diff --git a/lib/ci/pipeline_creation/inputs/array_input.rb b/lib/ci/pipeline_creation/inputs/array_input.rb
index dff5043fc47721eb6ce85a216529dca73a5ce32a..50ca14f47a35aa6668dc7d6516e283c5bf6c1378 100644
--- a/lib/ci/pipeline_creation/inputs/array_input.rb
+++ b/lib/ci/pipeline_creation/inputs/array_input.rb
@@ -16,6 +16,20 @@ def validate_type(value, default)
 
           error("#{default ? 'default' : 'provided'} value is not an array")
         end
+
+        # Some array type inputs contain objects that get loaded as Ruby hashes. The YAML keys for those objects are
+        # loaded as symbols. When we cast those symbols to JSON during interpolation, the result gets mangled.
+        # { :"array.input.item" => "value" } becomes { ":\"array.input.item\": "value" }.
+        # To fix that, we stringify the keys.
+        def actual_value(param)
+          super.map do |item|
+            if item.is_a?(Hash)
+              item.stringify_keys
+            else
+              item
+            end
+          end
+        end
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/spec/lib/ci/pipeline_creation/inputs/array_input_spec.rb b/spec/lib/ci/pipeline_creation/inputs/array_input_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ceb806e3329947ca8568da8c643b0a7cc0549f0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/lib/ci/pipeline_creation/inputs/array_input_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+require 'fast_spec_helper'
+require_relative Rails.root.join('lib/ci/pipeline_creation/inputs/base_input.rb')
+
+RSpec.describe Ci::PipelineCreation::Inputs::ArrayInput, feature_category: :pipeline_composition do
+  describe '#actual_value' do
+    it 'returns the array given to the input' do
+      input = described_class.new(name: 'test', spec: { test: { type: 'array' } })
+
+      value = input.actual_value('[1, 2]')
+
+      expect(value).to eq([1, 2])
+    end
+
+    context 'when the array contains objects/hashes' do
+      # Some array type inputs contain objects that get loaded as Ruby hashes. The YAML keys for those objects are
+      # loaded as symbols. When we cast those symbols to JSON during interpolation, the result gets mangled.
+      # { :"array.input.item" => "value" } becomes { ":\"array.input.item\": "value" }.
+      # To fix that, we stringify the keys when we return them from ArrayInput.
+      it 'stringifies the keys so they do not contain extra characters when cast to JSON during interpolation' do
+        input = described_class.new(name: 'test', spec: { test: { type: 'array' } })
+
+        value = input.actual_value([{ 'array.input.item': 'value' }])
+
+        expect(value).to eq([{ 'array.input.item' => 'value' }])
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/lib/gitlab/ci/config/interpolation/inputs_spec.rb b/spec/lib/gitlab/ci/config/interpolation/inputs_spec.rb
index c8dd2ad00a822025f7396fbf28fadade95f0a566..55aff94a4485957d6aaa3f9fcb369fe860bcd02d 100644
--- a/spec/lib/gitlab/ci/config/interpolation/inputs_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/lib/gitlab/ci/config/interpolation/inputs_spec.rb
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@
       end
     end
 
-    context 'when the default is not a boolean' do
+    context 'when the default is not an array' do
       let(:specs) { { array_input: { default: 'string', type: 'array' } } }
       let(:args) { {} }