How to debug recurring rpm database corruption

Issue

# yum update
error: rpmdb: BDB0113 Thread/process 62313/139674885827456 failed: BDB1507 Thread died in Berkeley DB library
error: db5 error(-30973) from dbenv->failchk: BDB0087 DB_RUNRECOVERY: Fatal error, run database recovery
error: cannot open Packages index using db5 -  (-30973)
error: cannot open Packages database in /var/lib/rpm
Error: Error: rpmdb open failed

RPM database frequently crashes, you already tried to rebuild it, but the issue reoccurs. How to debug it?

Environment

• CloudLinux
• yum
• dnf
• rpm

Solution

If this happens often, you may consider checking for file system corruption, disk space issues, or other hardware issues. The error is not specifically related to CloudLinux components but to the RPM tool; however, very often, this is a symptom of another underlying issue (typically one of the previously mentioned). You may: 

1. Check disk space.
2. Check system crashes.
3. Rebuild RPM Database: Fix rpmdb: Thread died in Berkeley DB library
 

Useful Links

• RedHat How to debug recurring rpm database corruption
• Fix rpmdb: Thread died in Berkeley DB library