Security Handbook/Staying up-to-date

This section is on keeping your system up-to-date. == Keeping up-to-date == Once you have successfully installed your system and ensured a good level of security you are not done. Security is an ongoing process; the vast majority of intrusions result from known vulnerabilities in unpatched systems. Keeping your system up-to-date is the single most valuable step you can take to greater security.

If you have a recent version of Portage installed, you can first sync the Portage tree with and then issue the command GLSA to check if your system is up to date security-wise. is part of.

All lines with a  and   can be almost safely ignored as the system is not affected by this GLSA.

Check all GLSAs:

See what packages would be emerged:

Apply required fixes:

If you have upgraded a running service, you should not forget to restart it.

Keeping the kernel up-to-date is also recommended.

If you want an email each time a GLSA is released subscribe to the gentoo-announce mailing list. Instructions for joining it and many other great mailing lists can be found in the Gentoo mailing lists.

Another great security resource is the Bugtraq mailing list.