diff --git a/manager/src/grype_db_manager/cli/db.py b/manager/src/grype_db_manager/cli/db.py
index e6d12774..52078627 100644
--- a/manager/src/grype_db_manager/cli/db.py
+++ b/manager/src/grype_db_manager/cli/db.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 from yardstick.cli import config as ycfg
 from yardstick.cli.validate import validate as yardstick_validate
 
-from grype_db_manager import db, s3utils
+from grype_db_manager import db, s3utils, grypedb
 from grype_db_manager.cli import config, error
 from grype_db_manager.db.format import Format
 from grype_db_manager.grypedb import DB_DIR, DBManager, GrypeDB
@@ -125,10 +125,6 @@ def validate_db(
         click.echo(f"no database found with session id {db_uuid}")
         return
 
-    if db_info.schema_version >= 6:
-        # TODO: not implemented yet
-        raise NotImplementedError("validation for schema v6+ is not yet implemented")
-
     if not skip_namespace_check:
         if db_info.schema_version < 6:
             # ensure the minimum number of namespaces are present
@@ -137,6 +133,21 @@ def validate_db(
             # TODO: implement me
             raise NotImplementedError("namespace validation for schema v6+ is not yet implemented")
 
+    _validate_db(ctx, cfg, db_info, images, db_uuid, verbosity, recapture)
+
+    logging.info(f"validating latest.json {db_uuid}")
+
+    if db_info.schema_version >= 6:
+        _validate_latest(cfg, db_info.latest_path, db_info.archive_path)
+
+    click.echo(f"{Format.BOLD}{Format.OKGREEN}Validation passed{Format.RESET}")
+
+
+def _validate_db(ctx: click.Context, cfg: config.Application, db_info: grypedb.DBInfo, images: list[str], db_uuid: str, verbosity: int, recapture: bool) -> None:
+    if db_info.schema_version >= 6:
+        # TODO: not implemented yet
+        raise NotImplementedError("validation for schema v6+ is not yet implemented")
+
     # resolve tool versions and install them
     yardstick.store.config.set_values(store_root=cfg.data.yardstick_root)
 
@@ -207,6 +218,31 @@ def validate_db(
     )
 
 
+def _validate_latest(cfg: config.Application, latest_file: str, archive_path: str) -> None:
+    with open(latest_file) as f:
+        latest_obj = db.Latest.from_json(f.read())
+
+    if not cfg.validate.listing.image:
+        msg = "no image specified to validate against"
+        raise ValueError(msg)
+
+    if not cfg.validate.listing.minimum_packages:
+        msg = "minimum packages must be specified"
+        raise ValueError(msg)
+
+    if not cfg.validate.listing.minimum_vulnerabilities:
+        msg = "minimum vulnerabilities must be specified"
+        raise ValueError(msg)
+
+    db.latest.smoke_test(
+        latest_obj,
+        archive_path,
+        image=cfg.validate.listing.image,
+        minimum_packages=cfg.validate.listing.minimum_packages,
+        minimum_vulnerabilities=cfg.validate.listing.minimum_vulnerabilities,
+    )
+
+
 @group.command(name="upload", help="upload a grype database")
 @click.option("--ttl-seconds", "-t", default=DEFAULT_TTL_SECONDS, help="the TTL for the uploaded DB (should be relatively high)")
 @click.argument("db-uuid")
diff --git a/manager/src/grype_db_manager/cli/listing.py b/manager/src/grype_db_manager/cli/listing.py
index 43f528c5..189cda77 100644
--- a/manager/src/grype_db_manager/cli/listing.py
+++ b/manager/src/grype_db_manager/cli/listing.py
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ def validate_listing(cfg: config.Application, listing_file: str) -> None:
         raise ValueError(msg)
 
     if cfg.validate.listing.override_grype_version and not cfg.validate.listing.override_db_schema_version:
-        msg = "ovrerride db schema version must be specified if override grype version is specified"
+        msg = "override db schema version must be specified if override grype version is specified"
         raise ValueError(msg)
 
     override_schema_release = None
diff --git a/manager/src/grype_db_manager/data/schema-info.json b/manager/src/grype_db_manager/data/schema-info.json
index 3038806c..908dbee8 100644
--- a/manager/src/grype_db_manager/data/schema-info.json
+++ b/manager/src/grype_db_manager/data/schema-info.json
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
     },
     {
       "schema": "6",
-      "grype-version": "main",
+      "grype-version": "initial-db-dir",
       "supported": false
     }
   ]
diff --git a/manager/src/grype_db_manager/db/__init__.py b/manager/src/grype_db_manager/db/__init__.py
index b7e04da3..a6a6c0d7 100644
--- a/manager/src/grype_db_manager/db/__init__.py
+++ b/manager/src/grype_db_manager/db/__init__.py
@@ -1,11 +1,14 @@
 from . import listing, metadata, schema
+from .latest import Latest
 from .listing import Listing
 from .metadata import Metadata
 from .validation import capture_results
 
 __all__ = [
+    "Latest",
     "Listing",
     "Metadata",
+    "latest",
     "listing",
     "metadata",
     "schema",
diff --git a/manager/src/grype_db_manager/db/latest.py b/manager/src/grype_db_manager/db/latest.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6dfbe740
--- /dev/null
+++ b/manager/src/grype_db_manager/db/latest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import contextlib
+import datetime
+import functools
+import json
+import logging
+import os
+import tempfile
+import threading
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from http.server import HTTPServer, SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
+
+from dataclass_wizard import asdict, fromdict
+
+from grype_db_manager import grype
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from collections.abc import Iterator
+
+LATEST_FILENAME = "latest.json"
+
+# Latest is a dataclass that represents the latest.json document for schemas v6.
+@dataclass
+class Latest:
+    # status indicates if the database is actively being maintained and distributed
+    status: str | None = None
+
+    # schema version of the DB schema
+    schema_version: str | None = None
+
+    # timestamp the database was built
+    built: datetime.datetime | None = None
+
+    # path to a DB archive relative to the listing file hosted location (NOT the absolute URL)
+    path: str = ""
+
+    # self-describing digest of the database archive referenced in path
+    checksum: str = ""
+
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_json(cls, contents: str) -> Latest:
+        return cls.from_dict(json.loads(contents))
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_dict(cls, contents: dict) -> Latest:
+        return fromdict(cls, contents)
+
+    def to_json(self, indent: int | None = None) -> str:
+        return json.dumps(self.to_dict(), indent=indent, sort_keys=True)
+
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict:
+        return asdict(self)
+
+
+@contextlib.contextmanager
+def _http_server(directory: str, schema_version: str) -> Iterator[str]:
+    major_version = schema_version.split(".")[0]
+    server_address = ("127.0.0.1", 5555)
+    url = f"http://{server_address[0]}:{server_address[1]}"
+    latest_url = f"{url}/v{major_version}/{LATEST_FILENAME}"
+
+    def serve() -> None:
+        httpd = HTTPServer(
+            server_address,
+            functools.partial(SimpleHTTPRequestHandler, directory=directory),
+        )
+        logging.info(f"starting test server at {url!r}")
+        # show tree output of the given directory to the log
+        _log_dir(directory)
+
+        httpd.serve_forever()
+
+    thread = threading.Thread(target=serve)
+    thread.daemon = True
+    thread.start()
+    try:
+        yield latest_url
+    finally:
+        pass
+
+
+def _log_dir(path: str, prefix: str = ""):
+    items = sorted(os.listdir(path))
+    for i, item in enumerate(items):
+        is_last = (i == len(items) - 1)
+        connector = "└── " if is_last else "├── "
+        logging.info(f"{prefix}{connector}{item}")
+        new_prefix = prefix + ("    " if is_last else "│   ")
+        item_path = os.path.join(path, item)
+        if os.path.isdir(item_path):
+            _log_dir(item_path, new_prefix)
+
+def _smoke_test(
+        schema_version: str,
+        listing_url: str,
+        image: str,
+        minimum_packages: int,
+        minimum_vulnerabilities: int,
+        store_root: str,
+) -> None:
+    logging.info(f"testing grype schema-version={schema_version!r}")
+    tool_obj = grype.Grype(
+        schema_version=schema_version,
+        store_root=store_root,
+        update_url=listing_url,
+    )
+
+    output = tool_obj.run(user_input=image)
+    packages, vulnerabilities = grype.Report(report_contents=output).parse()
+    logging.info(f"scan result with downloaded DB: packages={len(packages)} vulnerabilities={len(vulnerabilities)}")
+    if not packages or not vulnerabilities:
+        msg = "validation failed: missing packages and/or vulnerabilities"
+        raise ValueError(msg)
+
+    if len(packages) < minimum_packages:
+        msg = f"validation failed: expected at least {minimum_packages} packages, got {len(packages)}"
+        raise ValueError(msg)
+
+    if len(vulnerabilities) < minimum_vulnerabilities:
+        msg = f"validation failed: expected at least {minimum_vulnerabilities} vulnerabilities, got {len(vulnerabilities)}"
+        raise ValueError(msg)
+
+
+def smoke_test(
+        test_latest: Latest,
+        archive_path: str,
+        image: str,
+        minimum_packages: int,
+        minimum_vulnerabilities: int,
+) -> None:
+    # write the listing to a temp dir that is served up locally on an HTTP server. This is used by grype to locally
+    # download the latest.json file and check that it works against S3 (since the listing entries have DB urls that
+    # reside in S3).
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="grype-db-smoke-test") as tempdir:
+        listing_contents = test_latest.to_json()
+
+        installation_path = os.path.join(tempdir, "grype-install")
+
+        major_version = test_latest.schema_version.split(".")[0]
+
+        sub_path = os.path.join(tempdir, "v"+major_version)
+        os.makedirs(sub_path, exist_ok=True)
+
+        logging.info(listing_contents)
+        with open(os.path.join(sub_path, LATEST_FILENAME), "w") as f:
+            f.write(listing_contents)
+
+        # make the archive available at the expected location via symlink
+        archive_dest = os.path.join(sub_path, test_latest.path)
+        os.link(archive_path, archive_dest)
+
+
+        # ensure grype can perform a db update for all supported schema versions. Note: we are only testing the
+        # latest.json for the DB is usable (the download succeeds and grype and the update process, which does
+        # checksum verifications, passes). This test does NOT check the integrity of the DB since that has already
+        # been tested in the build steps.
+        with _http_server(directory=tempdir, schema_version=test_latest.schema_version) as listing_url:
+            _smoke_test(
+                schema_version=test_latest.schema_version,
+                listing_url=listing_url,
+                image=image,
+                minimum_packages=minimum_packages,
+                minimum_vulnerabilities=minimum_vulnerabilities,
+                store_root=installation_path,
+            )
+
diff --git a/manager/src/grype_db_manager/grype.py b/manager/src/grype_db_manager/grype.py
index d9db9806..52f31778 100644
--- a/manager/src/grype_db_manager/grype.py
+++ b/manager/src/grype_db_manager/grype.py
@@ -22,7 +22,9 @@
 class Grype:
     BIN = "grype"
 
-    def __init__(self, schema_version: int, store_root: str, update_url: str = "", release: str | None = None):
+    def __init__(self, schema_version: int | str, store_root: str, update_url: str = "", release: str | None = None):
+        if isinstance(schema_version, str):
+            schema_version = int(schema_version.split(".")[0])
         self.schema_version = schema_version
         if release:
             logging.warning(f"overriding grype release for schema={schema_version!r} with release={release!r}")
@@ -31,7 +33,7 @@ def __init__(self, schema_version: int, store_root: str, update_url: str = "", r
             self.release = schema.grype_version(schema_version)
         logging.debug(f"using grype release={self.release!r} for schema={schema_version!r}")
 
-        env = {}
+        env = self._env()
         if update_url:
             env["GRYPE_DB_UPDATE_URL"] = update_url
         self.tool = grype.Grype.install(version=self.release, path=os.path.join(store_root, self.release), env=env)
@@ -43,20 +45,29 @@ def supported_schema_versions() -> list[str]:
             obj = json.load(fh)
         return obj.keys()
 
+    def _env(self, env: dict[str, str] | None = None) -> dict[str, str]:
+        if not env:
+            env = os.environ.copy()
+        if self.schema_version >= 6:
+            env.update({
+                "GRYPE_EXP_DBV6": "true",
+            })
+        return env
+
     def update_db(self) -> None:
-        self.tool.run("db", "update", "-vv")
+        self.tool.run("db", "update", "-vv", env=self._env())
 
         # ensure the db cache is not empty for the current schema
         check_db_cache_dir(self.schema_version, os.path.join(self.tool.path, "db"))
 
     def import_db(self, db_path: str) -> None:
-        self.tool.run("db", "import", db_path)
+        self.tool.run("db", "import", db_path, env=self._env())
 
         # ensure the db cache is not empty for the current schema
         check_db_cache_dir(self.schema_version, os.path.join(self.tool.path, "db"))
 
     def run(self, user_input: str) -> str:
-        return self.tool.run("-o", "json", "-v", user_input)
+        return self.tool.run("-o", "json", "-v", user_input, env=self._env())
 
 
 class Report:
@@ -97,17 +108,17 @@ def parse(self) -> tuple[set[Package], set[Vulnerability]]:
         return packages, vulnerabilities
 
 
-def check_db_cache_dir(schema_version: str, db_runtime_dir: str) -> None:
+def check_db_cache_dir(schema_version: int, db_runtime_dir: str) -> None:
     """
     Ensure that there is a `metadata.json` file for the cache directory, which signals that there
     are files related to a database pull
     """
     # ensure the db cache is not empty for the current schema
-    if schema_version == "1":
+    if schema_version == 1:
         # older grype versions do not support schema-based cache directories
         db_metadata_file = os.path.join(db_runtime_dir, "metadata.json")
     else:
-        db_metadata_file = os.path.join(db_runtime_dir, schema_version, "metadata.json")
+        db_metadata_file = os.path.join(db_runtime_dir, str(schema_version), "metadata.json")
 
     if os.path.exists(db_metadata_file):
         # the metadata.json file exists and grype will be able to work with it