diff --git a/_codeql_detected_source_root b/_codeql_detected_source_root
new file mode 120000
index 0000000..945c9b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_codeql_detected_source_root
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/include/ut_kvp.h b/include/ut_kvp.h
index f2fa326..df9ee51 100644
--- a/include/ut_kvp.h
+++ b/include/ut_kvp.h
@@ -92,13 +92,15 @@ ut_kvp_status_t ut_kvp_open(ut_kvp_instance_t *pInstance, char *fileName);
  * @param[in] pInstance  Destination KVP instance (created with `ut_kvp_createInstance()`).
  * @param[in] pData      Caller-owned buffer containing the serialized KVP payload (text).
  * @param[in] length     Size of `pData` in bytes (use `strlen(pData)+1` for text).
+ * @param[in] base_dir   Optional base directory for resolving relative include paths (can be NULL).
+ *                       If NULL, relative includes will be resolved from CWD.
  *
  * @retval UT_KVP_STATUS_SUCCESS            Parsed successfully.
  * @retval UT_KVP_STATUS_INVALID_PARAM      Invalid pointer/length.
  * @retval UT_KVP_STATUS_PARSING_ERROR      Malformed payload.
  * @retval UT_KVP_STATUS_INVALID_INSTANCE   Invalid destination instance.
  */
-ut_kvp_status_t ut_kvp_openMemory(ut_kvp_instance_t *pInstance, char *pData, uint32_t length);
+ut_kvp_status_t ut_kvp_openMemory(ut_kvp_instance_t *pInstance, char *pData, uint32_t length, const char *base_dir);
 
 /**!
  * @brief Closes a previously opened KVP profile and frees its memory.
diff --git a/src/ut_kvp.c b/src/ut_kvp.c
index fa50fc7..6599d5f 100644
--- a/src/ut_kvp.c
+++ b/src/ut_kvp.c
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@
 #include <unistd.h>
 #include <assert.h>
 #include <curl/curl.h>
+#include <libgen.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
 
 /* Application Includes */
 #include <ut_kvp.h>
@@ -57,9 +59,9 @@ static bool str_to_bool(const char *string);
 static ut_kvp_status_t ut_kvp_getField(ut_kvp_instance_t *pInstance, const char *pszKey, char *pszResult);
 static void convert_dot_to_slash(const char *key, char *output);
 static size_t write_memory_callback(void *contents, size_t size, size_t nmemb, void *userp);
-static struct fy_node* process_include(const char *filename, int depth, struct fy_document *doc);
+static struct fy_node* process_include(const char *filename, int depth, struct fy_document *doc, const char *base_dir);
 static void merge_nodes(struct fy_node *mainNode, struct fy_node *includeNode);
-static struct fy_node* process_node_copy(struct fy_node *srcNode, struct fy_document *dstDoc, int depth);
+static struct fy_node* process_node_copy(struct fy_node *srcNode, struct fy_document *dstDoc, int depth, const char *base_dir);
 static const void *find_pattern_from_buffer(const void *buffer, size_t bufferLength, const void *pattern, size_t patternLength);
 
 ut_kvp_instance_t *ut_kvp_createInstance(void)
@@ -115,8 +117,25 @@ ut_kvp_status_t ut_kvp_open(ut_kvp_instance_t *pInstance, char *fileName)
         return UT_KVP_STATUS_FILE_OPEN_ERROR;
     }
 
+    // Resolve to absolute path
+    char resolved_path[PATH_MAX];
+    if (realpath(fileName, resolved_path) == NULL)
+    {
+        UT_LOG_ERROR("Failed to resolve path [%s]", fileName);
+        return UT_KVP_STATUS_FILE_OPEN_ERROR;
+    }
+
+    // Extract base directory from the resolved path for relative includes
+    char *resolved_copy = strdup(resolved_path);
+    if (resolved_copy == NULL)
+    {
+        UT_LOG_ERROR("Memory allocation failure");
+        return UT_KVP_STATUS_PARSING_ERROR;
+    }
+    char *base_dir = dirname(resolved_copy);
+
     // Load the new document
-    struct fy_document *newDoc = fy_document_build_from_file(NULL, fileName);
+    struct fy_document *newDoc = fy_document_build_from_file(NULL, resolved_path);
     if (newDoc == NULL || fy_document_resolve(newDoc) != 0)
     {
         if (newDoc)
@@ -124,6 +143,7 @@ ut_kvp_status_t ut_kvp_open(ut_kvp_instance_t *pInstance, char *fileName)
             UT_LOG_ERROR("Error resolving document for anchors, aliases and merge keys");
             fy_document_destroy(newDoc);
         }
+        free(resolved_copy);
         ut_kvp_close(pInstance);
         return UT_KVP_STATUS_PARSING_ERROR;
     }
@@ -134,6 +154,7 @@ ut_kvp_status_t ut_kvp_open(ut_kvp_instance_t *pInstance, char *fileName)
     {
         UT_LOG_ERROR("Unable to get root node from document");
         fy_document_destroy(newDoc);
+        free(resolved_copy);
         ut_kvp_close(pInstance);
         return UT_KVP_STATUS_PARSING_ERROR;
     }
@@ -147,17 +168,19 @@ ut_kvp_status_t ut_kvp_open(ut_kvp_instance_t *pInstance, char *fileName)
         {
             UT_LOG_ERROR("Unable to create doc");
             fy_document_destroy(newDoc);
+            free(resolved_copy);
             ut_kvp_close(pInstance);
             return UT_KVP_STATUS_PARSING_ERROR;
         }
     }
 
-    // Always process includes via process_node_copy
-    struct fy_node *copiedRoot = process_node_copy(newRoot, pInternal->fy_handle, 0);
+    // Always process includes via process_node_copy with base directory context
+    struct fy_node *copiedRoot = process_node_copy(newRoot, pInternal->fy_handle, 0, base_dir);
     if (copiedRoot == NULL)
     {
         UT_LOG_ERROR("Unable to process node");
         fy_document_destroy(newDoc);
+        free(resolved_copy);
         ut_kvp_close(pInstance);
         return UT_KVP_STATUS_PARSING_ERROR;
     }
@@ -177,15 +200,16 @@ ut_kvp_status_t ut_kvp_open(ut_kvp_instance_t *pInstance, char *fileName)
     }
 
     fy_document_destroy(newDoc);
+    free(resolved_copy);
 
     return UT_KVP_STATUS_SUCCESS;
 }
 
-ut_kvp_status_t ut_kvp_openMemory(ut_kvp_instance_t *pInstance, char *pData, uint32_t length )
+ut_kvp_status_t ut_kvp_openMemory(ut_kvp_instance_t *pInstance, char *pData, uint32_t length, const char *base_dir)
 {
     struct fy_node *node;
     ut_kvp_instance_internal_t *pInternal = validateInstance(pInstance);
-    char *cData = NULL;
+    size_t actual_length;
 
     if (pInstance == NULL)
     {
@@ -198,19 +222,45 @@ ut_kvp_status_t ut_kvp_openMemory(ut_kvp_instance_t *pInstance, char *pData, uin
         return UT_KVP_STATUS_INVALID_PARAM;
     }
 
-    cData = strdup((const char*)pData);
+    // Handle -1 as a special value meaning "use strlen"
+    if (length == (uint32_t)-1)
+    {
+        actual_length = strlen(pData);
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        actual_length = length;
+    }
 
-    if (cData == NULL)
+    // Write pData to a temporary file to avoid memory leak with fy_document_build_from_malloc_string
+    FILE *tmp = tmpfile();
+    if (!tmp)
     {
-        UT_LOG_ERROR("Memory allocation failure");
+        UT_LOG_ERROR("Failed to create temporary file");
         return UT_KVP_STATUS_PARSING_ERROR;
     }
 
-    struct fy_document *srcDoc = fy_document_build_from_malloc_string(NULL, cData, length);
+    size_t written = fwrite(pData, 1, actual_length, tmp);
+    if (written != actual_length)
+    {
+        UT_LOG_ERROR("Failed to write all data to temporary file");
+        fclose(tmp);
+        return UT_KVP_STATUS_PARSING_ERROR;
+    }
+    fflush(tmp);
+    rewind(tmp);
 
-    if(fy_document_resolve(srcDoc) != 0)
+    struct fy_document *srcDoc = fy_document_build_from_fp(NULL, tmp);
+    //using this instead of fy_document_build_from_malloc_string(), as the malloced string was not getting freed at fy_document_destroy()
+
+    if (srcDoc == NULL || fy_document_resolve(srcDoc) != 0)
     {
-        UT_LOG_ERROR("Error resolving document for anchors, aliases and merge keys");
+        if (srcDoc)
+        {
+            UT_LOG_ERROR("Error resolving document for anchors, aliases and merge keys");
+            fy_document_destroy(srcDoc);
+        }
+        fclose(tmp);
         ut_kvp_close(pInstance);
         return UT_KVP_STATUS_PARSING_ERROR;
     }
@@ -227,23 +277,27 @@ ut_kvp_status_t ut_kvp_openMemory(ut_kvp_instance_t *pInstance, char *pData, uin
             UT_LOG_ERROR("Unable to parse file/memory");
             ut_kvp_close(pInstance);
             fy_document_destroy(srcDoc);
+            fclose(tmp);
             return UT_KVP_STATUS_PARSING_ERROR;
         }
     }
 
     struct fy_node *srcNode = fy_document_root(srcDoc);
-    node = process_node_copy(srcNode, pInternal->fy_handle, 0);
+    // Pass base_dir for resolving relative includes; if NULL, will fall back to CWD
+    node = process_node_copy(srcNode, pInternal->fy_handle, 0, base_dir);
 
     if (node == NULL)
     {
         UT_LOG_ERROR("Unable to process node");
         ut_kvp_close(pInstance);
         fy_document_destroy(srcDoc);
+        fclose(tmp);
         return UT_KVP_STATUS_PARSING_ERROR;
     }
 
     fy_document_set_root(pInternal->fy_handle, node);
     fy_document_destroy(srcDoc);
+    fclose(tmp);
 
     return UT_KVP_STATUS_SUCCESS;
 }
@@ -910,7 +964,7 @@ static size_t write_memory_callback(void *contents, size_t size, size_t nmemb, v
     return realsize;
 }
 
-static struct fy_node* process_node_copy(struct fy_node *srcNode, struct fy_document *dstDoc, int depth)
+static struct fy_node* process_node_copy(struct fy_node *srcNode, struct fy_document *dstDoc, int depth, const char *base_dir)
 {
     if (srcNode == NULL || dstDoc == NULL)
     {
@@ -932,10 +986,10 @@ static struct fy_node* process_node_copy(struct fy_node *srcNode, struct fy_docu
         const char *filepath = fy_node_get_scalar(srcNode, NULL);
         if (filepath)
         {
-            struct fy_node *included = process_include(filepath, depth, dstDoc);
+            struct fy_node *included = process_include(filepath, depth, dstDoc, base_dir);
             if (included)
             {
-                return process_node_copy(included, dstDoc, depth + 1);
+                return process_node_copy(included, dstDoc, depth + 1, base_dir);
             }
         }
         return NULL;
@@ -971,16 +1025,16 @@ static struct fy_node* process_node_copy(struct fy_node *srcNode, struct fy_docu
                     const char *filepath = fy_node_get_scalar(incl, NULL);
                     if (filepath)
                     {
-                        struct fy_node *included = process_include(filepath, depth, dstDoc);
+                        struct fy_node *included = process_include(filepath, depth, dstDoc, base_dir);
                         if (included)
-                            copied_entry = process_node_copy(included, dstDoc, depth + 1);
+                            copied_entry = process_node_copy(included, dstDoc, depth + 1, base_dir);
                     }
                 }
             }
 
             if (copied_entry == NULL)
             {
-                copied_entry = process_node_copy(entry, dstDoc, depth);
+                copied_entry = process_node_copy(entry, dstDoc, depth, base_dir);
             }
 
             if (copied_entry)
@@ -1023,7 +1077,7 @@ static struct fy_node* process_node_copy(struct fy_node *srcNode, struct fy_docu
                 const char *filepath = fy_node_get_scalar(val_node, NULL);
                 if (filepath)
                 {
-                    struct fy_node *included = process_include(filepath, depth, dstDoc);
+                    struct fy_node *included = process_include(filepath, depth, dstDoc, base_dir);
                     if (included)
                     {
                         // If the included node is a mapping, merge it into the new_map
@@ -1035,7 +1089,7 @@ static struct fy_node* process_node_copy(struct fy_node *srcNode, struct fy_docu
 
             // Regular case: recursive copy
             struct fy_node *copied_key = fy_node_copy(dstDoc, key_node);
-            struct fy_node *copied_val = process_node_copy(val_node, dstDoc, depth);
+            struct fy_node *copied_val = process_node_copy(val_node, dstDoc, depth, base_dir);
 
             if (copied_key && copied_val)
             {
@@ -1099,7 +1153,7 @@ static void merge_nodes(struct fy_node *mainNode, struct fy_node *includeNode)
     }
 }
 
-static struct fy_node* process_include(const char *filename, int depth, struct fy_document *doc)
+static struct fy_node* process_include(const char *filename, int depth, struct fy_document *doc, const char *base_dir)
 {
     ut_kvp_download_memory_internal_t mChunk;
 
@@ -1185,7 +1239,7 @@ static struct fy_node* process_include(const char *filename, int depth, struct f
         }
 
         struct fy_node *srcNode = fy_document_root(srcDoc);
-        struct fy_node *root = process_node_copy(srcNode, doc, depth + 1);
+        struct fy_node *root = process_node_copy(srcNode, doc, depth + 1, base_dir);
 
         fy_document_destroy(srcDoc);
         fclose(tmp);
@@ -1195,28 +1249,92 @@ static struct fy_node* process_include(const char *filename, int depth, struct f
     }
     else
     {
-        // Local file include
-        FILE *file = fopen(filename, "r");
+        // Local file include - resolve relative paths
+        char resolved_path[PATH_MAX];
+        char *final_path = NULL;
+        
+        // Check if the path is absolute
+        if (filename[0] == '/')
+        {
+            // Absolute path - use realpath to normalize it
+            if (realpath(filename, resolved_path) != NULL)
+            {
+                final_path = resolved_path;
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                UT_LOG_ERROR("Failed to resolve absolute path '%s'", filename);
+                return NULL;
+            }
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            // Relative path - resolve relative to base directory
+            if (base_dir != NULL)
+            {
+                // Construct full path: base_dir/filename
+                char temp_path[PATH_MAX];
+                snprintf(temp_path, sizeof(temp_path), "%s/%s", base_dir, filename);
+                
+                // Resolve to absolute path
+                if (realpath(temp_path, resolved_path) != NULL)
+                {
+                    final_path = resolved_path;
+                }
+                else
+                {
+                    UT_LOG_ERROR("Failed to resolve relative path '%s' from base directory '%s'", filename, base_dir);
+                    return NULL;
+                }
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                // No base directory - try resolving relative to CWD as fallback
+                if (realpath(filename, resolved_path) != NULL)
+                {
+                    final_path = resolved_path;
+                }
+                else
+                {
+                    UT_LOG_ERROR("Failed to resolve path '%s'", filename);
+                    return NULL;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        FILE *file = fopen(final_path, "r");
         if (!file)
         {
-            UT_LOG_ERROR("Error: Cannot open include file '%s'.\n", filename);
+            UT_LOG_ERROR("Cannot open include file '%s'", final_path);
             return NULL;
         }
 
-        // struct fy_document *doc;
-        struct fy_document *srcDoc = fy_document_build_from_file(NULL, filename);
+        struct fy_document *srcDoc = fy_document_build_from_file(NULL, final_path);
         if (srcDoc == NULL)
         {
-            UT_LOG_ERROR("Error: Cannot parse include file '%s'.\n", filename);
+            UT_LOG_ERROR("Cannot parse include file '%s'", final_path);
             fclose(file);
             return NULL;
         }
 
-        struct fy_node *root;
+        // Extract base directory from the resolved include file path for nested includes
+        char *resolved_copy = strdup(final_path);
+        if (resolved_copy == NULL)
+        {
+            UT_LOG_ERROR("Memory allocation failure");
+            fclose(file);
+            fy_document_destroy(srcDoc);
+            return NULL;
+        }
+        char *include_base_dir = dirname(resolved_copy);
+
         struct fy_node *srcNode = fy_document_root(srcDoc);
-        root = process_node_copy(srcNode, doc, depth + 1);
+        struct fy_node *root = process_node_copy(srcNode, doc, depth + 1, include_base_dir);
+        
         fclose(file);
         fy_document_destroy(srcDoc);
+        free(resolved_copy);
+        
         return root;
     }
 }
diff --git a/tests/src/assets/include/2d.yaml b/tests/src/assets/include/2d.yaml
index b8cad0c..f94be76 100644
--- a/tests/src/assets/include/2d.yaml
+++ b/tests/src/assets/include/2d.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 ---
 "2":
   value: true
-include: assets/include/3d.yaml
+include: 3d.yaml
diff --git a/tests/src/assets/include/3d.yaml b/tests/src/assets/include/3d.yaml
index 4b9f675..e87c675 100644
--- a/tests/src/assets/include/3d.yaml
+++ b/tests/src/assets/include/3d.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 ---
 "3":
   value: true
-include: assets/include/4d.yaml
+include: 4d.yaml
diff --git a/tests/src/assets/include/4d.yaml b/tests/src/assets/include/4d.yaml
index 7d1f3c3..3caec9e 100644
--- a/tests/src/assets/include/4d.yaml
+++ b/tests/src/assets/include/4d.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 ---
 "4":
   value: true
-include: assets/include/5d.yaml
+include: 5d.yaml
diff --git a/tests/src/assets/include/depth_check.yaml b/tests/src/assets/include/depth_check.yaml
index 2f4fb63..34df362 100644
--- a/tests/src/assets/include/depth_check.yaml
+++ b/tests/src/assets/include/depth_check.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 ---
 "1":
   value: true
-include: assets/include/2d.yaml
+include: 2d.yaml
diff --git a/tests/src/assets/include/sequence-include.yaml b/tests/src/assets/include/sequence-include.yaml
index b8795ef..ec2e2af 100644
--- a/tests/src/assets/include/sequence-include.yaml
+++ b/tests/src/assets/include/sequence-include.yaml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 "1":
   value: true
 plugin:
-  - include: assets/include/2s.yaml
+  - include: 2s.yaml
   - include: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rdkcentral/ut-control/main/tests/src/assets/include/3s.yaml
-include_0: assets/include/4s.yaml
+include_0: 4s.yaml
 include_1: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rdkcentral/ut-control/main/tests/src/assets/include/5s.yaml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/src/assets/include/single-include-file.yaml b/tests/src/assets/include/single-include-file.yaml
index ff53022..4b073e6 100644
--- a/tests/src/assets/include/single-include-file.yaml
+++ b/tests/src/assets/include/single-include-file.yaml
@@ -1,23 +1,23 @@
 ---
 "1":
   value: true
-include_0: assets/include/2s.yaml
-include_1: assets/include/3s.yaml
-include_2: assets/include/4s.yaml
-include_3: assets/include/5s.yaml
-include_4: assets/include/6s.yaml
-include_5: assets/include/7s.yaml
-include_6: assets/include/8s.yaml
-include_7: assets/include/9s.yaml
-include_8: assets/include/10s.yaml
-include_9: assets/include/11s.yaml
-include_10: assets/include/12s.yaml
-include_11: assets/include/13s.yaml
-include_12: assets/include/14s.yaml
-include_13: assets/include/15s.yaml
-include_14: assets/include/16s.yaml
-include_15: assets/include/17s.yaml
-include_16: assets/include/18s.yaml
-include_17: assets/include/19s.yaml
-include_18: assets/include/20s.yaml
-include_19: assets/include/21s.yaml
\ No newline at end of file
+include_0: 2s.yaml
+include_1: 3s.yaml
+include_2: 4s.yaml
+include_3: 5s.yaml
+include_4: 6s.yaml
+include_5: 7s.yaml
+include_6: 8s.yaml
+include_7: 9s.yaml
+include_8: 10s.yaml
+include_9: 11s.yaml
+include_10: 12s.yaml
+include_11: 13s.yaml
+include_12: 14s.yaml
+include_13: 15s.yaml
+include_14: 16s.yaml
+include_15: 17s.yaml
+include_16: 18s.yaml
+include_17: 19s.yaml
+include_18: 20s.yaml
+include_19: 21s.yaml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/src/assets/yaml_tags.yaml b/tests/src/assets/yaml_tags.yaml
index bd74197..4afd00b 100644
--- a/tests/src/assets/yaml_tags.yaml
+++ b/tests/src/assets/yaml_tags.yaml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 "1":
   value: true
 plugin:
-  - !include assets/include/2s.yaml
-  - !include assets/include/3s.yaml
-"10": !include assets/include/4s.yaml
-"11": !include assets/include/5s.yaml
\ No newline at end of file
+  - !include include/2s.yaml
+  - !include include/3s.yaml
+"10": !include include/4s.yaml
+"11": !include include/5s.yaml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/src/assets/yaml_tags_in_sequence.yaml b/tests/src/assets/yaml_tags_in_sequence.yaml
index 8d55f59..dcddd2c 100644
--- a/tests/src/assets/yaml_tags_in_sequence.yaml
+++ b/tests/src/assets/yaml_tags_in_sequence.yaml
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 # A single scalar value included from an external source
 configItem:
-  value: !include assets/include/2s.yaml
+  value: !include include/2s.yaml
 
 # A list of values, each included from a separate external source
 listConfig:
   valueList:
-    - !include assets/include/3s.yaml
-    - !include assets/include/4s.yaml
\ No newline at end of file
+    - !include include/3s.yaml
+    - !include include/4s.yaml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/src/ut_test_kvp.c b/tests/src/ut_test_kvp.c
index c0535f6..9b531e8 100644
--- a/tests/src/ut_test_kvp.c
+++ b/tests/src/ut_test_kvp.c
@@ -159,12 +159,12 @@ void test_ut_kvp_open_memory( void )
 
     /* Negative Read Test, NULL params passed in both args*/
     UT_LOG_STEP("ut_kvp_openMemory( NULL, NULL, -1 )");
-    status = ut_kvp_openMemory( NULL, NULL, -1);
+    status = ut_kvp_openMemory( NULL, NULL, -1, NULL);
     UT_ASSERT( status == UT_KVP_STATUS_INVALID_INSTANCE );
 
     /* Negative Read Test, NULL PARAM passed in 2nd arg */
     UT_LOG_STEP("ut_kvp_openMemory( gpMainTestInstance, NULL, -1 ) - Negative");
-    status = ut_kvp_openMemory( gpMainTestInstance, NULL, -1);
+    status = ut_kvp_openMemory( gpMainTestInstance, NULL, -1, NULL);
     UT_ASSERT( status == UT_KVP_STATUS_INVALID_PARAM );
 
     /* data doesn't exist */
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ void test_ut_kvp_open_memory( void )
     gKVPData.buffer = strdup(kvp_str);
     if (gKVPData.buffer)
     {
-        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, -1);
+        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, -1, NULL);
         UT_ASSERT(status == UT_KVP_STATUS_PARSING_ERROR);
         free(gKVPData.buffer);
     }
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ void test_ut_kvp_open_memory( void )
     UT_LOG_STEP("ut_kvp_openMemory( gpMainTestInstance, %s - zero length file ) - Negative", KVP_VALID_TEST_ZERO_LENGTH_YAML_FILE);
     if (read_file_into_memory(KVP_VALID_TEST_ZERO_LENGTH_YAML_FILE, &gKVPData) == 0)
     {
-        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, gKVPData.length);
+        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, gKVPData.length, NULL);
         UT_ASSERT(status == UT_KVP_STATUS_PARSING_ERROR);
         free(gKVPData.buffer);
         gKVPData.length = 0;
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ void test_ut_kvp_open_memory( void )
     UT_LOG_STEP("ut_kvp_openMemory( gpMainTestInstance,  %s ) - Positive", KVP_VALID_TEST_YAML_FILE);
     if (read_file_into_memory(KVP_VALID_TEST_YAML_FILE, &gKVPData) == 0)
     {
-        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, gKVPData.length);
+        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, gKVPData.length, NULL);
         UT_ASSERT(status == UT_KVP_STATUS_SUCCESS);
         free(gKVPData.buffer);
         gKVPData.length = 0;
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ void test_ut_kvp_open_memory( void )
     UT_LOG_STEP("ut_kvp_openMemory( gpMainTestInstance, %s ) - Postive", KVP_VALID_TEST_NOT_VALID_YAML_FORMATTED_FILE);
     if (read_file_into_memory(KVP_VALID_TEST_NOT_VALID_YAML_FORMATTED_FILE, &gKVPData) == 0)
     {
-        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, gKVPData.length);
+        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, gKVPData.length, NULL);
         UT_ASSERT(status == UT_KVP_STATUS_SUCCESS);
         free(gKVPData.buffer);
         gKVPData.length = 0;
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ void test_ut_kvp_open_memory( void )
     UT_LOG_STEP("ut_kvp_openMemory( gpMainTestInstance, %s ) - Postive", KVP_VALID_TEST_JSON_FILE);
     if (read_file_into_memory(KVP_VALID_TEST_JSON_FILE, &gKVPData) == 0)
     {
-        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, gKVPData.length);
+        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, gKVPData.length, NULL);
         UT_ASSERT(status == UT_KVP_STATUS_SUCCESS);
         free(gKVPData.buffer);
         gKVPData.length = 0;
@@ -848,7 +848,7 @@ void test_ut_kvp_add_multiple_profile_using_open_memory(void)
     UT_LOG_STEP("ut_kvp_openMemory( gpMainTestInstance, %s ) - Postive", KVP_VALID_TEST_YAML_CONFIG_FILE);
     if (read_file_into_memory(KVP_VALID_TEST_YAML_CONFIG_FILE, &gKVPData) == 0)
     {
-        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, gKVPData.length);
+        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, gKVPData.length, NULL);
         UT_ASSERT(status == UT_KVP_STATUS_SUCCESS);
         free(gKVPData.buffer);
         gKVPData.length = 0;
@@ -857,7 +857,7 @@ void test_ut_kvp_add_multiple_profile_using_open_memory(void)
     UT_LOG_STEP("ut_kvp_openMemory( gpMainTestInstance, %s ) - Postive", KVP_VALID_TEST_SINGLE_INCLUDE_FILE_YAML);
     if (read_file_into_memory(KVP_VALID_TEST_SINGLE_INCLUDE_FILE_YAML, &gKVPData) == 0)
     {
-        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, gKVPData.length);
+        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, gKVPData.length, NULL);
         UT_ASSERT(status == UT_KVP_STATUS_SUCCESS);
         free(gKVPData.buffer);
         gKVPData.length = 0;
@@ -866,7 +866,7 @@ void test_ut_kvp_add_multiple_profile_using_open_memory(void)
     UT_LOG_STEP("ut_kvp_openMemory( gpMainTestInstance, %s ) - Postive", KVP_VALID_TEST_DEPTH_CHECK_INCLUDE_YAML);
     if (read_file_into_memory(KVP_VALID_TEST_DEPTH_CHECK_INCLUDE_YAML, &gKVPData) == 0)
     {
-        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, gKVPData.length);
+        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, gKVPData.buffer, gKVPData.length, NULL);
         UT_ASSERT(status == UT_KVP_STATUS_SUCCESS);
         free(gKVPData.buffer);
         gKVPData.length = 0;
@@ -976,6 +976,8 @@ static void create_delete_kvp_memory_instance_for_given_file(const char* filenam
     ut_kvp_instance_t *pInstance = NULL;
     ut_kvp_status_t status = UT_KVP_STATUS_MAX;
     char* kvpData;
+    char *base_dir = NULL;
+    char *filename_copy = NULL;
 
     pInstance = ut_kvp_createInstance();
     if ( pInstance == NULL )
@@ -985,14 +987,26 @@ static void create_delete_kvp_memory_instance_for_given_file(const char* filenam
         return;
     }
 
+    // Extract base directory from filename for resolving relative includes
+    filename_copy = strdup(filename);
+    if (filename_copy != NULL)
+    {
+        base_dir = dirname(filename_copy);
+    }
+
     if (read_file_into_memory(filename, &kvpMemory) == 0)
     {
-        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(pInstance, kvpMemory.buffer, kvpMemory.length);
+        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(pInstance, kvpMemory.buffer, kvpMemory.length, base_dir);
         UT_ASSERT(status == UT_KVP_STATUS_SUCCESS);
         free(kvpMemory.buffer);
         kvpMemory.length = 0;
     }
 
+    if (filename_copy != NULL)
+    {
+        free(filename_copy);
+    }
+
     if ( status != UT_KVP_STATUS_SUCCESS )
     {
         UT_LOG_ERROR("ut_kvp_open() - Read Failure");
@@ -1131,7 +1145,7 @@ static int test_ut_kvp_createGlobalYAMLInstanceForMallocedData( void )
 
     if (read_file_into_memory(KVP_VALID_TEST_YAML_FILE, &kvpMemory) == 0)
     {
-        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, kvpMemory.buffer, kvpMemory.length);
+        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, kvpMemory.buffer, kvpMemory.length, NULL);
         assert(status == UT_KVP_STATUS_SUCCESS);
         free(kvpMemory.buffer);
         kvpMemory.length = 0;
@@ -1161,7 +1175,7 @@ static int test_ut_kvp_createGlobalJSONInstanceForMallocedData( void )
 
     if (read_file_into_memory(KVP_VALID_TEST_JSON_FILE, &kvpMemory) == 0)
     {
-        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, kvpMemory.buffer, kvpMemory.length);
+        status = ut_kvp_openMemory(gpMainTestInstance, kvpMemory.buffer, kvpMemory.length, NULL);
         assert(status == UT_KVP_STATUS_SUCCESS);
         free(kvpMemory.buffer);
         kvpMemory.length = 0;