputchunks',  'producer program with content segmentation', [], 1),
+-    ('ndndump',       'ndndump',       'traffic analysis tool',                      [], 8),
+-    ('ndn-dissect',   'ndn-dissect',   'NDN packet format inspector',                [], 1),
++    ('ndnpeek',         'ndnpeek',          'simple consumer to send one Interest and expect one Data', [], 1),
++    ('ndnpoke',         'ndnpoke',          'simple producer to publish one Data',          [], 1),
++    ('ndnping',         'ndnping',          'reachability testing client',                  [], 1),
++    ('ndnpingserver',   'ndnpingserver',    'reachability testing server',                  [], 1),
++    ('ndnputchunks',    'ndnputchunks',     'producer program with content segmentation',   [], 1),
++    ('ndndump',         'ndndump',          'traffic analysis tool',                        [], 8),
++    ('ndn-dissect',     'ndn-dissect',      'NDN packet format inspector',                  [], 1),
+ ]
++
++# If true, show URL addresses after external links.
++#man_show_urls = True
diff --git a/ndn-tools/debian/patches/series b/ndn-tools/debian/patches/series
index e69de29..661c3d7 100644
--- a/ndn-tools/debian/patches/series
+++ b/ndn-tools/debian/patches/series
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+downgrade-sphinx.patch