diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 91f9658..f96d966 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,13 @@
 
 All notable changes to iNTERCEPT will be documented in this file.
 
+## [2.26.5] - 2026-03-14
+
+### Fixed
+- **Database errors crash entire UI** — `get_setting()` now catches `sqlite3.OperationalError` and returns the default value instead of propagating the exception. Previously, if the database was inaccessible (e.g. root-owned `instance/` directory from running with `sudo`), the `inject_offline_settings` context processor would crash every page render with a 500 Internal Server Error. (#190)
+
+---
+
 ## [2.26.4] - 2026-03-14
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/config.py b/config.py
index 7d1cf6d..5c8fd5e 100644
--- a/config.py
+++ b/config.py
@@ -7,10 +7,17 @@ import os
 import sys
 
 # Application version
-VERSION = "2.26.4"
+VERSION = "2.26.5"
 
 # Changelog - latest release notes (shown on welcome screen)
 CHANGELOG = [
+    {
+        "version": "2.26.5",
+        "date": "March 2026",
+        "highlights": [
+            "Fix database errors crashing the entire UI — pages now degrade gracefully",
+        ]
+    },
     {
         "version": "2.26.4",
         "date": "March 2026",
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 60029ad..77b7e86 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "intercept"
-version = "2.26.4"
+version = "2.26.5"
 description = "Signal Intelligence Platform - Pager/433MHz/ADS-B/Satellite/WiFi/Bluetooth"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.9"
diff --git a/utils/database.py b/utils/database.py
index ae31a46..00d1ac3 100644
--- a/utils/database.py
+++ b/utils/database.py
@@ -661,32 +661,36 @@ def get_setting(key: str, default: Any = None) -> Any:
     Returns:
         Setting value (auto-converted from JSON for complex types)
     """
-    with get_db() as conn:
-        cursor = conn.execute(
-            'SELECT value, value_type FROM settings WHERE key = ?',
-            (key,)
-        )
-        row = cursor.fetchone()
+    try:
+        with get_db() as conn:
+            cursor = conn.execute(
+                'SELECT value, value_type FROM settings WHERE key = ?',
+                (key,)
+            )
+            row = cursor.fetchone()
 
-        if row is None:
-            return default
-
-        value, value_type = row['value'], row['value_type']
-
-        # Convert based on type
-        if value_type == 'json':
-            try:
-                return json.loads(value)
-            except json.JSONDecodeError:
+            if row is None:
                 return default
-        elif value_type == 'int':
-            return int(value)
-        elif value_type == 'float':
-            return float(value)
-        elif value_type == 'bool':
-            return value.lower() in ('true', '1', 'yes')
-        else:
-            return value
+
+            value, value_type = row['value'], row['value_type']
+
+            # Convert based on type
+            if value_type == 'json':
+                try:
+                    return json.loads(value)
+                except json.JSONDecodeError:
+                    return default
+            elif value_type == 'int':
+                return int(value)
+            elif value_type == 'float':
+                return float(value)
+            elif value_type == 'bool':
+                return value.lower() in ('true', '1', 'yes')
+            else:
+                return value
+    except sqlite3.OperationalError:
+        logger.warning("Database unavailable reading setting '%s', using default", key)
+        return default
 
 
 def set_setting(key: str, value: Any) -> None: