[Gllug] coreutils checksums

[James Courtier-Dutton]

On 13 June 2011 14:11, James Hawtin <oolon at ankh.org> wrote:
> Steve Parker wrote:
>>
>> Am I missing something obvious (I'm sure that I am!)
>>
> I think what you are seeing is the effect of prelink. Due to ELF stamps if
> you compile the same program twice the binaries will differ. Prelink i
> believe rewrites executables slightly.
>

I would not expect the binaries to be different if they came from the
same install package.
As far as I know, on debian (ubuntu) and gentoo, nothing changes to
the binary once it is packaged.
I use that fact to perform a sort of virus scan, but instead of using
virus signatures, I just look for the checksum for each binary
matching the checksum manifest included in the install package.
Looking at the man page for "prelink" does seem to agree with the
other people posting.
"prelink" actually modifies the executable.
I might have to update my scanner to take account of pre-link in
future if ubuntu or gentoo use it in future.
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