Yum generates '[Errno 14] HTTP Error 401: Authorization Required' while accessing RHUI CDS

Issue

After creating and installing the client entitlement RPMs on a client system (both RHEL5 and RHEL6), receiving "HTTP Error 401: Authorization Required" when executing yum commands.

# yum repolist
Loaded plugins: rhui-lb, security
https://host1.domain.com/pulp/repos//customer-vpdc-unmanaged/repodata/repomd.xml: [Errno 14] HTTP Error 401: Authorization Required
Trying other mirror.
https://host2.domain.com/pulp/repos//customer-vpdc-unmanaged/repodata/repomd.xml: [Errno 14] HTTP Error 401: Authorization Required
Trying other mirror.
Error: Cannot retrieve repository metadata (repomd.xml) for repository: rhui-custom-10000. Please verify its path and try again

The log file of /var/log/httpd/ssl_error_log on the CDS gives a better indicates the real issue:

IOError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/etc/pki/pulp/content/pulp-protected-repos'