diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 0e1dee2c..20cacb23 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 - Fix: k8s scopes that have both a custom domain and additional ports now deploy, instead of failing with "Failed to build ingress template"
+- Fix: k8s scopes now honor the scope-configurations provider's `security.image_pull_secrets_enabled` / `security.image_pull_secrets` over the `values.yaml` default, so non-EKS clusters (e.g. AKS pulling from ACR) no longer reference a non-existent `ecr-secret` and hit `ImagePullBackOff`
 
 ## [1.16.3] - 2026-09-08
 - Add: remove resource level restriction for `elasticloadbalancing:Describe*` permissions as AWS does not support it.
diff --git a/k8s/deployment/build_context b/k8s/deployment/build_context
index c0340487..67d3f91a 100755
--- a/k8s/deployment/build_context
+++ b/k8s/deployment/build_context
@@ -85,6 +85,43 @@ validate_status() {
   esac
 }
 
+# Resolves the image pull secrets for the pod spec into IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS.
+# Priority (highest to lowest):
+#   1. PULL_SECRETS env var (full JSON object, used as-is)
+#   2. scope-configurations provider (security.image_pull_secrets_enabled /
+#      security.image_pull_secrets) — only when the provider explicitly sets the flag
+#   3. IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS from values.yaml (the shipped default)
+#   4. Disabled
+# The flag is read with an explicit null-check instead of get_config_value because
+# that helper evaluates `<path> // empty`, which turns an explicit `false` into "not set".
+resolve_image_pull_secrets() {
+  if [[ -n "${PULL_SECRETS:-}" ]]; then
+    IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS=$PULL_SECRETS
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  local provider_enabled
+  provider_enabled=$(echo "$CONTEXT" | jq -r \
+    '.providers["scope-configurations"].security.image_pull_secrets_enabled
+     | if . == null then "null" else tostring end')
+
+  if [ "$provider_enabled" != "null" ]; then
+    local provider_secrets
+    provider_secrets=$(get_config_value \
+      --provider '.providers["scope-configurations"].security.image_pull_secrets | @json' \
+      --default "[]"
+    )
+    IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS=$(jq -n \
+      --argjson enabled "$provider_enabled" \
+      --argjson secrets "$provider_secrets" \
+      '{ENABLED: $enabled, SECRETS: $secrets}')
+  elif [ -n "${IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS:-}" ]; then
+    IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS=$(echo "$IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS" | jq .)
+  else
+    IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS='{"ENABLED":false,"SECRETS":[]}'
+  fi
+}
+
 if ! validate_status "$SERVICE_ACTION" "$DEPLOYMENT_STATUS"; then
   log error "❌ Invalid deployment status '$DEPLOYMENT_STATUS' for action '$SERVICE_ACTION'"
   log error "💡 Possible causes:"
@@ -115,27 +152,7 @@ if [ "$DEPLOY_STRATEGY" = "rolling" ] && [ "$DEPLOYMENT_STATUS" = "running" ]; t
   GREEN_REPLICAS=$(( MIN_REPLICAS > GREEN_REPLICAS ? MIN_REPLICAS : GREEN_REPLICAS ))
 fi
 
-if [[ -n "$PULL_SECRETS" ]]; then
-  IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS=$PULL_SECRETS
-else
-  if [ -n "${IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS:-}" ]; then
-    IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS=$(echo "$IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS" | jq .)
-  else
-    PULL_SECRETS_ENABLED=$(get_config_value \
-      --provider '.providers["scope-configurations"].security.image_pull_secrets_enabled' \
-      --default "false"
-    )
-    PULL_SECRETS_LIST=$(get_config_value \
-      --provider '.providers["scope-configurations"].security.image_pull_secrets | @json' \
-      --default "[]"
-    )
-
-    IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS=$(jq -n \
-      --argjson enabled "$PULL_SECRETS_ENABLED" \
-      --argjson secrets "$PULL_SECRETS_LIST" \
-      '{ENABLED: $enabled, SECRETS: $secrets}')
-  fi
-fi
+resolve_image_pull_secrets
 
 SCOPE_TRAFFIC_PROTOCOL=$(echo "$CONTEXT" | jq -r .scope.capabilities.protocol)
 
diff --git a/k8s/deployment/tests/build_context.bats b/k8s/deployment/tests/build_context.bats
index 72f95cc6..d59a1b85 100644
--- a/k8s/deployment/tests/build_context.bats
+++ b/k8s/deployment/tests/build_context.bats
@@ -19,12 +19,15 @@ setup() {
 
   # Extract validate_status function from build_context for isolated testing
   eval "$(sed -n '/^validate_status()/,/^}/p' "$PROJECT_ROOT/k8s/deployment/build_context")"
+
+  # Extract resolve_image_pull_secrets from build_context for isolated testing
+  eval "$(sed -n '/^resolve_image_pull_secrets()/,/^}/p' "$PROJECT_ROOT/k8s/deployment/build_context")"
 }
 
 teardown() {
-  unset -f validate_status 2>/dev/null || true
+  unset -f validate_status resolve_image_pull_secrets 2>/dev/null || true
   unset CONTEXT DEPLOY_STRATEGY POD_DISRUPTION_BUDGET_ENABLED POD_DISRUPTION_BUDGET_MAX_UNAVAILABLE 2>/dev/null || true
-  unset TRAFFIC_CONTAINER_IMAGE TRAFFIC_MANAGER_CONFIG_MAP IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS IAM CONTAINER_MEMORY_IN_MEMORY CONTAINER_CPU_IN_MILLICORES MAIN_TRAFFIC_MANAGER_PORT 2>/dev/null || true
+  unset TRAFFIC_CONTAINER_IMAGE TRAFFIC_MANAGER_CONFIG_MAP IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS PULL_SECRETS IAM CONTAINER_MEMORY_IN_MEMORY CONTAINER_CPU_IN_MILLICORES MAIN_TRAFFIC_MANAGER_PORT 2>/dev/null || true
 }
 
 # =============================================================================
@@ -260,17 +263,56 @@ resolve_traffic_container_version() {
 }
 
 # =============================================================================
-# Image Pull Secrets Tests
+# Image Pull Secrets Tests (resolve_image_pull_secrets)
 # =============================================================================
-@test "image pull secrets: PULL_SECRETS takes precedence over IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS" {
-  PULL_SECRETS='["secret1"]'
-  IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS="{}"
+@test "resolve_image_pull_secrets: PULL_SECRETS env takes precedence over provider and default" {
+  export PULL_SECRETS='{"ENABLED":true,"SECRETS":["from-env"]}'
+  export IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS='{"ENABLED":true,"SECRETS":["ecr-secret"]}'
+  export CONTEXT=$(echo "$CONTEXT" | jq '.providers["scope-configurations"] = {
+    "security": {"image_pull_secrets_enabled": true, "image_pull_secrets": ["acr-secret"]}
+  }')
 
-  if [[ -n "$PULL_SECRETS" ]]; then
-    IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS=$PULL_SECRETS
-  fi
+  resolve_image_pull_secrets
+
+  assert_json_equal "$IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS" '{"ENABLED":true,"SECRETS":["from-env"]}'
+}
+
+@test "resolve_image_pull_secrets: provider wins over the values.yaml default" {
+  export IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS='{"ENABLED":true,"SECRETS":["ecr-secret"]}'
+  export CONTEXT=$(echo "$CONTEXT" | jq '.providers["scope-configurations"] = {
+    "security": {"image_pull_secrets_enabled": true, "image_pull_secrets": ["acr-secret"]}
+  }')
+
+  resolve_image_pull_secrets
+
+  assert_json_equal "$IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS" '{"ENABLED":true,"SECRETS":["acr-secret"]}'
+}
+
+@test "resolve_image_pull_secrets: provider can explicitly disable pull secrets" {
+  export IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS='{"ENABLED":true,"SECRETS":["ecr-secret"]}'
+  export CONTEXT=$(echo "$CONTEXT" | jq '.providers["scope-configurations"] = {
+    "security": {"image_pull_secrets_enabled": false}
+  }')
+
+  resolve_image_pull_secrets
+
+  assert_json_equal "$IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS" '{"ENABLED":false,"SECRETS":[]}'
+}
+
+@test "resolve_image_pull_secrets: falls back to the values.yaml default when the provider is silent" {
+  export IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS='{"ENABLED":true,"SECRETS":["ecr-secret"]}'
+
+  resolve_image_pull_secrets
+
+  assert_json_equal "$IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS" '{"ENABLED":true,"SECRETS":["ecr-secret"]}'
+}
+
+@test "resolve_image_pull_secrets: disabled when neither provider nor default is set" {
+  unset IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS
+
+  resolve_image_pull_secrets
 
-  assert_equal "$IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS" '["secret1"]'
+  assert_json_equal "$IMAGE_PULL_SECRETS" '{"ENABLED":false,"SECRETS":[]}'
 }
 
 # =============================================================================