UBC Physics & Astronomy
YUM notes
YUM Notes
This list details some of the more common yum commands you will most likely require to maintain your system.

Some YUM Commands
 Explanations
[base]# yum list
 List all available packages
[base]# yum list http*
 List all packages starting with "http"
[base]# yum check-update Check for available updates
[base]# yum update Update all available packages
[base]# yum update samba*
 Update only the samba packages
[base]# yum install httpd Install the httpd package
[base]# yum install xmms wine Install both the xmms and wine packages
[base]# yum -y install httpd Install package (answering yes to all questions)
[base]# yum provides httpd.conf List package name that provides the "httpd.conf" file
[base]# yum clean all Removes cached packages and RPM headers from system
[base]# yum remove http* Uninstalls all packages starting with "http"
[base]# /etc/init.d/yum start
 Start the nightly updating service
[base]# chkconfig yum on
 Enabling yum service on runlevels

How do I only list or install only security updates under RHEL 5.x or CentOS Linux server? How do I find out security updates descriptions such as CVE, bugs, issued date and type for each patch?

You can easily find out security patches related information using yum-security plugin. This plugin adds the options --security, --cve, --bz and --advisory flags to yum and the list-security and info-security commands. The options make it possible to limit list/upgrade of packages to specific security relevant ones. The commands give you the security information.

Install Plugin

# yum install yum-security

How Do I Display Available Security Updates?

# yum list-security
Sample Outputs: 
Loaded plugins: rhnplugin, security
RHSA-2009:1148-1 security httpd-2.2.3-22.el5_3.2.x86_64
RHSA-2009:1148-1 security httpd-devel-2.2.3-22.el5_3.2.i386
RHSA-2009:1148-1 security httpd-manual-2.2.3-22.el5_3.2.x86_64
RHSA-2009:1148-1 security mod_ssl-1:2.2.3-22.el5_3.2.x86_64
list-security done

To list all updates that are security relevant, and get a reutrn code on whether there are security updates use: 

# yum --security check-update
To get a list of all BZs that are fixed for packages you have installed use: 
# yum list-security bugzillas
To get the information on advisory RHSA-2009:1148-1 use: 
# yum info-security RHSA-2009:1148-1
Sample Outputs: 
Loaded plugins: rhnplugin, security

===============================================================================
  RHSA-2009:1148
===============================================================================
  Update ID : RHSA-2009:1148-1
    Release :
       Type : security
     Status : final
     Issued : 2009-07-08 23:00:00
       Bugs : 509125 - None
	    : 509375 - None
       CVEs : CVE-2009-1890
	    : CVE-2009-1891
Description : Important: httpd security update  \The Apache HTTP Server is a
            : popular Web server.  A denial of service flaw was
            : found in the Apache mod_proxy module when it was
            : used as a reverse proxy. A remote attacker could
            : use this flaw to force a proxy process to consume
            : large amounts of CPU time. (CVE-2009-1890)  A
            : denial of service flaw was found in the Apache
            : mod_deflate module. This module continued to
            : compress large files until compression was
            : complete, even if the network connection that
            : requested the content was closed before
            : compression completed. This would cause
            : mod_deflate to consume large amounts of CPU if
            : mod_deflate was enabled for a large file.
            : (CVE-2009-1891)  All httpd users should upgrade to
            : these updated packages, which contain backported
            : patches to correct these issues. After installing
            : the updated packages, the httpd daemon must be
            : restarted for the update to take effect.
      Files : mod_ssl-2.2.3-22.el5_3.2.x86_64.rpm
	    : httpd-devel-2.2.3-22.el5_3.2.i386.rpm
	    : httpd-2.2.3-22.el5_3.2.x86_64.rpm
	    : httpd-devel-2.2.3-22.el5_3.2.x86_64.rpm
	    : httpd-manual-2.2.3-22.el5_3.2.x86_64.rpm
	    : mod_ssl-2.2.3-22.el5_3.2.i386.rpm
	    : httpd-2.2.3-22.el5_3.2.i386.rpm
	    : httpd-manual-2.2.3-22.el5_3.2.i386.rpm
info-security done

To get an info list of the latest packages which contain fixes for Bugzilla 3595; CVE # CVE-2009-1890 and advisories RHSA-2009:1148-1, use:
# yum --bz 3595 --cve CVE-2009-1890 --advisory RHSA-2009:1148-1 info updates

How Do I Install All The Security Updates Only?

# yum update --security

Task: Display list of updated software (security fix)

Type the following command at shell prompt:
# yum list updates

Task: Patch up system by applying all updates

To download and install all updates type the following command:
# yum update

Task: List all installed packages

List all installed packages, enter:
# rpm -qa
# yum list installed
Find out if httpd package installed or not, enter:
# rpm -qa | grep httpd*
# yum list installed httpd

Task: Check for and update specified packages

# yum update {package-name-1}
To check for and update httpd package, enter:
# yum update httpd

Task: Search for packages by name

Search httpd and all matching perl packages, enter:
# yum list {package-name}
# yum list {regex}
# yum list httpd
# yum list perl*
Sample output:

Loading "installonlyn" plugin
Loading "security" plugin
Setting up repositories
Reading repository metadata in from local files
Installed Packages
perl.i386                                4:5.8.8-10.el5_0.2     installed
perl-Archive-Tar.noarch                  1.30-1.fc6             installed
perl-BSD-Resource.i386                   1.28-1.fc6.1           installed
perl-Compress-Zlib.i386                  1.42-1.fc6             installed
perl-DBD-MySQL.i386                      3.0007-1.fc6           installed
perl-DBI.i386                            1.52-1.fc6             installed
perl-Digest-HMAC.noarch                  1.01-15                installed
perl-Digest-SHA1.i386                    2.11-1.2.1             installed
perl-HTML-Parser.i386                    3.55-1.fc6             installed
.....
.......
..
perl-libxml-perl.noarch                  0.08-1.2.1             base
perl-suidperl.i386                       4:5.8.8-10.el5_0.2     updates

Task: Install the specified packages [ RPM(s) ]

Install package called httpd:
# yum install {package-name-1} {package-name-2}
# yum install httpd

Task: Remove / Uninstall the specified packages [ RPM(s) ]

Remove package called httpd, enter:
# yum remove {package-name-1} {package-name-2}
# yum remove httpd

Task: Display the list of available packages

# yum list all

Task: Display list of group software

Type the following command:
# yum grouplist
Output:

Installed Groups:
   Engineering and Scientific
   MySQL Database
   Editors
   System Tools
   Text-based Internet
   Legacy Network Server
   DNS Name Server
   Dialup Networking Support
   FTP Server
   Network Servers
   Legacy Software Development
   Legacy Software Support
   Development Libraries
   Graphics
   Web Server
   Ruby
   Printing Support
   Mail Server
   Server Configuration Tools
   PostgreSQL Database
Available Groups:
   Office/Productivity
   Administration Tools
   Beagle
   Development Tools
   GNOME Software Development
   X Software Development
   Virtualization
   GNOME Desktop Environment
   Authoring and Publishing
   Mono
   Games and Entertainment
   XFCE-4.4
   Tomboy
   Java
   Java Development
   Emacs
   X Window System
   Windows File Server
   KDE Software Development
   KDE (K Desktop Environment)
   Horde
   Sound and Video
   FreeNX and NX
   News Server
   Yum Utilities
   Graphical Internet
Done

Task: Install all the default packages by group

Install all 'Development Tools' group packages, enter:
# yum groupinstall "Development Tools"

Task: Update all the default packages by group

Update all 'Development Tools' group packages, enter:
# yum groupupdate "Development Tools"

Task: Remove all packages in a group

Remove all 'Development Tools' group packages, enter:
# yum groupremove "Development Tools"

Task: Install particular architecture package

If you are using 64 bit RHEL version it is possible to install 32 packages:
# yum install {package-name}.{architecture}
# yum install mysql.i386

Task: Display packages not installed via official RHN subscribed repos

Show all packages not available via subscribed channels or repositories i.e show packages installed via other repos:
# yum list extras
Sample output:

Loading "installonlyn" plugin
Loading "security" plugin
Setting up repositories
Reading repository metadata in from local files
Extra Packages
DenyHosts.noarch                         2.6-python2.4          installed
VMwareTools.i386                         6532-44356             installed
john.i386                                1.7.0.2-3.el5.rf       installed
kernel.i686                              2.6.18-8.1.15.el5      installed
kernel-devel.i686                        2.6.18-8.1.15.el5      installed
lighttpd.i386                            1.4.18-1.el5.rf        installed
lighttpd-fastcgi.i386                    1.4.18-1.el5.rf        installed
psad.i386                                2.1-1                  installed
rssh.i386                                2.3.2-1.2.el5.rf       installed

Task: Display what package provides the file

You can easily find out what RPM package provides the file. For example find out what provides the /etc/passwd file:
# yum whatprovides /etc/passwd
Sample output:

Loading "installonlyn" plugin
Loading "security" plugin
Setting up repositories
Reading repository metadata in from local files

setup.noarch                             2.5.58-1.el5           base
Matched from:
/etc/passwd

setup.noarch                             2.5.58-1.el5           installed
Matched from:
/etc/passwd

You can use same command to list packages that satisfy dependencies:
# yum whatprovides {dependency-1} {dependency-2}
Refer yum command man page for more information:
# man yum

 
 
 
 
 
 
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