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Install script verifies checksums on the same channel as the binary itself #1678

Description

@Widthdom

Summary

install.sh fetches both the binary tarball and the sha256sums.txt file from the same GitHub release URL. If an attacker can replace the release artifacts (compromised maintainer account, compromised release PAT, GitHub infrastructure compromise), they can replace the binary and the matching checksum in one operation — the chain provides no independent trust anchor. A second-channel checksum source (signed git tag, separately-hosted manifest, transparency log) would let the install script verify integrity even if the GitHub release is compromised.

Where

  • install.sh:712,724,729 (binary and checksum fetched from same release URL)

Suggested approach

(1) Once attestations land (see related signing issue), have install.sh verify provenance via gh attestation verify instead of (or in addition to) sha256 comparison. (2) Alternatively, publish sha256sums.txt to a separate, signed source — e.g., commit it to the repo on tag, and have install.sh fetch from raw.githubusercontent.com at the tag commit (signed). (3) Document the threat model and chosen mitigation in USER_GUIDE.md.

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