diff --git a/pkg/engine/funcs.go b/pkg/engine/funcs.go
index 5ef83df2e..b6a87049d 100644
--- a/pkg/engine/funcs.go
+++ b/pkg/engine/funcs.go
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ func funcMap() template.FuncMap {
 		"fromJson":      fromJSON,
 		"fromJsonArray": fromJSONArray,
 		"gzip":          gzipFunc,
-		"ungzip":        ungzipFunc,
+		"gunzip":        gunzipFunc,
 
 		// Duration helpers
 		"mustToDuration":       mustToDuration,
@@ -487,13 +487,17 @@ func durationTruncateTo(v, m any) time.Duration {
 //
 // This is designed to be called from a template.
 func gzipFunc(str string) (string, error) {
+	if !utf8.ValidString(str) {
+		return "", errors.New("gzip: content is not valid UTF-8 text")
+	}
+
 	var b bytes.Buffer
 	w := gzip.NewWriter(&b)
 	if _, err := w.Write([]byte(str)); err != nil {
-		return "", err
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("gzip: write failed: %w", err)
 	}
 	if err := w.Close(); err != nil {
-		return "", err
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("gzip: close failed: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	encoded := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(b.Bytes())
@@ -507,27 +511,27 @@ func gzipFunc(str string) (string, error) {
 	return encoded, nil
 }
 
-// ungzipFunc decodes a base64 encoded and gzip-compressed string.
+// gunzipFunc decodes a base64 encoded and gzip-compressed string.
 //
 // It enforces a size limit (1MB) on the input and output to prevent abuse.
 //
 // This is designed to be called from a template.
-func ungzipFunc(str string) (string, error) {
+func gunzipFunc(str string) (string, error) {
 	// Kubernetes limit for Secret/ConfigMap is 1MB.
 	const maxLimit = 1048576
 
 	if len(str) > maxLimit {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("ungzip: input size %d exceeds limit of %d bytes", len(str), maxLimit)
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("gunzip: input size %d exceeds limit of %d bytes", len(str), maxLimit)
 	}
 
 	decoded, err := base64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(str)
 	if err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("ungzip: base64 decode failed: %w", err)
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("gunzip: base64 decode failed: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	r, err := gzip.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(decoded))
 	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("gunzip: gzip reader failed: %w", err)
 	}
 	defer r.Close()
 
@@ -536,16 +540,16 @@ func ungzipFunc(str string) (string, error) {
 
 	b, err := io.ReadAll(limitR)
 	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("gunzip: read failed: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	if len(b) > maxLimit {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("ungzip: decompressed content exceeds size limit of %d bytes", maxLimit)
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("gunzip: decompressed content exceeds size limit of %d bytes", maxLimit)
 	}
 
 	// Ensure the content is valid text (UTF-8) to prevent binary obfuscation.
 	if !utf8.Valid(b) {
-		return "", errors.New("ungzip: content is not valid UTF-8 text")
+		return "", errors.New("gunzip: content is not valid UTF-8 text")
 	}
 
 	return string(b), nil
diff --git a/pkg/engine/funcs_test.go b/pkg/engine/funcs_test.go
index 78a10e7c6..6d256b49c 100644
--- a/pkg/engine/funcs_test.go
+++ b/pkg/engine/funcs_test.go
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ keyInElement1 = "valueInElement1"`,
 		expect: `H4sIAAAAAAAA/8pIzcnJVyjPL8pJAQQAAP//hRFKDQsAAAA=`,
 		vars:   nil,
 	}, {
-		tpl:    `{{ "H4sIAAAAAAAA/8pIzcnJVyjPL8pJAQQAAP//hRFKDQsAAAA=" | ungzip }}`,
+		tpl:    `{{ "H4sIAAAAAAAA/8pIzcnJVyjPL8pJAQQAAP//hRFKDQsAAAA=" | gunzip }}`,
 		expect: `hello world`,
 		vars:   nil,
 	}}
@@ -505,10 +505,10 @@ func TestMerge(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, expected, dict["dst"])
 }
 
-// TestUngzipDecompressionBomb verifies that the ungzip template function
+// TestGunzipDecompressionBomb verifies that the gunzip template function
 // correctly mitigates decompression bomb (zip bomb) attacks by strictly
 // enforcing a 1MB limit on the decompressed output.
-func TestUngzipDecompressionBomb(t *testing.T) {
+func TestGunzipDecompressionBomb(t *testing.T) {
 	var buf bytes.Buffer
 	w := gzip.NewWriter(&buf)
 
@@ -522,11 +522,31 @@ func TestUngzipDecompressionBomb(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("failed to close gzip: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	// Base64 encode the compressed bomb as expected by ungzipFunc
+	// Base64 encode the compressed bomb as expected by gunzipFunc
 	encoded := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(buf.Bytes())
 
-	// Attempting to ungzip should result in an error since it exceeds 1MB limit
-	_, err := ungzipFunc(encoded)
+	// Attempting to gunzip should result in an error since it exceeds 1MB limit
+	_, err := gunzipFunc(encoded)
 	require.Error(t, err)
-	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "decompressed content exceeds size limit of 1048576 bytes")
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "gunzip: decompressed content exceeds size limit of 1048576 bytes")
+}
+
+func TestGzipGunzipUTF8Validation(t *testing.T) {
+	// gzipFunc rejects invalid UTF-8 string
+	invalidUTF8 := string([]byte{0xff, 0xfe, 0xfd})
+	_, err := gzipFunc(invalidUTF8)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "gzip: content is not valid UTF-8 text")
+
+	// gunzipFunc rejects decompressed content that is not valid UTF-8
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	w := gzip.NewWriter(&buf)
+	_, err = w.Write([]byte{0xff, 0xfe, 0xfd})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NoError(t, w.Close())
+
+	encoded := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(buf.Bytes())
+	_, err = gunzipFunc(encoded)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "gunzip: content is not valid UTF-8 text")
 }