diff --git a/deploy/manifests/balancer/base/balancer.env b/deploy/manifests/balancer/base/balancer.env
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/deploy/manifests/balancer/base/deployment.yaml b/deploy/manifests/balancer/base/deployment.yaml
index c50012c2..10bcfc93 100644
--- a/deploy/manifests/balancer/base/deployment.yaml
+++ b/deploy/manifests/balancer/base/deployment.yaml
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ spec:
           envFrom:
             - secretRef:
                 name: balancer-config
+            - configMapRef:
+                name: balancer-config
           ports:
             - containerPort: 8000
           readinessProbe:
diff --git a/deploy/manifests/balancer/base/kustomization.yaml b/deploy/manifests/balancer/base/kustomization.yaml
index c7d2dcd1..1bc2cc1b 100644
--- a/deploy/manifests/balancer/base/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/deploy/manifests/balancer/base/kustomization.yaml
@@ -6,3 +6,8 @@ resources:
   - deployment.yaml
   - service.yaml
   - ingress.yaml
+
+configMapGenerator:
+  - name: balancer-config
+    envs:
+      - balancer.env
diff --git a/deploy/manifests/balancer/overlays/production/balancer.env b/deploy/manifests/balancer/overlays/production/balancer.env
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1fa5802e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/manifests/balancer/overlays/production/balancer.env
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=https://balancerproject.org
diff --git a/deploy/manifests/balancer/overlays/production/kustomization.yaml b/deploy/manifests/balancer/overlays/production/kustomization.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7ecd6659
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/manifests/balancer/overlays/production/kustomization.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
+kind: Kustomization
+
+resources:
+  - ../../base
+
+configMapGenerator:
+  - name: balancer-config
+    behavior: merge
+    envs:
+      - balancer.env
diff --git a/deploy/manifests/balancer/overlays/sandbox/balancer.env b/deploy/manifests/balancer/overlays/sandbox/balancer.env
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..55d82ecc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/manifests/balancer/overlays/sandbox/balancer.env
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=https://sandbox.balancerproject.org
diff --git a/deploy/manifests/balancer/overlays/sandbox/kustomization.yaml b/deploy/manifests/balancer/overlays/sandbox/kustomization.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7ecd6659
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/manifests/balancer/overlays/sandbox/kustomization.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
+kind: Kustomization
+
+resources:
+  - ../../base
+
+configMapGenerator:
+  - name: balancer-config
+    behavior: merge
+    envs:
+      - balancer.env
diff --git a/server/balancer_backend/settings.py b/server/balancer_backend/settings.py
index a4ccaaae..c1424fc7 100644
--- a/server/balancer_backend/settings.py
+++ b/server/balancer_backend/settings.py
@@ -67,7 +67,10 @@
 
 ROOT_URLCONF = "balancer_backend.urls"
 
-CORS_ALLOW_ALL_ORIGINS = True
+# CORS configuration
+CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS = os.environ.get("CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS", "http://localhost:3000").split(",")
+# Ensure no empty strings if input was empty or trailing comma
+CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS = [origin.strip() for origin in CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS if origin.strip()]
 
 TEMPLATES = [
     {