PKG_SIGN(1)             System General Commands Manual             PKG_SIGN(1)

NAME
     pkg_sign, check_sign - handle package signatures

SYNOPSIS
     pkg_sign [-csV] [-t type] [-u id] [file ...]
     pkg_check [-sc] [-u id] [file ...]

DESCRIPTION
     pkg_sign embeds a cryptographic signature within a gzip file file.  type
     can be pgp (default) or sha1.  If type is pgp, it will always prompt you
     for a passphrase to unlock your private pgp key, even if you don't use a
     passphrase (which is a bad idea, anyway).  If type is sha1, you must sup-
     ply an id, which will be recorded as the name of the package, and printed
     as the SHA1 checksum.

     pkg_check checks that cryptographic signature.  It currently disregards
     type and checks only the topmost signature.  For sha1, it checksums the
     file and verifies that the result matches the list of checksums recorded
     in /var/db/pkg/SHA1.

     Options -s and -c can be used to force package signing or signature
     checking mode.

     For pgp, the id to use to sign the package or verify the signature can be
     forced with -u.

     If file is a single dash (`-') or absent, check_sign reads from the stan-
     dard input.

     The -V option will print the current version and exit successfully.

     Package signing uses a feature of the gzip format, namely that one can
     set a flag EXTRA_FIELD in the gzip header and store extra data between
     the gzip header and the compressed file proper.  The OpenBSD signing
     scheme uses eight bytes markers such `SIGPGP' + length or `CKSHA1' +
     length for its signatures (those markers are conveniently eight bytes
     long).

RESULTS
     pkg_sign and pkg_check return with an exit code > 0 if anything went
     wrong for any file.  For pkg_check, this usually indicates that the pack-
     age is not signed, or that the signature is forged.

DIAGNOSTICS
     File %s is already signed  There is a signature embedded within the gzip
     file already.  pkg_sign currently does not handle multiple signatures.

     File %s is not a signed gzip file  This is an unsigned package.

     File %s is not a gzip file  The program couldn't find a proper gzip
     header.

     File %s contains an unknown extension  The extended area of the gzip file
     has been used for an unknown purpose.

     File %s uses old signatures, no longer supported  The gzip file uses a
     very early version of package signing that was substantially slower.

BUGS
     pgp(1) is an ill-designed program, which is hard to interface with.  For
     instance, the `separate signing scheme' it pretends to offer is useless,
     as it can't be used with pipes, so that pgp_sign needs to kludge it by
     knowing the length of a pgp signature, and invoking pgp in `seamless'
     signature mode, without compression of the main file, and just retrieving
     the signature.

     The checking scheme is little less convoluted, namely we rebuild the file
     that pgp expects on the fly.

     Paths to pgp and the checksum file are hard-coded to avoid tampering and
     hinder flexibility.

FILES
     file.sign           Temporary file built by pkg_sign from file.
     /usr/local/bin/pgp  Default path to pgp(1).
     /var/db/pkgs/SHA1   Recorded checksums.

SEE ALSO
     gzip(1), pgp(1), pkg_add(1), sha1(1)

Interix                       September 24, 1999                       Interix