Troubleshooting Red Hat Channel and PM Import issues

Products

Patch Management Solution

Issue/Introduction

During the Red Hat Channel Import process, you may encounter errors similar to the following:

Verifying RHN subscriptions
Rhsm: Consumer Uuid 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 isn't valid for RHEL-I386-CLIENT-6
System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException: Index was out of range. Must be non-negative and less than the size of the collection.
Parameter name: index
at System.ThrowHelper.ThrowArgumentOutOfRangeException(ExceptionArgument argument, ExceptionResource resource)
at Altiris.PatchManagementLinux.Redhat.RhnSoftwareRepository.RegisterRhnSystems(Dictionary`2 supportedOs, Dictionary`2& enitlement)
at Altiris.PatchManagementLinux.Redhat.RhnSoftwareRepository.ImportChannels()
Please check that valid RHN userName/password are specified.

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Additional errors may include:

Failed to register RHN systems, please check that valid RHN userName/password are specified.
REST request failed. Response: StatusCode: 403, ReasonPhrase: 'Forbidden', Version: 1.1, Content: System.Net.Http.StreamContent, Headers:
{
x-candlepin-request-uuid: 21b03912-9367-42e1-88f7-282e8bc00366
X-Version: x.x.xx-x
X-Version: x.x.xx-x
Transfer-Encoding: chunked
Date: xxx, xx xxx xxxx xx:xx:xx xxx
Server: Apache-Coyote/1.1
Content-Type: application/json
}

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The Red Hat Channel Import is failing, and you see warnings and errors in the Notification Server (NS) logs indicating all entitlements are invalid.

In the Notification Server (NS) logs, you may see repeated warnings indicating entitlement failures, such as:

Entitlement isn't valid. Consumer UUID <unique code> for <product>. It will be repaired…
Products without entitlement will be excluded from supported product list. Its channels will not be available until repair.
There is nothing to import.

The result is that the Red Hat Channel Import fails, and no channels are available for Patch Management.

Environment

Patch Management 8.x

Cause

Several factors commonly lead to Red Hat import failures:

1. Invalid or Incorrect Credentials

The most frequent cause is incorrect username/password credentials configured in:

Settings > Software > Patch Management > Red Hat Settings > Red Hat Network tab

2. Red Hat Account Not Granted Proper Permissions

The account used must be a Red Hat Organizational Administrator.
If it is not, entitlement checks and certificate retrieval will fail.

3. Red Hat Migration to console.redhat.com

Red Hat’s transition to the new subscription service platform can break existing integrations until updated fixes are applied. Refer to "Transition of Red Hat's subscription services to console.redhat.com"

4. Candlepin Version Changes

New version of Candlepin (software subscription management tool). Red Hat’s newer Candlepin subscription management service may prevent ITMS from downloading updated certificates required for entitlement validation.

5. Proxy Interference

In environments with an intermediate proxy, HTTPS traffic between ITMS and Red Hat can be altered, leading to entitlement or certificate validation errors.

Resolution

1. Verify Credentials and Permissions

Confirm the username and password in the Red Hat Patch Remediation Settings policy are correct (under Settings > Software > Patch Management > Red Hat Settings > Red Hat Network tab).
Ensure the account is an Organizational Administrator in the Red Hat portal.
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is not supported for this account.
(Create and manage other users)

2. Check for Proxy Interference

If a proxy may be modifying traffic (the requests between ITMS and Red Hat may get corrupted):

On the Notification Server, temporarily add the registry value:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Altiris\Patch Management] "IgnoreCertificateCheck"=dword:00000001
Retry the import to confirm if certificates were being blocked or altered.
Remove the registry value "IgnoreCertificateCheck" after troubleshooting.

3. Apply Fixes for Red Hat Migration Issues

If affected by Red Hat’s "Transition of Red Hat's subscription services to console.redhat.com", install the latest point fixes for:

(Only these versions have migration-related fixes.)

4. Apply Fixes for Candlepin Certificate Issues

If entitlement problems are caused by new Candlepin (software subscription management tool) behavior, and if on 8.6 RU2 or RU3 and later, apply the latest cumulative point fixes for your ITMS version:

CUMULATIVE POST ITMS 8.6 RU2 POINT FIXES
CUMULATIVE POST ITMS 8.6 RU3 POINT FIXES
CUMULATIVE POST ITMS 8.7.2 POINT FIXES
CUMULATIVE POST ITMS 8.7.3 POINT FIXES
CUMULATIVE POST ITMS 8.8 RTM(GA) POINT FIXES

Additional Information

For issues where computers do not show applicable for expected errata, ensure Perl is installed on the endpoints: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Servers not populating under "Compliance by computer" and "Compliance by Erratum" for applicable Errata