diff --git a/vendor/magento/module-catalog-staging/Setup/CatalogProductSetup.php b/vendor/magento/module-catalog-staging/Setup/CatalogProductSetup.php
index 87ef1eac6e30..d3a26f20d57d 100644
--- a/vendor/magento/module-catalog-staging/Setup/CatalogProductSetup.php
+++ b/vendor/magento/module-catalog-staging/Setup/CatalogProductSetup.php
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 use Magento\Backend\App\Area\FrontNameResolver;
 use Magento\Catalog\Model\Product;
 use Magento\Catalog\Model\ProductFactory;
+use Magento\Catalog\Model\ResourceModel\Product\CollectionFactory as ProductCollectionFactory;
 use Magento\Eav\Model\Config;
 use Magento\Framework\App\State;
 use Magento\Framework\Setup\ModuleDataSetupInterface;
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@
 /**
  * @codeCoverageIgnore
  * @SuppressWarnings(PHPMD.CouplingBetweenObjects)
+ * @SuppressWarnings(PHPMD.TooManyFields)
  */
 class CatalogProductSetup
 {
@@ -32,6 +34,8 @@ class CatalogProductSetup
     public const ENDPOINT_TO = 1;
     /**#@-*/
 
+    private const PRODUCT_BATCH_SIZE = 500;
+
     /**
      * @var Config
      */
@@ -138,6 +142,26 @@ class CatalogProductSetup
      */
     protected $productEntity;
 
+    /**
+     * @var array
+     */
+    private $parentAttributeValues = [];
+
+    /**
+     * @var int
+     */
+    private $currentEntityId = 0;
+
+    /**
+     * @var ProductCollectionFactory|null
+     */
+    private ?ProductCollectionFactory $collectionFactory;
+
+    /**
+     * @var array
+     */
+    private array $productCache = [];
+
     /**
      * @param Config $eavConfig
      * @param VersionManagerFactory $versionManagerFactory
@@ -147,6 +171,7 @@ class CatalogProductSetup
      * @param StoreManagerInterface $storeManager
      * @param State $state
      * @param LoggerInterface $logger
+     * @param ProductCollectionFactory|null $collectionFactory
      */
     public function __construct(
         Config $eavConfig,
@@ -156,7 +181,8 @@ public function __construct(
         ProductFactory $productFactory,
         StoreManagerInterface $storeManager,
         State $state,
-        LoggerInterface $logger
+        LoggerInterface $logger,
+        ?ProductCollectionFactory $collectionFactory = null
     ) {
         $this->eavConfig = $eavConfig;
         $this->versionManager = $versionManagerFactory->create();
@@ -166,6 +192,7 @@ public function __construct(
         $this->storeManager = $storeManager;
         $this->state = $state;
         $this->logger = $logger;
+        $this->collectionFactory = $collectionFactory;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -192,19 +219,29 @@ public function execute(ModuleDataSetupInterface $setup)
      */
     public function process()
     {
-        try {
-            $this->initAttributesMap();
-            $this->initAttributesList();
+        $this->initAttributesMap();
+        $this->initAttributesList();
 
-            $this->originVersionId = $this->versionManager->getVersion()->getId();
+        if (empty($this->attributesList)) {
+            return;
+        }
 
-            $entityIds = array_keys($this->attributesList);
-            foreach ($entityIds as $entityId) {
-                $this->generateUpdates($entityId);
+        $this->originVersionId = $this->versionManager->getVersion()->getId();
+        $entityIds = array_keys($this->attributesList);
+        $this->loadParentAttributeValues($entityIds);
+
+        foreach (array_chunk($entityIds, self::PRODUCT_BATCH_SIZE) as $batch) {
+            $this->preloadProductEntities($batch);
+            foreach ($batch as $entityId) {
+                try {
+                    $this->currentEntityId = (int)$entityId;
+                    $this->generateUpdates($entityId);
+                } catch (\Exception $e) {
+                    $this->logger->critical($e);
+                    $this->versionManager->setCurrentVersionId($this->originVersionId);
+                }
             }
-        } catch (\Exception $e) {
-            $this->logger->critical($e);
-            $this->versionManager->setCurrentVersionId($this->originVersionId);
+            $this->productCache = [];
         }
     }
 
@@ -270,9 +307,12 @@ protected function getDatetimeAttributes()
             ['*']
         )->join(
             ['e' => $this->setup->getTable('catalog_product_entity')],
-            'e.row_id=dt.row_id',
+            'e.row_id = dt.row_id',
             ['entity_id']
-        );
+        )
+        ->where('e.created_in = ?', VersionManager::MIN_VERSION)
+        ->where('dt.value IS NOT NULL')
+        ->where('dt.value != ?', '0000-00-00 00:00:00');
 
         $attributes = $this->setup->getConnection()->fetchAll($select);
         return $attributes;
@@ -294,6 +334,10 @@ protected function initAttributesList()
             $storeId = $attribute['store_id'];
             $attributeId = $attribute['attribute_id'];
 
+            if (!array_key_exists($attributeId, $this->attributesMap)) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
             if (!isset($this->attributesList[$entityId])) {
                 $this->attributesList[$entityId] = [];
             }
@@ -316,46 +360,56 @@ protected function initAttributesList()
      *
      * @param int $entityId
      * @return void
+     * @SuppressWarnings(PHPMD.CyclomaticComplexity)
+     * @SuppressWarnings(PHPMD.NPathComplexity)
      */
     protected function generateUpdates($entityId)
     {
-        $currentStoreId = -1;
-
         $intervals = $this->getUpdateIntervals($entityId);
-        if (!empty($intervals)) {
-            $this->loadOriginProductEntities($entityId);
+        if (empty($intervals)) {
+            return;
         }
 
-        $versions = [];
-        foreach ($intervals as $data) {
-            $endpointsByStore = $this->getEndpointsMap($data['endpoints']);
-            foreach ($endpointsByStore as $storeId => $attributes) {
-                $filteredAttributes = $this->filterAttributes($storeId, $attributes);
-                if (empty($filteredAttributes)) {
-                    continue;
+        // Pre-filter all intervals using SQL-backed parent attribute values before
+        // loading any product models — avoids unnecessary $product->load() calls.
+        $filteredByInterval = [];
+        foreach ($intervals as $tsStart => $data) {
+            foreach ($this->getEndpointsMap($data['endpoints']) as $storeId => $attributes) {
+                $filtered = $this->filterAttributes($storeId, $attributes);
+                if (!empty($filtered)) {
+                    $filteredByInterval[$tsStart][$storeId] = $filtered;
                 }
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (empty($filteredByInterval)) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        $this->loadOriginProductEntities($entityId);
 
+        $currentStoreId = -1;
+        $versions = [];
+
+        foreach ($intervals as $tsStart => $data) {
+            if (!isset($filteredByInterval[$tsStart])) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            foreach ($filteredByInterval[$tsStart] as $storeId => $filteredAttributes) {
                 if ($currentStoreId < 0 || $currentStoreId != $storeId) {
                     $currentStoreId = $storeId;
-
                     $this->productEntity = clone $this->originProductEntities[$storeId];
                     $this->productEntity->unlockAttributes();
                 }
 
-                if (!isset($versions[$data['timestamp_start']])) {
-                    $versionId = $this->createUpdate($data['timestamp_start'], $data['timestamp_end'])->getId();
+                if (!isset($versions[$tsStart])) {
+                    $versionId = $this->createUpdate($tsStart, $data['timestamp_end'])->getId();
                     $this->versionManager->setCurrentVersionId($versionId);
-
-                    $versions[$data['timestamp_start']] = $versionId;
+                    $versions[$tsStart] = $versionId;
                 }
 
                 $this->resetProductEntity();
-                $this->updateProductEntity(
-                    $data['timestamp_start'],
-                    $data['timestamp_end'],
-                    $storeId,
-                    $filteredAttributes
-                );
+                $this->updateProductEntity($tsStart, $data['timestamp_end'], $storeId, $filteredAttributes);
             }
         }
 
@@ -375,14 +429,16 @@ protected function generateUpdates($entityId)
      */
     protected function filterAttributes($storeId, array $attributes)
     {
-        $result = array_filter($attributes, function ($attributeId) use ($storeId) {
+        $entityId = $this->currentEntityId;
+        $result = array_filter($attributes, function ($attributeId) use ($storeId, $entityId) {
             $attributeCode = $this->attributesMap[$attributeId]['attribute_code'];
             if ($attributeCode == 'custom_design_from'
                 || $attributeCode == 'special_from_date'
             ) {
                 $parentAttributeCode = $this->getParentAttributeCode($attributeCode);
-                $parentAttributeValue = $this->originProductEntities[$storeId]->getData($parentAttributeCode);
-                return $parentAttributeValue !== null;
+                $storeValue  = $this->parentAttributeValues[$entityId][$storeId][$parentAttributeCode] ?? null;
+                $globalValue = $this->parentAttributeValues[$entityId][0][$parentAttributeCode] ?? null;
+                return ($storeValue !== null || $globalValue !== null);
             }
             return true;
         });
@@ -411,25 +467,65 @@ protected function getEndpointsMap(array $endpoints)
     /**
      * Load origin product entities for required store IDs
      *
+     * Uses the preloaded cache when available; falls back to individual load on cache miss.
+     *
      * @param int $entityId
      * @return void
      */
     protected function loadOriginProductEntities($entityId)
     {
         $this->versionManager->setCurrentVersionId($this->originVersionId);
-
         $this->originProductEntities = [];
 
-        $storeIds = array_keys($this->attributesList[$entityId]);
-        foreach ($storeIds as $storeId) {
-            $this->storeManager->setCurrentStore($storeId);
+        foreach (array_keys($this->attributesList[$entityId]) as $storeId) {
+            if (isset($this->productCache[$entityId][$storeId])) {
+                $this->originProductEntities[$storeId] = clone $this->productCache[$entityId][$storeId];
+            } else {
+                $this->storeManager->setCurrentStore($storeId);
+                /** @var Product $originProductEntity */
+                $originProductEntity = $this->productFactory->create();
+                $originProductEntity->setStoreId($storeId);
+                $originProductEntity->load($entityId);
+                $this->originProductEntities[$storeId] = $originProductEntity;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Preload all required product entities grouped by store using collections.
+     *
+     * Reduces N individual load() calls to one collection load per unique store ID.
+     *
+     * @param array $entityIds
+     * @return void
+     */
+    private function preloadProductEntities(array $entityIds): void
+    {
+        if ($this->collectionFactory === null) {
+            return;
+        }
 
-            /** @var Product $originProductEntity */
-            $originProductEntity = $this->productFactory->create();
-            $originProductEntity->setStoreId($storeId);
-            $originProductEntity->load($entityId);
+        $this->productCache = [];
+        $this->versionManager->setCurrentVersionId($this->originVersionId);
 
-            $this->originProductEntities[$storeId] = $originProductEntity;
+        $storeToEntities = [];
+        foreach ($entityIds as $entityId) {
+            foreach (array_keys($this->attributesList[$entityId]) as $storeId) {
+                $storeToEntities[$storeId][] = $entityId;
+            }
+        }
+
+        foreach ($storeToEntities as $storeId => $ids) {
+            $this->storeManager->setCurrentStore($storeId);
+            $collection = $this->collectionFactory->create();
+            $collection->setStoreId($storeId);
+            $collection->addAttributeToSelect(['special_price', 'custom_design']);
+            $collection->addFieldToFilter('entity_id', ['in' => $ids]);
+            $collection->load();
+
+            foreach ($collection as $product) {
+                $this->productCache[(int)$product->getId()][$storeId] = $product;
+            }
         }
     }
 
@@ -612,6 +708,69 @@ protected function updateProductEntity($timestampStart, $timestampEnd, $storeId,
         $this->productEntity->save();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Bulk-load special_price and custom_design values for all entities via SQL.
+     *
+     * @param array $entityIds
+     * @return void
+     */
+    private function loadParentAttributeValues(array $entityIds): void
+    {
+        $this->parentAttributeValues = [];
+
+        if (empty($entityIds)) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        $parentAttrIds = [];
+        foreach (['special_price', 'custom_design'] as $code) {
+            $id = $this->getAttributeIdByCode($code);
+            if ($id !== null) {
+                $parentAttrIds[$id] = $code;
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (empty($parentAttrIds)) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        $connection  = $this->setup->getConnection();
+        $entityTable = $this->setup->getTable('catalog_product_entity');
+
+        foreach (['catalog_product_entity_decimal', 'catalog_product_entity_varchar'] as $table) {
+            $select = $connection->select()
+                ->from(['eav' => $this->setup->getTable($table)], ['attribute_id', 'store_id', 'value'])
+                ->join(['e' => $entityTable], 'e.row_id = eav.row_id', ['entity_id'])
+                ->where('e.created_in = ?', VersionManager::MIN_VERSION)
+                ->where('eav.attribute_id IN (?)', array_keys($parentAttrIds))
+                ->where('e.entity_id IN (?)', $entityIds)
+                ->where('eav.value IS NOT NULL');
+
+            foreach ($connection->fetchAll($select) as $row) {
+                $code = $parentAttrIds[(int)$row['attribute_id']] ?? null;
+                if ($code !== null) {
+                    $this->parentAttributeValues[(int)$row['entity_id']][(int)$row['store_id']][$code] = $row['value'];
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Return attribute ID by code, or null if not mapped.
+     *
+     * @param string $code
+     * @return int|null
+     */
+    private function getAttributeIdByCode(string $code): ?int
+    {
+        foreach ($this->attributesMap as $id => $data) {
+            if ($data['attribute_code'] === $code) {
+                return (int)$id;
+            }
+        }
+        return null;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Retrieve attribute type
      *
diff --git a/vendor/magento/module-catalog-staging/Setup/Patch/Data/MigrateCatalogProducts.php b/vendor/magento/module-catalog-staging/Setup/Patch/Data/MigrateCatalogProducts.php
index cad1729f8f51..0b267cdc7b06 100644
--- a/vendor/magento/module-catalog-staging/Setup/Patch/Data/MigrateCatalogProducts.php
+++ b/vendor/magento/module-catalog-staging/Setup/Patch/Data/MigrateCatalogProducts.php
@@ -9,8 +9,6 @@
 use Magento\CatalogStaging\Setup\CatalogProductSetup;
 use Magento\Framework\Setup\Patch\PatchVersionInterface;
 use Magento\Framework\Setup\Patch\DataPatchInterface;
-use Magento\Framework\Setup\Patch\SchemaPatchInterface;
-use Magento\Framework\Setup\Patch\PatchRevertableInterface;
 use Magento\Framework\Setup\ModuleDataSetupInterface;
 use Magento\CatalogStaging\Setup\CatalogProductSetupFactory;
 
@@ -53,14 +51,14 @@ class MigrateCatalogProducts implements
     private $versionManagerFactory;
 
     /**
-     * @var \Magento\Store\Model\StoreManagerInterface
+     * @var CatalogProductSetupFactory
      */
-    private $storeManager;
+    private $catalogProductSetupFactory;
 
     /**
-     * @var CatalogProductSetupFactory
+     * @var \Magento\Staging\Model\VersionManager
      */
-    private $catalogProductSetupFactory;
+    private $versionManager;
 
     /**
      * @param ModuleDataSetupInterface $moduleDataSetup
@@ -69,8 +67,11 @@ class MigrateCatalogProducts implements
      * @param \Magento\Catalog\Model\ResourceModel\Category\CollectionFactory $categoryCollectionFactory
      * @param \Magento\Framework\App\State $state
      * @param \Magento\Staging\Model\VersionManagerFactory $versionManagerFactory
-     * @param \Magento\Store\Model\StoreManagerInterface $storeManager
      * @param CatalogProductSetupFactory $catalogProductSetupFactory
+     * @param \Magento\Staging\Model\VersionManager|null $versionManager
+     * @param \Magento\Store\Model\StoreManagerInterface|null $storeManager
+     * @SuppressWarnings(PHPMD.UnusedFormalParameter)
+     * @see AC-14442
      */
     public function __construct(
         ModuleDataSetupInterface $moduleDataSetup,
@@ -79,8 +80,9 @@ public function __construct(
         \Magento\Catalog\Model\ResourceModel\Category\CollectionFactory $categoryCollectionFactory,
         \Magento\Framework\App\State $state,
         \Magento\Staging\Model\VersionManagerFactory $versionManagerFactory,
-        \Magento\Store\Model\StoreManagerInterface $storeManager,
-        CatalogProductSetupFactory $catalogProductSetupFactory
+        CatalogProductSetupFactory $catalogProductSetupFactory,
+        ?\Magento\Staging\Model\VersionManager $versionManager = null,
+        ?\Magento\Store\Model\StoreManagerInterface $storeManager = null,
     ) {
         $this->moduleDataSetup = $moduleDataSetup;
         $this->updateRepository = $updateRepository;
@@ -88,8 +90,8 @@ public function __construct(
         $this->categoryCollectionFactory = $categoryCollectionFactory;
         $this->state = $state;
         $this->versionManagerFactory = $versionManagerFactory;
-        $this->storeManager = $storeManager;
         $this->catalogProductSetupFactory = $catalogProductSetupFactory;
+        $this->versionManager = $versionManager ?? $versionManagerFactory->create();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -147,6 +149,17 @@ public static function getVersion()
      */
     public function updateProducts(ModuleDataSetupInterface $setup)
     {
+        $needsMigration = $setup->getConnection()->fetchOne(
+            $setup->getConnection()->select()
+                ->from($setup->getTable('catalog_product_entity'), [new \Zend_Db_Expr('1')])
+                ->where('entity_id != row_id')
+                ->limit(1)
+        );
+
+        if (!$needsMigration) {
+            return;
+        }
+
         $existingProductIdsSelect = $setup->getConnection()->select()
             ->from($setup->getTable('catalog_product_entity'), ['sequence_value' => 'row_id'])
             ->setPart('disable_staging_preview', true);
@@ -177,38 +190,52 @@ public function updateProducts(ModuleDataSetupInterface $setup)
      */
     public function updateCategories()
     {
-        $categories = $this->categoryCollectionFactory->create()->addFieldToFilter('parent_id', ['neq' => '0']);
-
-        $this->updateCategoriesScheduleTime($categories);
+        $this->updateCategoriesScheduleTime();
     }
 
     /**
      * Update categories schedule time
      *
-     * @param \Magento\Catalog\Model\ResourceModel\Category\Collection $categories
+     * Uses a single SQL query to find (category, store) pairs that actually have
+     * custom_design dates, then loads only those category models and avoids the
+     * original N × M $category->load() loop over all categories × all stores.
+     *
+     * @param \Magento\Catalog\Model\ResourceModel\Category\Collection|null $categories
      * @return void
+     * @SuppressWarnings(PHPMD.UnusedFormalParameter)
+     * @see AC-14442
      */
     private function updateCategoriesScheduleTime(
-        \Magento\Catalog\Model\ResourceModel\Category\Collection $categories
-    ) {
-        $allStoreId = $this->storeManager->getStores(true);
-        $versionManager = $this->versionManagerFactory->create();
-        foreach ($categories as $category) {
-            foreach ($allStoreId as $storeId) {
+        ?\Magento\Catalog\Model\ResourceModel\Category\Collection $categories = null
+    ): void {
+        $scheduleData = $this->loadCategoryScheduleData();
 
-                /** @var $category \Magento\Catalog\Model\Category */
+        if (empty($scheduleData)) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        foreach ($scheduleData as $entityId => $storeEntries) {
+            foreach (array_keys($storeEntries) as $storeId) {
+                /** @var \Magento\Catalog\Model\Category $category */
+                $category = $this->categoryCollectionFactory->create()->getNewEmptyItem();
                 $category->setStoreId($storeId);
-                $category->load($category['id']);
+                $category->load($entityId);
 
-                if ($this->checkCategoryForUpdate($category)) {
-                    if (!$this->isCategoryCustomDesignExpired($category)) {
-                        $versionManager->getVersion()->setId(
-                            $this->updateCustomDesignDateFields($category)->getId()
-                        );
-                    }
+                if (!$category->getId()) {
+                    continue;
+                }
 
-                    $category->setData('custom_design_from');
-                    $category->setData('custom_design_to');
+                if (!$this->isCategoryCustomDesignExpired($category)) {
+                    $baseRowId = (int)$category->getData('row_id');
+                    $update = $this->updateCustomDesignDateFields($category);
+                    $category->setData('created_in', $update->getId());
+                    $category->setData('custom_design_from', null);
+                    $category->setData('custom_design_to', null);
+                    $category->save();
+                    $this->clearBaseCategoryDateFields($baseRowId);
+                } else {
+                    $category->setData('custom_design_from', null);
+                    $category->setData('custom_design_to', null);
                     $category->save();
                 }
             }
@@ -216,54 +243,103 @@ private function updateCategoriesScheduleTime(
     }
 
     /**
-     * Check category for updaet
+     * Remove custom_design_from and custom_design_to EAV rows from the base entity.
      *
-     * @param \Magento\Catalog\Model\Category $category
-     * @return bool
+     * @param int $rowId
+     * @return void
      */
-    private function checkCategoryForUpdate(\Magento\Catalog\Model\Category $category)
+    private function clearBaseCategoryDateFields(int $rowId): void
     {
-        return $this->hasCategoryValueInNotDefaultStore($category) || $this->hasCategoryValueInDefaultStore($category);
+        if (!$rowId) {
+            return;
+        }
+        $connection = $this->moduleDataSetup->getConnection();
+        $attrIds = $connection->fetchCol(
+            $connection->select()
+                ->from($this->moduleDataSetup->getTable('eav_attribute'), ['attribute_id'])
+                ->where('attribute_code IN (?)', ['custom_design_from', 'custom_design_to'])
+                ->where(
+                    'entity_type_id = ?',
+                    $connection->select()
+                        ->from($this->moduleDataSetup->getTable('eav_entity_type'), ['entity_type_id'])
+                        ->where('entity_type_code = ?', 'catalog_category')
+                )
+        );
+        if ($attrIds) {
+            $connection->delete(
+                $this->moduleDataSetup->getTable('catalog_category_entity_datetime'),
+                ['row_id = ?' => $rowId, 'attribute_id IN (?)' => $attrIds]
+            );
+        }
     }
 
     /**
-     * Has category value in not defaultt store
+     * Load (category entity_id => store_id => dates) for entries that have custom design dates.
      *
-     * @param \Magento\Catalog\Model\Category $category
-     * @return bool
-     */
-    private function hasCategoryValueInNotDefaultStore(\Magento\Catalog\Model\Category $category)
-    {
-        return $category->getExistsStoreValueFlag('custom_design_from')
-            || $category->getExistsStoreValueFlag('custom_design_to');
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Has category value in default store
+     * Guards: base rows only (created_in = MIN_VERSION), NULL values excluded,
+     * zero-dates excluded.
      *
-     * @param \Magento\Catalog\Model\Category $category
-     * @return bool
+     * @return array<int, array<int, array{design_from: string|null, design_to: string|null}>>
      */
-    private function hasCategoryValueInDefaultStore(\Magento\Catalog\Model\Category $category)
+    private function loadCategoryScheduleData(): array
     {
-        return ($category->getStoreId() === \Magento\Store\Model\Store::DEFAULT_STORE_ID
-            && $category->getData('custom_design_to')
-            || $category->getStoreId() === \Magento\Store\Model\Store::DEFAULT_STORE_ID
-            && $category->getData('custom_design_from'));
+        $connection = $this->moduleDataSetup->getConnection();
+        $select = $connection->select()
+            ->from(
+                ['dt' => $this->moduleDataSetup->getTable('catalog_category_entity_datetime')],
+                ['dt.row_id', 'dt.store_id']
+            )
+            ->join(
+                ['e' => $this->moduleDataSetup->getTable('catalog_category_entity')],
+                'e.row_id = dt.row_id',
+                ['e.entity_id']
+            )
+            ->join(
+                ['a' => $this->moduleDataSetup->getTable('eav_attribute')],
+                'a.attribute_id = dt.attribute_id',
+                []
+            )
+            ->join(
+                ['et' => $this->moduleDataSetup->getTable('eav_entity_type')],
+                "et.entity_type_id = a.entity_type_id AND et.entity_type_code = 'catalog_category'",
+                []
+            )
+            ->columns([
+                'design_from' => new \Zend_Db_Expr(
+                    "MAX(CASE WHEN a.attribute_code = 'custom_design_from' THEN dt.value ELSE NULL END)"
+                ),
+                'design_to' => new \Zend_Db_Expr(
+                    "MAX(CASE WHEN a.attribute_code = 'custom_design_to' THEN dt.value ELSE NULL END)"
+                ),
+            ])
+            ->where('e.created_in = ?', \Magento\Staging\Model\VersionManager::MIN_VERSION)
+            ->where('a.attribute_code IN (?)', ['custom_design_from', 'custom_design_to'])
+            ->where('dt.value IS NOT NULL')
+            ->where('dt.value != ?', '0000-00-00 00:00:00')
+            ->group(['dt.row_id', 'dt.store_id', 'e.entity_id']);
+
+        $result = [];
+        foreach ($connection->fetchAll($select) as $row) {
+            $result[(int)$row['entity_id']][(int)$row['store_id']] = [
+                'design_from' => $row['design_from'],
+                'design_to'   => $row['design_to'],
+            ];
+        }
+
+        return $result;
     }
 
     /**
      * Checks whether the category custom design has expired or not.
      *
      * @param \Magento\Catalog\Model\Category $category
-     *
      * @return bool
      */
-    private function isCategoryCustomDesignExpired(\Magento\Catalog\Model\Category $category)
+    private function isCategoryCustomDesignExpired(\Magento\Catalog\Model\Category $category): bool
     {
-        if ($category->getData('custom_design_to')) {
-            $dateTo = new \DateTime($category->getData('custom_design_to'), new \DateTimeZone('UTC'));
-
+        $designTo = $category->getData('custom_design_to');
+        if ($designTo && $designTo !== '0000-00-00 00:00:00') {
+            $dateTo = new \DateTime($designTo, new \DateTimeZone('UTC'));
             if ($dateTo->getTimestamp() <= (new \DateTime())->getTimestamp()) {
                 return true;
             }
@@ -285,10 +361,11 @@ private function updateCustomDesignDateFields(\Magento\Catalog\Model\Category $c
 
         $update->setName($category->getData('name'));
 
-        $dateNow = new \DateTime('now', new \DateTimeZone('UTC'));
-
-        $dateFrom = $category->getData('custom_design_from') ?: 'now';
-        $dateFrom = new \DateTime($dateFrom, new \DateTimeZone('UTC'));
+        $dateNow  = new \DateTime('now', new \DateTimeZone('UTC'));
+        $rawFrom  = $category->getData('custom_design_from');
+        $dateFrom = ($rawFrom && $rawFrom !== '0000-00-00 00:00:00')
+            ? new \DateTime($rawFrom, new \DateTimeZone('UTC'))
+            : clone $dateNow;
 
         if ($dateFrom->getTimestamp() < $dateNow->getTimestamp()) {
             $dateFrom = $dateNow;
@@ -296,14 +373,13 @@ private function updateCustomDesignDateFields(\Magento\Catalog\Model\Category $c
 
         $update->setStartTime($dateFrom->format('Y-m-d H:i:s'));
 
-        if ($category->getData('custom_design_to')) {
-            $dateTo = new \DateTime($category->getData('custom_design_to'), new \DateTimeZone('UTC'));
-
+        $rawTo = $category->getData('custom_design_to');
+        if ($rawTo && $rawTo !== '0000-00-00 00:00:00') {
+            $dateTo = new \DateTime($rawTo, new \DateTimeZone('UTC'));
             $update->setEndTime($dateTo->format('Y-m-d 23:59:59'));
         }
 
         $update->setIsCampaign(false);
-
         $this->updateRepository->save($update);
 
         return $update;