diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index ff616ec..01d39c8 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -229,6 +229,7 @@ services:
     environment:
       NODE_ENV: development
       NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL: http://localhost:8000
+      SUPABASE_URL: http://supabase-kong:8000
       NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY: ${ANON_KEY:-eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJzdXBhYmFzZS1kZW1vIiwicm9sZSI6ImFub24iLCJleHAiOjE5ODM4MTI5OTZ9.CRXP1A7WOeoJeXxjNni43kdQwgnWNReilDMblYTn_I0}
       NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL: http://localhost:4000
       API_URL: http://trust-center-backend:4000
diff --git a/frontend/src/middleware.ts b/frontend/src/middleware.ts
index a1cf964..9bd179c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/middleware.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/middleware.ts
@@ -13,33 +13,53 @@ export async function middleware(request: NextRequest) {
     return NextResponse.next();
   }
 
-  const response = NextResponse.next();
-
-  const supabase = createServerClient(
-    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL!,
-    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY!,
-    {
-      cookies: {
-        getAll() {
-          return request.cookies.getAll();
-        },
-        setAll(cookiesToSet) {
-          cookiesToSet.forEach(({ name, value, options }) => {
-            response.cookies.set(name, value, options);
-          });
+  // If Supabase env vars are not configured, fall through to client-side auth
+  // Prefer SUPABASE_URL (Docker-internal) over NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL (browser-facing localhost)
+  const supabaseUrl = process.env.SUPABASE_URL || process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL;
+  const supabaseAnonKey = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY;
+  if (!supabaseUrl || !supabaseAnonKey) {
+    return NextResponse.next();
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const response = NextResponse.next();
+
+    const supabase = createServerClient(
+      supabaseUrl,
+      supabaseAnonKey,
+      {
+        cookies: {
+          getAll() {
+            return request.cookies.getAll();
+          },
+          setAll(cookiesToSet) {
+            cookiesToSet.forEach(({ name, value, options }) => {
+              response.cookies.set(name, value, options);
+            });
+          },
         },
-      },
+      }
+    );
+
+    const { data: { user }, error } = await supabase.auth.getUser();
+
+    // If Supabase is unreachable or returns an error, fall through to client-side auth
+    if (error) {
+      console.warn('Middleware auth check failed, falling through:', error.message);
+      return NextResponse.next();
     }
-  );
 
-  const { data: { user } } = await supabase.auth.getUser();
+    if (!user) {
+      const loginUrl = new URL('/admin/login', request.url);
+      return NextResponse.redirect(loginUrl);
+    }
 
-  if (!user) {
-    const loginUrl = new URL('/admin/login', request.url);
-    return NextResponse.redirect(loginUrl);
+    return response;
+  } catch (err) {
+    // If anything goes wrong (network issues, bad URL, etc.), don't block the request
+    console.warn('Middleware error, falling through to client-side auth:', err);
+    return NextResponse.next();
   }
-
-  return response;
 }
 
 export const config = {