diff --git a/resources/org/homelab/dind-pod.yaml b/resources/org/homelab/dind-pod.yaml
index bc7deca..0704cad 100644
--- a/resources/org/homelab/dind-pod.yaml
+++ b/resources/org/homelab/dind-pod.yaml
@@ -28,6 +28,16 @@ spec:
       env:
         - name: DOCKER_HOST
           value: tcp://localhost:2375
+        # docker-config below mounts the Harbor push-auth secret
+        # read-only at /root/.docker (needed so `docker push` finds
+        # config.json without an explicit `docker login` step) — but
+        # modern `docker build` defaults to BuildKit/buildx, which wants
+        # to create its own state dir at /root/.docker/buildx and fails
+        # with "read-only file system" since the whole mount is
+        # read-only. Forcing the classic builder avoids needing to write
+        # there at all.
+        - name: DOCKER_BUILDKIT
+          value: "0"
         # For syncArgoApp.groovy — read directly from the ESO-managed
         # Secret, not a Jenkins-native credential (nothing in this
         # pipeline uses Jenkins' own credential store; staying consistent
diff --git a/vars/homelabPipeline.groovy b/vars/homelabPipeline.groovy
index 4e6e04f..b0a5708 100644
--- a/vars/homelabPipeline.groovy
+++ b/vars/homelabPipeline.groovy
@@ -27,6 +27,19 @@ def call(Map config) {
     config.helm_repo_url     = config.helm_repo_url      ?: 'http://gitea.192.168.1.7.nip.io/mukul/devops-helm-charts.git'
     config.image_tag_yq_path = config.image_tag_yq_path  ?: '.deployment.image.tag'
 
+    // Every stage file (both the ones adapted for this homelab and the
+    // untouched legacy ones carried over from the real devops-lib) reads
+    // `env.FAILURE` when setting currentBuild.result on error — the real
+    // system must define this as a global Jenkins environment variable
+    // somewhere upstream of buildPipeline.groovy, since it's referenced
+    // everywhere but never set anywhere in this repo. Left undefined,
+    // `env.FAILURE` is null, and `currentBuild.result = null` throws
+    // `NoSuchMethodError`/`NullPointerException` deep inside Jenkins'
+    // own result-normalization code — masking whatever the real error
+    // was. Defining it once here, before any stage runs, is the minimal
+    // fix rather than touching every individual stage file.
+    env.FAILURE = 'FAILURE'
+
     podTemplate(yaml: libraryResource('org/homelab/dind-pod.yaml')) {
         node(POD_LABEL) {
             def checkOutObj = new com.homelab.stages.checkOut()