diff --git a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-buildpack-platform/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/buildpack/platform/docker/configuration/DockerRegistryConfigAuthentication.java b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-buildpack-platform/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/buildpack/platform/docker/configuration/DockerRegistryConfigAuthentication.java
index 020658c6d71d..5d1495dc744d 100644
--- a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-buildpack-platform/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/buildpack/platform/docker/configuration/DockerRegistryConfigAuthentication.java
+++ b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-buildpack-platform/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/buildpack/platform/docker/configuration/DockerRegistryConfigAuthentication.java
@@ -16,9 +16,7 @@
 
 package org.springframework.boot.buildpack.platform.docker.configuration;
 
-import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.Map;
-import java.util.Map.Entry;
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
 import java.util.function.BiConsumer;
 import java.util.function.Function;
@@ -55,7 +53,7 @@ class DockerRegistryConfigAuthentication implements DockerRegistryAuthentication
 	DockerRegistryConfigAuthentication(DockerRegistryAuthentication fallback,
 			BiConsumer<String, Exception> credentialHelperExceptionHandler) {
 		this(fallback, credentialHelperExceptionHandler, Environment.SYSTEM,
-				(helper) -> new CredentialHelper("docker-credential-" + helper.trim()));
+				(helper) -> new CredentialHelper("docker-credential-" + helper));
 	}
 
 	DockerRegistryConfigAuthentication(DockerRegistryAuthentication fallback,
@@ -106,14 +104,14 @@ private DockerRegistryAuthentication getAuthentication(Credential credentialsFro
 		}
 		String username = credentialsFromHelper.getUsername();
 		String password = credentialsFromHelper.getSecret();
-		String serverAddress = (credentialsFromHelper.getServerUrl() != null
-				&& !credentialsFromHelper.getServerUrl().isEmpty()) ? credentialsFromHelper.getServerUrl() : serverUrl;
+		String serverAddress = (StringUtils.hasLength(credentialsFromHelper.getServerUrl()))
+				? credentialsFromHelper.getServerUrl() : serverUrl;
 		String email = (authConfig != null) ? authConfig.getEmail() : null;
 		return DockerRegistryAuthentication.user(username, password, serverAddress, email);
 	}
 
 	private Credential getCredentialsFromHelper(String serverUrl) {
-		return (StringUtils.hasText(serverUrl))
+		return StringUtils.hasLength(serverUrl)
 				? credentialFromHelperCache.computeIfAbsent(serverUrl, this::computeCredentialsFromHelper) : null;
 	}
 
@@ -123,7 +121,7 @@ private Credential computeCredentialsFromHelper(String serverUrl) {
 			try {
 				return credentialHelper.get(serverUrl);
 			}
-			catch (IOException ex) {
+			catch (Exception ex) {
 				String message = "Error retrieving credentials for '%s' due to: %s".formatted(serverUrl,
 						ex.getMessage());
 				this.credentialHelperExceptionHandler.accept(message, ex);
@@ -134,10 +132,10 @@ private Credential computeCredentialsFromHelper(String serverUrl) {
 
 	private CredentialHelper getCredentialHelper(String serverUrl) {
 		String name = this.dockerConfig.getCredHelpers().getOrDefault(serverUrl, this.dockerConfig.getCredsStore());
-		return (name != null) ? this.credentialHelperFactory.apply(name.trim()) : null;
+		return (StringUtils.hasLength(name)) ? this.credentialHelperFactory.apply(name) : null;
 	}
 
-	private Entry<String, Auth> getAuthConfigEntry(String serverUrl) {
+	private Map.Entry<String, Auth> getAuthConfigEntry(String serverUrl) {
 		for (Map.Entry<String, Auth> candidate : this.dockerConfig.getAuths().entrySet()) {
 			if (candidate.getKey().equals(serverUrl) || candidate.getKey().endsWith("://" + serverUrl)) {
 				return candidate;
diff --git a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-buildpack-platform/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/buildpack/platform/docker/configuration/DockerRegistryConfigAuthenticationTests.java b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-buildpack-platform/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/buildpack/platform/docker/configuration/DockerRegistryConfigAuthenticationTests.java
index 749aabc89fed..a60e04f184ec 100644
--- a/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-buildpack-platform/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/buildpack/platform/docker/configuration/DockerRegistryConfigAuthenticationTests.java
+++ b/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-buildpack-platform/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/buildpack/platform/docker/configuration/DockerRegistryConfigAuthenticationTests.java
@@ -37,8 +37,11 @@
 import org.springframework.core.io.ClassPathResource;
 
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
 import static org.mockito.BDDMockito.given;
+import static org.mockito.BDDMockito.then;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
 
 /**
  * Tests for {@link DockerRegistryConfigAuthentication}.
@@ -53,7 +56,7 @@ class DockerRegistryConfigAuthenticationTests {
 
 	private final Map<String, Exception> helperExceptions = new LinkedHashMap<>();
 
-	private Map<String, CredentialHelper> credentialHelpers = new HashMap<>();
+	private final Map<String, CredentialHelper> credentialHelpers = new HashMap<>();
 
 	@BeforeEach
 	void cleanup() {
@@ -315,6 +318,7 @@ void getAuthHeaderWhenEmptyCredHelperReturnsFallbackAndDoesNotUseCredStore(@Reso
 			throws Exception {
 		this.environment.put("DOCKER_CONFIG", directory.toString());
 		ImageReference imageReference = ImageReference.of("gcr.io/ubuntu:latest");
+		CredentialHelper desktopHelper = mockHelper("desktop");
 		String authHeader = getAuthHeader(imageReference, DockerRegistryAuthentication.EMPTY_USER);
 		// The Docker CLI appears to prioritize the credential helper over the
 		// credential store, even when the helper is empty.
@@ -323,6 +327,25 @@ void getAuthHeaderWhenEmptyCredHelperReturnsFallbackAndDoesNotUseCredStore(@Reso
 			.containsEntry("username", "")
 			.containsEntry("password", "")
 			.containsEntry("email", "");
+		then(desktopHelper).should(never()).get(any(String.class));
+	}
+
+	@WithResource(name = "config.json", content = """
+			{
+			  "credsStore": "desktop"
+			}
+			""")
+	@Test
+	void getAuthHeaderReturnsFallbackWhenImageReferenceNull(@ResourcesRoot Path directory) throws Exception {
+		this.environment.put("DOCKER_CONFIG", directory.toString());
+		CredentialHelper desktopHelper = mockHelper("desktop");
+		String authHeader = getAuthHeader(null, DockerRegistryAuthentication.EMPTY_USER);
+		assertThat(decode(authHeader)).hasSize(4)
+			.containsEntry("serveraddress", "")
+			.containsEntry("username", "")
+			.containsEntry("password", "")
+			.containsEntry("email", "");
+		then(desktopHelper).should(never()).get(any(String.class));
 	}
 
 	private String getAuthHeader(ImageReference imageReference) {