diff --git a/src/uucore/src/lib/features/checksum.rs b/src/uucore/src/lib/features/checksum.rs
index c55d56393..27fbc7bf1 100644
--- a/src/uucore/src/lib/features/checksum.rs
+++ b/src/uucore/src/lib/features/checksum.rs
@@ -575,8 +575,8 @@ where
                     res.failed_cksum += 1;
                 }
             } else {
-                if line.is_empty() {
-                    // Don't show any warning for empty lines
+                if line.is_empty() || line.starts_with("#") {
+                    // Don't show any warning for empty or commented lines.
                     continue;
                 }
                 if warn {
diff --git a/tests/by-util/test_cksum.rs b/tests/by-util/test_cksum.rs
index 117e54e1e..507c2dffb 100644
--- a/tests/by-util/test_cksum.rs
+++ b/tests/by-util/test_cksum.rs
@@ -1277,3 +1277,70 @@ fn test_non_utf8_filename() {
         .stdout_is_bytes(b"SHA256 (funky\xffname) = e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855\n")
         .no_stderr();
 }
+
+#[test]
+fn test_check_comment_line() {
+    // A comment in a checksum file shall be discarded unnoticed.
+
+    let scene = TestScenario::new(util_name!());
+    let at = &scene.fixtures;
+
+    at.write("foo", "foo-content\n");
+    at.write(
+        "CHECKSUM-sha1",
+        "\
+        # This is a comment\n\
+        SHA1 (foo) = 058ab38dd3603703b3a7063cf95dc51a4286b6fe\n\
+        # next comment is empty\n#",
+    );
+
+    scene
+        .ucmd()
+        .arg("--check")
+        .arg("CHECKSUM-sha1")
+        .succeeds()
+        .stdout_contains("foo: OK")
+        .no_stderr();
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_check_comment_only() {
+    // A file only filled with comments is equivalent to an empty file,
+    // and therefore produces an error.
+
+    let scene = TestScenario::new(util_name!());
+    let at = &scene.fixtures;
+
+    at.write("CHECKSUM", "# This is a comment\n");
+
+    scene
+        .ucmd()
+        .arg("--check")
+        .arg("CHECKSUM")
+        .fails()
+        .stderr_contains("no properly formatted checksum lines found");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_check_comment_leading_space() {
+    // A comment must have its '#' in first position on the line.
+    // A space before it will raise a warning for improperly formatted line.
+
+    let scene = TestScenario::new(util_name!());
+    let at = &scene.fixtures;
+
+    at.write("foo", "foo-content\n");
+    at.write(
+        "CHECKSUM-sha1",
+        " # This is a comment\n\
+        SHA1 (foo) = 058ab38dd3603703b3a7063cf95dc51a4286b6fe\n",
+    );
+
+    scene
+        .ucmd()
+        .arg("--check")
+        .arg("CHECKSUM-sha1")
+        .succeeds()
+        .stdout_contains("foo: OK")
+        .stderr_contains("WARNING: 1 line is improperly formatted");
+}
diff --git a/tests/by-util/test_hashsum.rs b/tests/by-util/test_hashsum.rs
index 28a27adae..533f0b7e7 100644
--- a/tests/by-util/test_hashsum.rs
+++ b/tests/by-util/test_hashsum.rs
@@ -939,3 +939,71 @@ fn test_check_b2sum_strict_check() {
         .succeeds()
         .stdout_only(&output);
 }
+
+#[test]
+fn test_check_md5_comment_line() {
+    // A comment in a checksum file shall be discarded unnoticed.
+
+    let scene = TestScenario::new(util_name!());
+    let at = &scene.fixtures;
+
+    at.write("foo", "foo-content\n");
+    at.write(
+        "MD5SUM",
+        "\
+        # This is a comment\n\
+        8411029f3f5b781026a93db636aca721  foo\n\
+        # next comment is empty\n#",
+    );
+
+    scene
+        .ccmd("md5sum")
+        .arg("--check")
+        .arg("MD5SUM")
+        .succeeds()
+        .stdout_contains("foo: OK")
+        .no_stderr();
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_check_md5_comment_only() {
+    // A file only filled with comments is equivalent to an empty file,
+    // and therefore produces an error.
+
+    let scene = TestScenario::new(util_name!());
+    let at = &scene.fixtures;
+
+    at.write("foo", "foo-content\n");
+    at.write("MD5SUM", "# This is a comment\n");
+
+    scene
+        .ccmd("md5sum")
+        .arg("--check")
+        .arg("MD5SUM")
+        .fails()
+        .stderr_contains("no properly formatted checksum lines found");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_check_md5_comment_leading_space() {
+    // A file only filled with comments is equivalent to an empty file,
+    // and therefore produces an error.
+
+    let scene = TestScenario::new(util_name!());
+    let at = &scene.fixtures;
+
+    at.write("foo", "foo-content\n");
+    at.write(
+        "MD5SUM",
+        " # This is a comment\n\
+        8411029f3f5b781026a93db636aca721  foo\n",
+    );
+
+    scene
+        .ccmd("md5sum")
+        .arg("--check")
+        .arg("MD5SUM")
+        .succeeds()
+        .stdout_contains("foo: OK")
+        .stderr_contains("WARNING: 1 line is improperly formatted");
+}