CGAL 2.3.1 is available on the debian systems.

CGAL_LIB_DIR is
/labs/cgm/source/geometry/CGAL-2.3/lib/i686_Linux-2.4.14_g++-2.95.4_LEDA

Remember to set the CGAL_MAKEFILE environment variable, e.g. to
/labs/cgm/source/geometry/CGAL-2.3/make/makefile_i686_Linux-2.4.14_g++-2.95.4_LEDA