fix: CI/CD pipeline - QA backend build failure (workflow #429)

[baderdean]

Summary

The QA backend build CI/CD workflow (run #429) is failing. Investigation identified issues but fixes were not completed.

Tasks

• Investigate the specific failure in QA backend build workflow run REDOS checking and fix #429
• Check recent commits in backend and micro-services for potential breaking changes
• Verify environment variables and secrets required for backend tests
• Run backend tests locally to reproduce the failure
• Fix any identified issues in backend code or configuration
• Test the fix by running the CI workflow locally or triggering a rebuild

Context

CI/CD outage investigation started 2026-04-19. Root cause analysis was partially done (6 of 7 tasks completed) but the actual fix was not applied.

Acceptance Criteria

• QA backend build workflow passes on CI
• All backend tests pass locally
• No breaking changes in recent commits affecting the build