when redirected to the content provider for packages, rhn client would not correctly register changes in protocol, which would result in a TypeError. (BZ#489920)

when attempting to download multiple packages, only the first redirect URL would be stored, so not all packages pulled down would be correct. Changes in protocol and URLs are now tracked and redirecting should work as expected. (BZ#489921)

when a package could not be found on the content delivery network, rhnlib would make an incorrect request to the original host, and use this URL for subsequent attempts to locate the package. rhn client now requests a fresh redirect when a package cannot be located on the network. (BZ#492638)

if an attempt to open a file in /tmp failed, the SmartIO.py module would enter a loop and make multiple attempts to open the same file. If these all failed, the module would exit with an error. The module provided in this updated package instead uses mkstemp to create a file with a unique filename. This has a greater chance of success and uses system resources more efficiently. (BZ#499858)

rhnlib has been enhanced and should now be able to handle any redirect requests sent down by Red Hat Network servers. (BZ#484245)

users were constrained to use the /tmp directory on the server's file system to store temporary transport files for transfer to the clients, and required space on client machines where the temporary transport files could be stored during installation. The version of rhnlib included with this advisory allows end-users to define their own temporary directory in which to spool temporary transport files.(BZ#499860)