RHEL Sytem registration / update fail with error "There was an SSL error: [('SSL routines', 'SSL23_GET_SERVER_HELLO', 'unknown protocol')]"

Issue

• When registering system into RHN, the register process failed and /var/log/up2date has following error messages:

   up2date rhn_check execution:: ERROR: SSL errors detected
  [('SSL routines', 'SSL23_GET_SERVER_HELLO', 'unknown protocol')]
  

• Yum commands fail with the following"

[root@example ~]# package-cleanup --dupes
Loaded plugins: product-id, refresh-packagekit, rhnplugin
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/bin/package-cleanup", line 417, in <module>
    util = PackageCleanup()
  File "/usr/bin/package-cleanup", line 60, in __init__
    self.main()
  File "/usr/bin/package-cleanup", line 307, in main
    opts = self.doUtilConfigSetup()
  File "/usr/share/yum-cli/utils.py", line 273, in doUtilConfigSetup
    self.conf
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/site-packages/yum/__init__.py", line 887, in <lambda>
    conf = property(fget=lambda self: self._getConfig(),
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/site-packages/yum/__init__.py", line 358, in _getConfig
    self.plugins.run('init')
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/site-packages/yum/plugins.py", line 184, in run
    func(conduitcls(self, self.base, conf, **kwargs))
  File "/usr/share/yum-plugins/rhnplugin.py", line 114, in init_hook
    login_info = up2dateAuth.getLoginInfo()
  File "/usr/share/rhn/up2date_client/up2dateAuth.py", line 219, in getLoginInfo
    login()
  File "/usr/share/rhn/up2date_client/up2dateAuth.py", line 186, in login
    li = server.up2date.login(systemId)
  File "/usr/share/rhn/up2date_client/rhnserver.py", line 50, in __call__
    return rpcServer.doCall(method, *args, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/share/rhn/up2date_client/rpcServer.py", line 206, in doCall
    ret = method(*args, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/lib64/python2.6/xmlrpclib.py", line 1199, in __call__
    return self.__send(self.__name, args)
  File "/usr/share/rhn/up2date_client/rpcServer.py", line 39, in _request1
    ret = self._request(methodname, params)
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/site-packages/rhn/rpclib.py", line 383, in _request
    self._handler, request, verbose=self._verbose)
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/site-packages/rhn/transports.py", line 171, in request
    headers, fd = req.send_http(host, handler)
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/site-packages/rhn/transports.py", line 704, in send_http
    headers=self.headers)
  File "/usr/lib64/python2.6/httplib.py", line 914, in request
    self._send_request(method, url, body, headers)
  File "/usr/lib64/python2.6/httplib.py", line 951, in _send_request
    self.endheaders()
  File "/usr/lib64/python2.6/httplib.py", line 908, in endheaders
    self._send_output()
  File "/usr/lib64/python2.6/httplib.py", line 780, in _send_output
    self.send(msg)
  File "/usr/lib64/python2.6/httplib.py", line 759, in send
    self.sock.sendall(str)
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/site-packages/rhn/SSL.py", line 217, in write
    sent = self._connection.send(data)
OpenSSL.SSL.Error: [('SSL routines', 'SSL23_GET_SERVER_HELLO', 'unknown protocol')]