Why apt reports a Hash Sum mismatch in CI and when a retry actually helps

An apt Hash Sum mismatch in GitHub Actions means the package index downloaded does not match the checksum published in the repository's Release file, so apt discards it. Such failures usually come from a mirror caught mid-sync or a cache serving an outdated copy, which explains why identical builds can pass or fail at different times. The apt-get update step exits with code 100 before any packages are installed, and the error output prints both the expected and computed hashes, which settles the diagnosis. Retrying only fixes transient mirror races; if the same mismatch persists across attempts, a caching layer is the likely cause. Stale apt lists restored from cache or Docker layers and truncated downloads can produce the same error.
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