registration and updates fail due to curl: (59) failed setting cipher list: DEFAULT_SUSE

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 Service Pack 3 (SLES 12 SP3)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 Service Pack 2 (SLES 12 SP2)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 Service Pack 1 (SLES 12 SP1)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 Service Pack 4 (SLES 11 SP4)

Situation

When trying to work with server patching or SMT, on connecting to the SUSE patching 'back-end servers', an error is seen:

curl: (59) failed setting cipher list: DEFAULT_SUSE

Resolution

In this case, the 'Dell EMC Networker' product had been installed. It had installed a non-SUSE version of the OpenSSL libraries which were now being used as the default for the server.

Remove the 'Dell EMC Networker' product.

Cause

Any third-party software that installs an alternative version of the OpenSSL libraries and alters the default file-system pointers/paths to the required version of the OpenSSL libraries can cause the patching mechanisms to fail.

Additional Information

Not all versions of the 'Dell EMC Networker' product cause a problem. It is believed that the most recent versions install without 'hijacking' the server's OpenSSL library linkage.

The root-cause of the problem was identified by running:-

strace -f -o /tmp/trace1.txt openssl ciphers -v DEFAULT_SUSE

and examining the output file 'trace1.txt'.

This showed that the paths to the OpenSSL libraries being used were 'non standard' and brought to light that the server had multiple versions of the OpenSSL libraries installed.

Disclaimer

This Support Knowledgebase provides a valuable tool for SUSE customers and parties interested in our products and solutions to acquire information, ideas and learn from one another. Materials are provided for informational, personal or non-commercial use within your organization and are presented "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.