diff --git a/deployments/openbao/deploy.sh b/deployments/openbao/deploy.sh
index ae55f71..ee73647 100644
--- a/deployments/openbao/deploy.sh
+++ b/deployments/openbao/deploy.sh
@@ -141,11 +141,15 @@ check_bind_addr() {
         warn "SKIP_BIND_CHECK=1 -- not checking whether ${bare} is local."
         return 0
     fi
-    addrs="$(host_addrs)"
+    # `|| true` is load-bearing: host_addrs ends in a pipeline, and under
+    # `set -o pipefail` a probe that fails AFTER printing usable addresses (or an
+    # absent awk) would make this plain assignment non-zero and kill the whole
+    # deploy at this line, silently -- before the fail-open below is ever reached.
+    addrs="$(host_addrs || true)"
     # Empty means the probe found no tool to ask, not that the address is absent
     # -- do not block a deploy on that.
     if [[ -z "$addrs" ]]; then
-        warn "No ip/ifconfig to list this host's addresses; skipping the bind check."
+        warn "Could not list this host's addresses (no ip/ifconfig, or it failed); skipping the bind check."
         return 0
     fi
     if printf '%s\n' "$addrs" | grep -qxF "$bare"; then