Daily Blog #782: Validating linux packages other than rpms

As a journalist, I've written about validating Linux packages using RPMs in several posts before, but today we're going to explore how to do the same validation with other package managers. In this article, we'll cover various methods for verifying file integrity and checking the authenticity of Linux packages beyond RPMs.

First things first, let's make sure you have debsums installed on your system. If not, install it using your distribution's package manager or by running a command like `apt-get install debsums` (for Debian-based distributions) or `dnf install debsums` (for Fedora-based systems). This tool is essential for validating the integrity of Debian and RPM packages.

Now that we have debsums installed, let's move on to verifying file hashes for a specific package. To do this, use the following command: `debsum `. Replace `` with the actual name of the package you want to validate. This command will display the expected hash value and the actual hash value generated by the package. If the two values match, then the package is authentic and has not been tampered with.

Next up, we have checking the integrity of a specific package. To do this, use the following command: `debsum -b `. This command will display the sum of all files in the package without actually downloading or installing it. If the expected hash value matches the actual hash value, then the package is authentic.

For openSUSE users, you can use standard RPM verification commands to check the integrity of a file against the RPM database. To do this, use the following command: `rpm --checksum `. Replace `` with the actual name of the package you want to validate. This command will display the expected hash value and the actual hash value generated by the package.

Newer Alpine Linux versions (3.15+) include the `apk audit` command, which allows us to verify file integrity for Alpine packages. To use this command, run: `apk audit `. Replace `` with the actual name of the package you want to validate. This command will display the expected hash value and the actual hash value generated by the package.

In conclusion, validating Linux packages using methods beyond RPMs is crucial for maintaining system security and integrity. By using tools like debsums and the apk audit command, we can ensure that our systems are running with authentic and unmodified packages.