2.4.2 Signature Checking Using GnuPG

Another method of verifying the integrity and authenticity of a package is to use cryptographic signatures. This is more reliable than using MD5 checksums, but requires more work.

We sign MySQL downloadable packages with GnuPG (GNU Privacy Guard). GnuPG is an Open Source alternative to the well-known Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) by Phil Zimmermann. Most Linux distributions ship with GnuPG installed by default. Otherwise, see http://www.gnupg.org/ for more information about GnuPG and how to obtain and install it.

To verify the signature for a specific package, you first need to obtain a copy of our public GPG build key, which you can download from http://pgp.mit.edu/. The key that you want to obtain is named [e-mail]. The keyID for MySQL 8.0.36 packages and higher, and MySQL 8.3.0 and higher, is A8D3785C. After obtaining this key, you should compare it with the key following value before using it verify MySQL packages. Alternatively, you can copy and paste the key directly from the text below.

Note

The public GPG build key for earlier MySQL release packages (keyID 5072E1F5 or 3A79BD29), see Section 2.4.5, “GPG Public Build Key for Archived Packages”.

-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
Version: SKS 1.1.6
Comment: Hostname: pgp.mit.edu
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YTt2KmXp0KeN2s9pmLKkGAbacQP1RqzMFnoHawSMf0qTUVjAvhnI4+qzMDjTNSBq9fa3nHmO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fn6SGLFzWPClA98UMSJgF6sKb+JNoNbzKaZ8V5w13msLb/pq7hab72HH99XJbyKNliYj3+KA
3q0YLf+Hgt4Y4EhIJ8x2+g690Np7zJF4KXNFbi1BGloLGm78akY1rQlzpndKSpZq5KWw8FY/
1PEXORezg/BPD3Etp0AVKff4YdrDlOkNB7zoHRfFHAvEuuqti8aMBrbRnRSG0xunMUOEhbYS
/wOOTl0g3bF9NpAkfU1Fun57N96Us2T9gKo9AiOY5DxMe+IrBg4zaydEOovgqNi2wbU0MOBQ
b23Puhj7ZCIXcpILvcx9ygjkONr75w+XQrFDNeux4Znzay3ibXtAPqEykPMZHsZ2sbkCDQRl
NqzaARAAsdvBo8WRqZ5WVVk6lReD8b6Zx83eJUkV254YX9zn5t8KDRjYOySwS75mJIaZLsv0
YQjJk+5rt10tejyCrJIFo9CMvCmjUKtVbgmhfS5+fUDRrYCEZBBSa0Dvn68EBLiHugr+SPXF
6o1hXEUqdMCpB6oVp6X45JVQroCKIH5vsCtw2jU8S2/IjjV0V+E/zitGCiZaoZ1f6NG7ozyF
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CZ6ujngW9Zkn98T1d4N0MEwwXa2V6T1ijzcqD7GApZUAEQEAAYkCPAQYAQgAJhYhBLykNBfD
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Ps23j9W3r5XG+GDOwDsx0gl0E+Qkw07pwdJctA6efsmnRkjF2YVO0N9MiJA1tc8NbNXpEEHJ
Z7F8Ri5cpQrGUz/AY0eae2b7QefyP4rpUELpMZPjc8Px39Fe1DzRbT+5E19TZbrpbwlSYs1i
CzS5YGFmpCRyZcLKXo3zS6N22+82cnRBSPPipiO6WaQawcVMlQO1SX0giB+3/DryfN9VuIYd
1EWCGQa3O0MVu6o5KVHwPgl9R1P6xPZhurkDpAd0b1s4fFxin+MdxwmG7RslZA9CXRPpzo7/
fCMW8sYOH15DP+YfUckoEreBt+zezBxbIX2CGGWEV9v3UBXadRtwxYQ6sN9bqW4jm1b41vNA
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ji7NQewSpepTcJwfJDOzmtiDP4vol1ApJGLRwZZZ9PB6wsOgDOoP6sr0YrDI/NNX2RyXXbgl
nQ1yJZVSH3/3eo6knG2qTthUKHCRDNKdy9Qqc1x4WWWtSRjh+zX8AvJK2q1rVLH2/3ilxe9w
cAZUlaj3id3TxquAlud4lWDz
=h5nH
-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

To import the build key into your personal public GPG keyring, use gpg --import. For example, if you have saved the key in a file named mysql_pubkey.asc, the import command looks like this:

$> gpg --import mysql_pubkey.asc
gpg: key B7B3B788A8D3785C: public key "MySQL Release Engineering
<[e-mail]>" imported
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:               imported: 1

You can also download the key from the public keyserver using the public key id, A8D3785C:

$> gpg --recv-keys A8D3785C
gpg: requesting key A8D3785C from hkp server keys.gnupg.net
gpg: key A8D3785C: "MySQL Release Engineering <[e-mail]>"
1 new user ID
gpg: key A8D3785C: "MySQL Release Engineering <[e-mail]>"
53 new signatures
gpg: no ultimately trusted keys found
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:           new user IDs: 1
gpg:         new signatures: 53

If you want to import the key into your RPM configuration to validate RPM install packages, you should be able to import the key directly:

$> rpm --import mysql_pubkey.asc

If you experience problems or require RPM specific information, see Section 2.4.4, “Signature Checking Using RPM”.

After you have downloaded and imported the public build key, download your desired MySQL package and the corresponding signature, which also is available from the download page. The signature file has the same name as the distribution file with an .asc extension, as shown by the examples in the following table.

Table 2.1 MySQL Package and Signature Files for Source files

File Type	File Name
Distribution file	mysql-8.0.40-linux-glibc2.28-x86_64.tar.xz
Signature file	mysql-8.0.40-linux-glibc2.28-x86_64.tar.xz.asc

Make sure that both files are stored in the same directory and then run the following command to verify the signature for the distribution file:

$> gpg --verify package_name.asc

If the downloaded package is valid, you should see a Good signature message similar to this:

$> gpg --verify mysql-8.0.40-linux-glibc2.28-x86_64.tar.xz.asc
gpg: Signature made Fri 15 Dec 2023 06:55:13 AM EST
gpg:                using RSA key BCA43417C3B485DD128EC6D4B7B3B788A8D3785C
gpg: Good signature from "MySQL Release Engineering <[e-mail]>"

The Good signature message indicates that the file signature is valid, when compared to the signature listed on our site. But you might also see warnings, like so:

$> gpg --verify mysql-8.0.40-linux-glibc2.28-x86_64.tar.xz.asc
gpg: Signature made Fri 15 Dec 2023 06:55:13 AM EST
gpg:                using RSA key BCA43417C3B485DD128EC6D4B7B3B788A8D3785C
gpg: Good signature from "MySQL Release Engineering <[e-mail]>"
gpg: WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature!
gpg:          There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner.
Primary key fingerprint: BCA4 3417 C3B4 85DD 128E  C6D4 B7B3 B788 A8D3 785C

That is normal, as they depend on your setup and configuration. Here are explanations for these warnings:

• gpg: no ultimately trusted keys found: This means that the specific key is not "ultimately trusted" by you or your web of trust, which is okay for the purposes of verifying file signatures.

• WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature! There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner.: This refers to your level of trust in your belief that you possess our real public key. This is a personal decision. Ideally, a MySQL developer would hand you the key in person, but more commonly, you downloaded it. Was the download tampered with? Probably not, but this decision is up to you. Setting up a web of trust is one method for trusting them.

See the GPG documentation for more information on how to work with public keys.