diff --git a/.templates/01-config_yaml.sh b/.templates/01-config_yaml.sh
index 409cbaccc..3af0293ec 100644
--- a/.templates/01-config_yaml.sh
+++ b/.templates/01-config_yaml.sh
@@ -74,7 +74,9 @@ dq_escape() {
 
 while IFS= read -r LINE; do
 	[[ -z "$LINE" || "$LINE" != *=* ]] && continue
-	KEY="${LINE%%=*}"
+	# Escape special characters not within single quotes
+        LINE=$(sed -E "s/([^'])([][\$\`\"\\!&;|<>])/\1\\\\\\2/g" <<< "$LINE")
+        KEY="${LINE%%=*}"
 	VALUE="${LINE#*=}"
 	# !secret handling
 	if [[ "$VALUE" =~ ^!secret[[:space:]]+(.+) ]]; then