Is there a way for a file/binary/exexutable to verify it's own integrity?

Question

So I'm making a distributed recovery system which consists of a bunch of hidden usb sticks. I plan to have the file be an executable, probably in the form of a appimage, which will contain my encryption software and encrypted volume.

The only hole in this plan is if someone modified the file or swapped it out with malware, which would send the attacker any password I entered.

I'm basically wondering if there is a way to make the file self verify, so instead of using a checksum the executable has to prove some way that it wasn't modified.

Answer 1

make the file self verify

This would be similar to asking a random person on the street about their identity - the person can simply lie. Instead one need to rely on something which the person has no control over and which is already trusted. This might be some government issued IDs (providing one trusts the government), it might be asking a trusted friend who also knows the other person or similar.

For validating software this might to use a tool on your disk outside of the control of the software. This tool might rely on a checksum stored on your disk, on trusted certificate authorities to check the signature on a software etc. But solely relying on something which might already be compromised is not secure.