I cannot reproduce that Debian. Here it installs 44.2 by default:
- check the package versions: kicad - Debian Package Tracker
→ you’ll find that for kicad version 8.0.8 you’ll need debian sid (unstable) - I installed a fresh Debian and upgraded to sid
- I then ran
apt install kicad
Launching kicad and checking the ngspice version: Help → About KiCad → Version shows ngspice 44.2:
So I’d say on Debian it works out-of-the-box.