diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/debug/debug.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/debug/debug.go
index 31873fff47f..c10426bac01 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/debug/debug.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/debug/debug.go
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/templates"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/util/term"
 	"k8s.io/utils/ptr"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/yaml"
 )
 
 var (
@@ -211,8 +212,8 @@ func (o *DebugOptions) AddFlags(cmd *cobra.Command) {
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&o.TargetContainer, "target", "", i18n.T("When using an ephemeral container, target processes in this container name."))
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&o.TTY, "tty", "t", o.TTY, i18n.T("Allocate a TTY for the debugging container."))
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&o.Profile, "profile", ProfileLegacy, i18n.T(`Options are "legacy", "general", "baseline", "netadmin", "restricted" or "sysadmin".`))
-	if cmdutil.DebugCustomProfile.IsEnabled() {
-		cmd.Flags().StringVar(&o.CustomProfileFile, "custom", o.CustomProfileFile, i18n.T("Path to a JSON file containing a partial container spec to customize built-in debug profiles."))
+	if !cmdutil.DebugCustomProfile.IsDisabled() {
+		cmd.Flags().StringVar(&o.CustomProfileFile, "custom", o.CustomProfileFile, i18n.T("Path to a JSON or YAML file containing a partial container spec to customize built-in debug profiles."))
 	}
 }
 
@@ -293,7 +294,10 @@ func (o *DebugOptions) Complete(restClientGetter genericclioptions.RESTClientGet
 
 		err = json.Unmarshal(customProfileBytes, &o.CustomProfile)
 		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("%s does not contain a valid container spec: %w", o.CustomProfileFile, err)
+			err = yaml.Unmarshal(customProfileBytes, &o.CustomProfile)
+			if err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("%s does not contain a valid container spec: %w", o.CustomProfileFile, err)
+			}
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/debug/debug_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/debug/debug_test.go
index b9690e6efb1..4fbfbaeada0 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/debug/debug_test.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/debug/debug_test.go
@@ -22,8 +22,6 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
-	cmdutil "k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util"
-
 	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp"
 	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp/cmpopts"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
@@ -2088,31 +2086,29 @@ func TestGenerateNodeDebugPodCustomProfile(t *testing.T) {
 	} {
 
 		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			cmdtesting.WithAlphaEnvs([]cmdutil.FeatureGate{cmdutil.DebugCustomProfile}, t, func(t *testing.T) {
-				var err error
-				kflags := KeepFlags{
-					Labels:         tc.opts.KeepLabels,
-					Annotations:    tc.opts.KeepAnnotations,
-					Liveness:       tc.opts.KeepLiveness,
-					Readiness:      tc.opts.KeepReadiness,
-					Startup:        tc.opts.KeepStartup,
-					InitContainers: tc.opts.KeepInitContainers,
-				}
-				tc.opts.Applier, err = NewProfileApplier(tc.opts.Profile, kflags)
-				if err != nil {
-					t.Fatalf("Fail to create profile applier: %s: %v", tc.opts.Profile, err)
-				}
-				tc.opts.IOStreams = genericiooptions.NewTestIOStreamsDiscard()
+			var err error
+			kflags := KeepFlags{
+				Labels:         tc.opts.KeepLabels,
+				Annotations:    tc.opts.KeepAnnotations,
+				Liveness:       tc.opts.KeepLiveness,
+				Readiness:      tc.opts.KeepReadiness,
+				Startup:        tc.opts.KeepStartup,
+				InitContainers: tc.opts.KeepInitContainers,
+			}
+			tc.opts.Applier, err = NewProfileApplier(tc.opts.Profile, kflags)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("Fail to create profile applier: %s: %v", tc.opts.Profile, err)
+			}
+			tc.opts.IOStreams = genericiooptions.NewTestIOStreamsDiscard()
 
-				pod, err := tc.opts.generateNodeDebugPod(tc.node)
-				if err != nil {
-					t.Fatalf("Fail to generate node debug pod: %v", err)
-				}
-				tc.expected.Name = pod.Name
-				if diff := cmp.Diff(tc.expected, pod); diff != "" {
-					t.Error("unexpected diff in generated object: (-want +got):\n", diff)
-				}
-			})
+			pod, err := tc.opts.generateNodeDebugPod(tc.node)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("Fail to generate node debug pod: %v", err)
+			}
+			tc.expected.Name = pod.Name
+			if diff := cmp.Diff(tc.expected, pod); diff != "" {
+				t.Error("unexpected diff in generated object: (-want +got):\n", diff)
+			}
 		})
 	}
 }
@@ -2296,31 +2292,29 @@ func TestGenerateCopyDebugPodCustomProfile(t *testing.T) {
 	} {
 
 		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			cmdtesting.WithAlphaEnvs([]cmdutil.FeatureGate{cmdutil.DebugCustomProfile}, t, func(t *testing.T) {
-				var err error
-				kflags := KeepFlags{
-					Labels:         tc.opts.KeepLabels,
-					Annotations:    tc.opts.KeepAnnotations,
-					Liveness:       tc.opts.KeepLiveness,
-					Readiness:      tc.opts.KeepReadiness,
-					Startup:        tc.opts.KeepStartup,
-					InitContainers: tc.opts.KeepInitContainers,
-				}
-				tc.opts.Applier, err = NewProfileApplier(tc.opts.Profile, kflags)
-				if err != nil {
-					t.Fatalf("Fail to create profile applier: %s: %v", tc.opts.Profile, err)
-				}
-				tc.opts.IOStreams = genericiooptions.NewTestIOStreamsDiscard()
+			var err error
+			kflags := KeepFlags{
+				Labels:         tc.opts.KeepLabels,
+				Annotations:    tc.opts.KeepAnnotations,
+				Liveness:       tc.opts.KeepLiveness,
+				Readiness:      tc.opts.KeepReadiness,
+				Startup:        tc.opts.KeepStartup,
+				InitContainers: tc.opts.KeepInitContainers,
+			}
+			tc.opts.Applier, err = NewProfileApplier(tc.opts.Profile, kflags)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("Fail to create profile applier: %s: %v", tc.opts.Profile, err)
+			}
+			tc.opts.IOStreams = genericiooptions.NewTestIOStreamsDiscard()
 
-				pod, dc, err := tc.opts.generatePodCopyWithDebugContainer(tc.copyPod)
-				if err != nil {
-					t.Fatalf("Fail to generate node debug pod: %v", err)
-				}
-				tc.expected.Spec.Containers[0].Name = dc
-				if diff := cmp.Diff(tc.expected, pod); diff != "" {
-					t.Error("unexpected diff in generated object: (-want +got):\n", diff)
-				}
-			})
+			pod, dc, err := tc.opts.generatePodCopyWithDebugContainer(tc.copyPod)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("Fail to generate node debug pod: %v", err)
+			}
+			tc.expected.Spec.Containers[0].Name = dc
+			if diff := cmp.Diff(tc.expected, pod); diff != "" {
+				t.Error("unexpected diff in generated object: (-want +got):\n", diff)
+			}
 		})
 	}
 }
@@ -2510,31 +2504,29 @@ func TestGenerateEphemeralDebugPodCustomProfile(t *testing.T) {
 	} {
 
 		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			cmdtesting.WithAlphaEnvs([]cmdutil.FeatureGate{cmdutil.DebugCustomProfile}, t, func(t *testing.T) {
-				var err error
-				kflags := KeepFlags{
-					Labels:         tc.opts.KeepLabels,
-					Annotations:    tc.opts.KeepAnnotations,
-					Liveness:       tc.opts.KeepLiveness,
-					Readiness:      tc.opts.KeepReadiness,
-					Startup:        tc.opts.KeepStartup,
-					InitContainers: tc.opts.KeepInitContainers,
-				}
-				tc.opts.Applier, err = NewProfileApplier(tc.opts.Profile, kflags)
-				if err != nil {
-					t.Fatalf("Fail to create profile applier: %s: %v", tc.opts.Profile, err)
-				}
-				tc.opts.IOStreams = genericiooptions.NewTestIOStreamsDiscard()
+			var err error
+			kflags := KeepFlags{
+				Labels:         tc.opts.KeepLabels,
+				Annotations:    tc.opts.KeepAnnotations,
+				Liveness:       tc.opts.KeepLiveness,
+				Readiness:      tc.opts.KeepReadiness,
+				Startup:        tc.opts.KeepStartup,
+				InitContainers: tc.opts.KeepInitContainers,
+			}
+			tc.opts.Applier, err = NewProfileApplier(tc.opts.Profile, kflags)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("Fail to create profile applier: %s: %v", tc.opts.Profile, err)
+			}
+			tc.opts.IOStreams = genericiooptions.NewTestIOStreamsDiscard()
 
-				pod, ec, err := tc.opts.generateDebugContainer(tc.copyPod)
-				if err != nil {
-					t.Fatalf("Fail to generate node debug pod: %v", err)
-				}
-				tc.expected.Spec.EphemeralContainers[0].Name = ec.Name
-				if diff := cmp.Diff(tc.expected, pod); diff != "" {
-					t.Error("unexpected diff in generated object: (-want +got):\n", diff)
-				}
-			})
+			pod, ec, err := tc.opts.generateDebugContainer(tc.copyPod)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("Fail to generate node debug pod: %v", err)
+			}
+			tc.expected.Spec.EphemeralContainers[0].Name = ec.Name
+			if diff := cmp.Diff(tc.expected, pod); diff != "" {
+				t.Error("unexpected diff in generated object: (-want +got):\n", diff)
+			}
 		})
 	}
 }
diff --git a/test/cmd/debug.sh b/test/cmd/debug.sh
index 2163eff90a8..bb49fa2d1fc 100755
--- a/test/cmd/debug.sh
+++ b/test/cmd/debug.sh
@@ -567,3 +567,95 @@ run_kubectl_debug_netadmin_node_tests() {
   set +o nounset
   set +o errexit
 }
+
+run_kubectl_debug_custom_profile_tests() {
+  set -o nounset
+  set -o errexit
+
+  create_and_use_new_namespace
+  kube::log::status "Testing kubectl debug custom profile"
+
+  ### Pod Troubleshooting by ephemeral containers with netadmin profile
+  # Pre-Condition: Pod "nginx" is created
+  kubectl run target-debug "--image=${IMAGE_NGINX:?}" "${kube_flags[@]:?}"
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod "{{range.items}}{{${id_field:?}}}:{{end}}" 'target-debug:'
+
+  cat > "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/custom_profile.json << EOF
+{
+  "env": [
+    {
+      "name": "ENV_VAR1",
+      "value": "value1"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "ENV_VAR2",
+      "value": "value2"
+    }
+  ]
+}
+EOF
+
+cat > "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/custom_profile.yaml << EOF
+env:
+  - name: ENV_VAR3
+    value: value3
+  - name: ENV_VAR4
+    value: value4
+EOF
+
+  # Command: add a new debug container with general profile
+  output_message=$(kubectl debug target-debug -it --image=busybox --attach=false -c debug-container --profile=general --custom="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/custom_profile.json "${kube_flags[@]:?}")
+
+  # Post-Conditions
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod/target-debug '{{range.spec.ephemeralContainers}}{{.name}}:{{end}}' 'debug-container:'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod/target-debug '{{((index (index .spec.ephemeralContainers 0).env 0)).name}}' 'ENV_VAR1'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod/target-debug '{{((index (index .spec.ephemeralContainers 0).env 0)).value}}' 'value1'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod/target-debug '{{((index (index .spec.ephemeralContainers 0).env 1)).name}}' 'ENV_VAR2'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod/target-debug '{{((index (index .spec.ephemeralContainers 0).env 1)).value}}' 'value2'
+
+  # Command: add a new debug container with general profile
+  kubectl debug target-debug -it --image=busybox --attach=false -c debug-container-2 --profile=general --custom="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/custom_profile.yaml "${kube_flags[@]:?}"
+
+  # Post-Conditions
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod/target-debug '{{range.spec.ephemeralContainers}}{{.name}}:{{end}}' 'debug-container:debug-container-2:'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod/target-debug '{{((index (index .spec.ephemeralContainers 1).env 0)).name}}' 'ENV_VAR3'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod/target-debug '{{((index (index .spec.ephemeralContainers 1).env 0)).value}}' 'value3'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod/target-debug '{{((index (index .spec.ephemeralContainers 1).env 1)).name}}' 'ENV_VAR4'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod/target-debug '{{((index (index .spec.ephemeralContainers 1).env 1)).value}}' 'value4'
+
+  # Command: create a copy of target with a new debug container
+  kubectl debug target-debug -it --copy-to=target-copy --image=busybox --container=debug-container-3 --attach=false --profile=general --custom="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/custom_profile.json "${kube_flags[@]:?}"
+  # Post-Conditions
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod/target-copy '{{range.spec.containers}}{{.name}}:{{end}}' 'target-debug:debug-container-3:'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod/target-copy '{{((index (index .spec.containers 1).env 0)).name}}' 'ENV_VAR1'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod/target-copy '{{((index (index .spec.containers 1).env 0)).value}}' 'value1'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod/target-copy '{{((index (index .spec.containers 1).env 1)).name}}' 'ENV_VAR2'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod/target-copy '{{((index (index .spec.containers 1).env 1)).value}}' 'value2'
+
+  # Clean up
+  kubectl delete pod target-copy "${kube_flags[@]:?}"
+  kubectl delete pod target-debug "${kube_flags[@]:?}"
+
+  ### Debug node with custom profile
+  # Pre-Condition: node exists
+  kube::test::get_object_assert nodes "{{range.items}}{{${id_field:?}}}:{{end}}" '127.0.0.1:'
+  # Command: create a new node debugger pod
+  output_message=$(kubectl debug --profile general node/127.0.0.1 --image=busybox --custom="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/custom_profile.yaml --attach=false "${kube_flags[@]:?}" -- true)
+  # Post-Conditions
+  kube::test::get_object_assert pod "{{(len .items)}}" '1'
+  debugger=$(kubectl get pod -o go-template="{{(index .items 0)${id_field:?}}}")
+  kube::test::if_has_string "${output_message:?}" "${debugger:?}"
+  kube::test::get_object_assert "pod/${debugger:?}" "{{${image_field:?}}}" 'busybox'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert "pod/${debugger:?}" '{{.spec.nodeName}}' '127.0.0.1'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert "pod/${debugger:?}" '{{((index (index .spec.containers 0).env 0)).name}}' 'ENV_VAR3'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert "pod/${debugger:?}" '{{((index (index .spec.containers 0).env 0)).value}}' 'value3'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert "pod/${debugger:?}" '{{((index (index .spec.containers 0).env 1)).name}}' 'ENV_VAR4'
+  kube::test::get_object_assert "pod/${debugger:?}" '{{((index (index .spec.containers 0).env 1)).value}}' 'value4'
+  # Clean up
+  # pod.spec.nodeName is set by kubectl debug node which causes the delete to hang,
+  # presumably waiting for a kubelet that's not present. Force the delete.
+  kubectl delete --force pod "${debugger:?}" "${kube_flags[@]:?}"
+
+  set +o nounset
+  set +o errexit
+}
diff --git a/test/cmd/legacy-script.sh b/test/cmd/legacy-script.sh
index 10ab751f14b..70e97481051 100755
--- a/test/cmd/legacy-script.sh
+++ b/test/cmd/legacy-script.sh
@@ -1046,6 +1046,7 @@ runTests() {
     record_command run_kubectl_debug_baseline_tests
     record_command run_kubectl_debug_restricted_tests
     record_command run_kubectl_debug_netadmin_tests
+    record_command run_kubectl_debug_custom_profile_tests
   fi
   if kube::test::if_supports_resource "${nodes}" ; then
     record_command run_kubectl_debug_node_tests