Provided by: cryptsetup-bin_2.7.5-1ubuntu2_amd64 
NAME
veritysetup - manage dm-verity (block level verification) volumes
SYNOPSIS
veritysetup <action> [<options>] <action args>
DESCRIPTION
Veritysetup is used to configure dm-verity managed device-mapper mappings.
Device-mapper verity target provides read-only transparent integrity checking of block devices using
kernel crypto API.
The dm-verity devices are always read-only.
BASIC ACTIONS
Veritysetup supports these operations:
FORMAT
format <data_device> <hash_device>
Calculates and permanently stores hash verification data for data_device. Hash area can be located on the
same device after data if specified by --hash-offset option.
Note you need to provide root hash string for device verification or activation. Root hash must be
trusted.
The data or hash device argument can be block device or file image. If hash device path doesn’t exist, it
will be created as file.
<options> can be [--hash, --no-superblock, --format, --data-block-size, --hash-block-size, --data-blocks,
--hash-offset, --salt, --uuid, --root-hash-file].
If option --root-hash-file is used, the root hash is stored in hex-encoded text format in <path>.
OPEN
open <data_device> <name> <hash_device> <root_hash>
open <data_device> <name> <hash_device> --root-hash-file <path>
create <name> <data_device> <hash_device> <root_hash> (OBSOLETE syntax)
Creates a mapping with <name> backed by device <data_device> and using <hash_device> for in-kernel
verification.
The <root_hash> is a hexadecimal string.
<options> can be [--hash-offset, --no-superblock, --ignore-corruption or --restart-on-corruption,
--panic-on-corruption, --ignore-zero-blocks, --check-at-most-once, --root-hash-signature,
--root-hash-file, --use-tasklets, --shared].
If option --root-hash-file is used, the root hash is read from <path> instead of from the command line
parameter. Expects hex-encoded text, without terminating newline.
If option --no-superblock is used, you have to use as the same options as in initial format operation.
VERIFY
verify <data_device> <hash_device> <root_hash>
verify <data_device> <hash_device> --root-hash-file <path>
Verifies data on data_device with use of hash blocks stored on hash_device.
This command performs userspace verification, no kernel device is created.
The <root_hash> is a hexadecimal string.
If option --root-hash-file is used, the root hash is read from <path> instead of from the command line
parameter. Expects hex-encoded text, without terminating newline.
<options> can be [--hash-offset, --no-superblock, --root-hash-file].
If option --no-superblock is used, you have to use as the same options as in initial format operation.
CLOSE
close <name>
remove <name> (OBSOLETE syntax)
Removes existing mapping <name>.
<options> can be [--deferred] or [--cancel-deferred].
STATUS
status <name>
Reports status for the active verity mapping <name>.
DUMP
dump <hash_device>
Reports parameters of verity device from on-disk stored superblock.
<options> can be [--hash-offset].
OPTIONS
--batch-mode, -q
Do not ask for confirmation.
--cancel-deferred
Removes a previously configured deferred device removal in close command.
--check-at-most-once
Instruct kernel to verify blocks only the first time they are read from the data device, rather than
every time.
WARNING: It provides a reduced level of security because only offline tampering of the data device’s
content will be detected, not online tampering. This option is available since Linux kernel version
4.17.
--data-blocks=blocks
Size of data device used in verification. If not specified, the whole device is used.
--data-block-size=bytes
Used block size for the data device. (Note kernel supports only page-size as maximum here.)
--debug
Run in debug mode with full diagnostic logs. Debug output lines are always prefixed by #.
--deferred
Defers device removal in close command until the last user closes it.
--fec-device=fec_device
Use forward error correction (FEC) to recover from corruption if hash verification fails. Use
encoding data from the specified device.
The fec device argument can be block device or file image. For format, if fec device path doesn’t
exist, it will be created as file.
Block sizes for data and hash devices must match. Also, if the verity data_device is encrypted the
fec_device should be too.
FEC calculation covers data, hash area, and optional foreign metadata stored on the same device with
the hash tree (additional space after hash area). Size of this optional additional area protected by
FEC is calculated from image sizes, so you must be sure that you use the same images for activation.
If the hash device is in a separate image, metadata covers the whole rest of the image after the hash
area.
If hash and FEC device is in the image, metadata ends on the FEC area offset.
--fec-offset=bytes
This is the offset, in bytes, from the start of the FEC device to the beginning of the encoding data.
--fec-roots=num
Number of generator roots. This equals to the number of parity bytes in the encoding data. In RS(M,
N) encoding, the number of roots is M-N. M is 255 and M-N is between 2 and 24 (including).
--format=number
Specifies the hash version type. Format type 0 is original Chrome OS version. Format type 1 is
current version.
--hash=hash
Hash algorithm for dm-verity. For default see --help option.
--hash-block-size=bytes
Used block size for the hash device. (Note kernel supports only page-size as maximum here.)
--hash-offset=bytes
Offset of hash area/superblock on hash_device. Value must be aligned to disk sector offset.
--help, -?
Show help text and default parameters.
--ignore-corruption, --restart-on-corruption, --panic-on-corruption
Defines what to do if data integrity problem is detected (data corruption).
Without these options kernel fails the IO operation with I/O error. With --ignore-corruption option
the corruption is only logged. With --restart-on-corruption or --panic-on-corruption the kernel is
restarted (panicked) immediately. (You have to provide way how to avoid restart loops.)
WARNING: Use these options only for very specific cases. These options are available since Linux
kernel version 4.1.
--ignore-zero-blocks
Instruct kernel to not verify blocks that are expected to contain zeroes and always directly return
zeroes instead.
WARNING: Use this option only in very specific cases. This option is available since Linux kernel
version 4.5.
--no-superblock
Create or use dm-verity without permanent on-disk superblock.
--root-hash-file=FILE
Path to file with stored root hash in hex-encoded text.
--root-hash-signature=FILE
Path to root hash signature file used to verify the root hash (in kernel). This feature requires
Linux kernel version 5.4 or more recent.
--salt=hex string
Salt used for format or verification. Format is a hexadecimal string.
--shared
Allows data device to be used in shared mode. The data device is not checked for exclusive access
in-before the device activation and may be mapped in multiple verity mappings.
--usage
Show short option help.
--use-tasklets
Try to use kernel tasklets in dm-verity driver for performance reasons. This option is available
since Linux kernel version 6.0.
--uuid=UUID
Use the provided UUID for format command instead of generating new one.
The UUID must be provided in standard UUID format, e.g. 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc.
--verbose, -v
Print more information on command execution.
--version, -V
Show the program version.
RETURN CODES
Veritysetup returns 0 on success and a non-zero value on error.
Error codes are: 1 wrong parameters, 2 no permission, 3 out of memory, 4 wrong device specified, 5 device
already exists or device is busy.
EXAMPLES
veritysetup --data-blocks=256 format <data_device> <hash_device>
Calculates and stores verification data on hash_device for the first 256 blocks (of block-size). If
hash_device does not exist, it is created (as file image).
veritysetup format --root-hash-file <path> <data_device> <hash_device>
Calculates and stores verification data on hash_device for the whole data_device, and store the root hash
as hex-encoded text in <path>.
veritysetup --data-blocks=256 --hash-offset=1052672 format <device> <device>
Verification data (hashes) is stored on the same device as data (starting at hash-offset). Hash-offset
must be greater than number of blocks in data-area.
veritysetup --data-blocks=256 --hash-offset=1052672 create test-device <device> <device> <root_hash>
Activates the verity device named test-device. Options --data-blocks and --hash-offset are the same as in
the format command. The <root_hash> was calculated in format command.
veritysetup --data-blocks=256 --hash-offset=1052672 verify <data_device> <hash_device> <root_hash>
Verifies device without activation (in userspace).
veritysetup --data-blocks=256 --hash-offset=1052672 --root-hash-file <path> verify <data_device>
<hash_device>
Verifies device without activation (in userspace). Root hash passed via a file rather than inline.
veritysetup --fec-device=<fec_device> --fec-roots=10 format <data_device> <hash_device>
Calculates and stores verification and encoding data for data_device.
DM-VERITY ON-DISK SPECIFICATION
The on-disk format specification is available at DMVerity
<https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/wikis/DMVerity> page.
AUTHORS
The first implementation of veritysetup was written by Chrome OS authors.
This version is based on verification code written by Mikulas Patocka <mpatocka@redhat.com> and rewritten
for libcryptsetup by Milan Broz <gmazyland@gmail.com>.
REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs at cryptsetup mailing list <cryptsetup@lists.linux.dev> or in Issues project section <https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/-/issues/new>. Please attach output of the failed command with --debug option added.
SEE ALSO
Cryptsetup FAQ <https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/wikis/FrequentlyAskedQuestions>
cryptsetup(8), integritysetup(8) and veritysetup(8)
CRYPTSETUP
Part of cryptsetup project <https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/>.