diff --git a/libs/core/test/assert_exit_code b/libs/core/test/assert_exit_code
index 4c75a4b..039f706 100644
--- a/libs/core/test/assert_exit_code
+++ b/libs/core/test/assert_exit_code
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 #
 
+#include core/test/run_without_exit_on_error
+
 # core::test::assert_exit_code
 # Asserts that a command exits with a specific exit code.
 #
@@ -37,8 +39,8 @@ function core::test::assert_exit_code() {
   local expectedCode=${1:-${expectedCode:?must be set}}
   shift
 
-  "$@" &>/dev/null
-  local actualCode=$?
+  local actualCode
+  actualCode=$(core::test::run_without_exit_on_error "$@")
 
   if [[ $actualCode -eq $expectedCode ]]; then
     echo "✅ Assertion passed: command '$*' exited with status $actualCode"
diff --git a/libs/core/test/assert_failure b/libs/core/test/assert_failure
index b691115..975a87a 100644
--- a/libs/core/test/assert_failure
+++ b/libs/core/test/assert_failure
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 #
 
+#include core/test/run_without_exit_on_error
+
 # core::test::assert_failure
 # Asserts that a command exits with a non-zero exit code.
 #
@@ -33,12 +35,12 @@
 #   core::test::assert_failure ls /nonexistent
 function core::test::assert_failure() {
   local exitCode
-  if ! "$@" &>/dev/null; then
-    exitCode=$?
+  exitCode=$(core::test::run_without_exit_on_error "$@")
+
+  if [[ $exitCode -ne 0 ]]; then
     echo "✅ Assertion passed: command '$*' exited with status $exitCode"
     return 0
   else
-    exitCode=$?
     echo "⛔ Assertion failed: command '$*' exited with status $exitCode (expected non-zero)" >&2
     return 1
   fi
diff --git a/libs/core/test/assert_success b/libs/core/test/assert_success
index 6c77cc9..820e758 100644
--- a/libs/core/test/assert_success
+++ b/libs/core/test/assert_success
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 #
 
+#include core/test/run_without_exit_on_error
+
 # core::test::assert_success
 # Asserts that a command exits successfully (exit code 0).
 #
@@ -32,12 +34,12 @@
 #   core::test::assert_success ls /tmp
 function core::test::assert_success() {
   local exitCode
-  if "$@" &>/dev/null; then
-    exitCode=0
+  exitCode=$(core::test::run_without_exit_on_error "$@")
+
+  if [[ $exitCode -eq 0 ]]; then
     echo "✅ Assertion passed: command '$*' exited with status $exitCode"
     return 0
   else
-    exitCode=$?
     echo "⛔ Assertion failed: command '$*' exited with status $exitCode (expected 0)" >&2
     return 1
   fi
diff --git a/libs/core/test/run_without_exit_on_error b/libs/core/test/run_without_exit_on_error
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7509bbc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/core/test/run_without_exit_on_error
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+# shellcheck shell=bash
+#
+# Copyright 2025 The Linux Foundation
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+
+# core::test::run_without_exit_on_error
+# Executes a command with 'set -e' and 'set -u' temporarily disabled, then restores the original state.
+#
+# Description:
+#   This helper function temporarily disables the 'set -e' (errexit) and 'set -u' (nounset)
+#   shell options before executing a command, allowing the command to return any exit code
+#   and reference undefined variables without causing the shell to exit. After execution,
+#   it restores the original shell option states and outputs the exit code to stdout.
+#   The function itself always returns 0 to prevent triggering 'set -e'.
+#   This is particularly useful in test assertions that need to capture and validate
+#   specific exit codes.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   exitCode=$(core::test::run_without_exit_on_error <command> [args...])
+#
+# Parameters:
+#   command - The command or function to execute.
+#   args... - Optional arguments to pass to the command.
+#
+# Outputs:
+#   The exit code of the executed command (to stdout).
+#
+# Example:
+#   exitCode=$(core::test::run_without_exit_on_error some_command arg1 arg2)
+function core::test::run_without_exit_on_error() {
+  local restoreExitOnError=false
+  local restoreUnsetVarError=false
+  
+  if [[ $- =~ e ]]; then
+    restoreExitOnError=true
+  fi
+  
+  if [[ $- =~ u ]]; then
+    restoreUnsetVarError=true
+  fi
+
+  set +e
+  set +u
+  "$@" &>/dev/null
+  local exitCode=$?
+  
+  if [[ $restoreExitOnError == true ]]; then
+    set -e
+  fi
+  
+  if [[ $restoreUnsetVarError == true ]]; then
+    set -u
+  fi
+
+  echo "$exitCode"
+  return 0
+}