diff --git a/eng/1es-redirect.yml b/eng/1es-redirect.yml
index ab01ac4..769c103 100644
--- a/eng/1es-redirect.yml
+++ b/eng/1es-redirect.yml
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ extends:
         - 1ES.PT.Tag-refs/tags/canary
     settings:
       skipBuildTagsForGitHubPullRequests: true
+      networkIsolationPolicy: Permissive, CFSClean
     sdl:
       git:
         longpaths: true
diff --git a/eng/test-steps.yml b/eng/test-steps.yml
index a064524..11a9e5a 100644
--- a/eng/test-steps.yml
+++ b/eng/test-steps.yml
@@ -8,17 +8,30 @@ steps:
   - task: UseDotNet@2
     inputs:
       version: 6.x
+
   - template: /eng/common/pipelines/templates/steps/create-authenticated-npmrc.yml
+    parameters:
+      npmrcPath: $(Agent.TempDirectory)/oad.npmrc
+
   - script: npm ci
     displayName: npm ci
+    env:
+      NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG: $(Agent.TempDirectory)/oad.npmrc
+
   - script: npm run lint
     displayName: lint
+
   - script: npm run prettier
     displayName: prettier
+
   - script: npm test
     displayName: test
+    env:
+      NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG: $(Agent.TempDirectory)/oad.npmrc
+
   - script: npm pack
     displayName: pack
+
   - task: CopyFiles@2
     displayName: "Copy Files to Staging"
     inputs:
diff --git a/src/lib/validators/openApiDiff.ts b/src/lib/validators/openApiDiff.ts
index 363f2b2..3c1e19b 100644
--- a/src/lib/validators/openApiDiff.ts
+++ b/src/lib/validators/openApiDiff.ts
@@ -19,6 +19,16 @@ const _ = require("lodash")
 
 const execFile = util.promisify(child_process.execFile)
 
+const getAutoRestNpmrcPath = (): string | undefined => {
+  const candidates = [process.env.npm_config_userconfig, process.env.NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG]
+  return candidates.find(value => typeof value === "string" && value.trim().length > 0)
+}
+
+const getAutoRestCoreVersion = (): string => {
+  const configuredVersion = process.env.OAD_AUTOREST_CORE_VERSION?.trim()
+  return configuredVersion?.length ? configuredVersion : "3.10.9"
+}
+
 export type Options = {
   readonly consoleLogLevel?: unknown
   readonly logFilepath?: unknown
@@ -232,8 +242,10 @@ export class OpenApiDiff {
 
     const swaggerArgs = tagName ? [swaggerPath, `--tag=${tagName}`] : [`--input-file=${swaggerPath}`]
 
+    const autoRestCoreVersion = getAutoRestCoreVersion()
+
     const commonArgs = [
-      "--v2",
+      `--version=${autoRestCoreVersion}`,
       "--output-artifact=swagger-document.json",
       "--output-artifact=swagger-document.map",
       `--output-file=${outputFileName}`,
@@ -241,13 +253,24 @@ export class OpenApiDiff {
     ]
 
     const args = [...autoRestArgs, ...swaggerArgs, ...commonArgs]
+    const autoRestNpmrcPath = getAutoRestNpmrcPath()
+    const env = {
+      ...process.env,
+      NODE_OPTIONS: "--max-old-space-size=8192",
+      ...(autoRestNpmrcPath ? { npm_config_userconfig: autoRestNpmrcPath, NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG: autoRestNpmrcPath } : {})
+    }
+
+    if (autoRestNpmrcPath) {
+      log.debug(`Using npm user config for AutoRest: ${autoRestNpmrcPath}`)
+    }
+    log.debug(`Using AutoRest core version: ${autoRestCoreVersion}`)
 
     log.debug(`Executing: "${autoRestFile} ${args.join(" ")}"`)
 
     const { stderr } = await execFile(autoRestFile, args, {
       encoding: "utf8",
       maxBuffer: 1024 * 1024 * 64,
-      env: { ...process.env, NODE_OPTIONS: "--max-old-space-size=8192" }
+      env
     })
     if (stderr) {
       // autorest 3.8.0 emits deprecation message to stderr with exit code 0