diff --git a/cmd/argocd-applicationset-controller/commands/applicationset_controller.go b/cmd/argocd-applicationset-controller/commands/applicationset_controller.go
index 31996b01ad4a0..f28c1781cc4c1 100644
--- a/cmd/argocd-applicationset-controller/commands/applicationset_controller.go
+++ b/cmd/argocd-applicationset-controller/commands/applicationset_controller.go
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ func NewCommand() *cobra.Command {
 
 			tlsConfig := apiclient.TLSConfiguration{
 				DisableTLS:       repoServerPlaintext,
-				StrictValidation: repoServerPlaintext,
+				StrictValidation: repoServerStrictTLS,
 			}
 
 			if !repoServerPlaintext && repoServerStrictTLS {