Locking a software version on Linux

Summary

Lock in a particular version of an RPM package. Sometimes it is necessary to assure that a particular version of a software package or kernel does not change during a software update, in order to keep the system operating correctly after the update.

Environment

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Fedora

Directions

1. Depending on whether you are using YUM (RHEL) or DNF (Fedora), install the appropriate plugin:
   • sudo yum install yum-plugin-versionlock
   • sudo dnf install python3-dnf-plugin-versionlock
2. Specify the package version you want to lock:
   • sudo yum versionlock package-list
   • sudo dnf versionlock package-list
3. (Optional) View locked versions:
   • sudo yum versionlock list
   • sudo dnf versionlock list

Additional notes

• An alternative to using versionlock is to use the exclude parameter in /etc/yum.conf or /etc/dnf/dnf.conf.
• DNF versionlock Plugin
• How to boot an earlier kernel on Fedora