diff --git a/playbooks/roles/ceph_client/defaults/main.yml b/playbooks/roles/ceph_client/defaults/main.yml
index 2e95e8bb83..6a6a20b8db 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/ceph_client/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/ceph_client/defaults/main.yml
@@ -14,6 +14,10 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
+# Set the package install state for distribution packages
+# Options are 'present' and 'latest'
+ceph_client_package_state: "latest"
+
 # to use Ceph in OSA, you need to
 # - have the needed pools and a client user (for glance, cinder and/or nova)
 #   pre-provisioned in your ceph cluster; OSA assumes to have root access to
diff --git a/playbooks/roles/ceph_client/tasks/ceph_install_apt.yml b/playbooks/roles/ceph_client/tasks/ceph_install_apt.yml
index 5983fba7e3..3fadbb985f 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/ceph_client/tasks/ceph_install_apt.yml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/ceph_client/tasks/ceph_install_apt.yml
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
 - name: Install ceph packages
   apt:
     name: '{{ item.1 }}'
-    state: latest
+    state: "{{ ceph_client_package_state }}"
   register: install_packages
   until: install_packages|success
   retries: 5
diff --git a/playbooks/roles/ceph_client/tasks/ceph_preinstall_apt.yml b/playbooks/roles/ceph_client/tasks/ceph_preinstall_apt.yml
index 1647b71e3b..03408c9e65 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/ceph_client/tasks/ceph_preinstall_apt.yml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/ceph_client/tasks/ceph_preinstall_apt.yml
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@
 - name: add ubuntu cloud archive key package
   apt:
     pkg: ubuntu-cloud-keyring
+    state: "{{ ceph_client_package_state }}"
   register: add_keys
   when: ceph_pkg_source == 'uca'
   tags:
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/package-state-1d27f4c7f8618cef.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/package-state-1d27f4c7f8618cef.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..197bcfdfee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/package-state-1d27f4c7f8618cef.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+---
+features:
+  - The ceph_client role now supports the ability to configure whether
+    apt/yum tasks install the latest available package, or just ensure
+    that the package is present. The default action is to ensure that
+    the latest package is present. The action taken may be changed to
+    only ensure that the package is present by setting
+    ``ceph_client_package_state`` to ``present``.
+upgrade:
+  - The ceph_client role always checks whether the latest package is
+    installed when executed. If a deployer wishes to change the check to
+    only validate the presence of the package, the option
+    ``ceph_client_package_state`` should be set to ``present``.