diff --git a/scripts/common/yaml.sh b/scripts/common/yaml.sh
index 6823afb3a4..3476d54b06 100644
--- a/scripts/common/yaml.sh
+++ b/scripts/common/yaml.sh
@@ -29,9 +29,15 @@ function insert_patches_strategic_merge() {
     local kustomization_file="$1"
     local patch_file="$2"
 
+    # we care about the current kubernetes version here, not the target version - this function can be called from pre-init addons
+    local kubeletVersion=
+    kubeletVersion="$(kubelet_version)"
+    semverParse "$kubeletVersion"
+    local kubeletMinor="$minor"
+
     # Kubernetes 1.27 uses kustomize v5 which dropped support for old, legacy style patches
     # See: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.27.md#changelog-since-v1270
-    if [ "$KUBERNETES_TARGET_VERSION_MINOR" -ge "27" ]; then
+    if [ "$kubeletMinor" -ge "27" ]; then
         if [[ $kustomization_file =~ "prometheus" ]] || [[ $kustomization_file =~ "rook" ]]; then
             # TODO: multi-doc patches is not currently supported in kustomize v5
             # continue using the deprecated 'patchesStrategicMerge' field until this is fixed