What to do if RPM or yum Processes Hang?

Issue

Occasionally, the RPM database can become corrupted. It can happen when an RPM transaction is interrupted at a critical time. Symptoms of this problem include one of the following programs not responding or freezing:

• up2date
• rhn_check
• rpm

This problem can also cause a system to stop checking in with CLN.

Environment

CloudLinux OS 6(h)/7(h)/8
cPanel/Plesk/DirectAdmin/No panel

Solution

To fix this problem, run the following commands as root:

1. Kill all RPM and yum processes (rhn_check, yum, rpm, rhn-applet):

ps -axwww | grep rpm

In the list of processes, the first number on each line is the PID. For all PIDs listed except for the one associated with grep:

kill -9 <PID>

Repeat the above steps for each of the programs listed.  

2. Remove any RPM lock files (/var/lib/rpm/__db*):

rm -rf /var/lib/rpm/__db*

3. Rebuild the RPM database:

rpm --rebuilddb

If the above steps do not work, please contact technical support for more assistance.