UTF-8 encoded /etc/issue may not be properly displayed by ssh in RHEL 6

Issue

• We use UTF-8 encoded /etc/issue files, configured in sshd to be displayed on connection. With RHEL 4 and 5 the accents are properly displayed. In RHEL 6, they are not, the escaped octal values are displayed instead. All locales are set to UTF-8 encoding using the proper environment variables. For example:

  • Connection from RHEL 6 (incorrect):

    $ ssh server
    AVERTISSEMENT: L'acc\303\250s \303\240 ce syst\303\250me est restreint.
    

  • Connection from RHEL 4 (correct):

    $ ssh server
    AVERTISSEMENT: L'accès à ce système est restreint.