[karmic] openssl failed to upgrade

[NoOp]

I've a machine that I performed a karmic upgrade on that results in a
broken openssl package. Filed a bug report:
<https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/openssl/+bug/557641>
[package openssl 0.9.8g-16ubuntu3.1 failed to install/upgrade: failed in
buffer_read(fd): md5hash]
but no joy.

I hesitate to trust the machine further until the problem is resolved
given the security possibilities. Any advise on how to fix this?