The cvs-&cvs-version;-zlib.patch patch is used to compile CVS dynamically against zlib instead of using the version included with the CVS source. This has the advantage that if (or when) there is a security vulnerability found in zlib, you don't need to wait for a new version of CVS to appear as once you have upgraded zlib, the problem will be fixed. If you are going to use the patch mentioned above, first apply it: patch -Np1 -i ../cvs-&cvs-version;-zlib.patch Install cvs by running the following commands: ./configure --prefix=/usr && make && make install