import os, rpm

def get_rpm_version(path):

    # open .rpm file
    fdno = os.open(path, os.O_RDONLY)

    # init transaction set
    ts = rpm.TransactionSet()

    # read header
    hdr = ts.hdrFromFdno(fdno)

    # close file
    os.close(fdno)

    # return version
    return hdr['version']