diff --git a/tests/docker/skew/skew_test.go b/tests/docker/skew/skew_test.go
index 65b827c8d9c2..0fa4c1d76627 100644
--- a/tests/docker/skew/skew_test.go
+++ b/tests/docker/skew/skew_test.go
@@ -33,7 +33,12 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func() {
 	// For master and unreleased branches, we want the latest stable release
 	var upgradeChannel string
 	var err error
-	if *branch == "master" {
+	if *branch == "master" || *branch == "release-v1.32" {
+		// disabled: AuthorizeNodeWithSelectors is now on by default, which breaks compat with agents < v1.32.
+		// This can be ren-enabled once the previous branch is v1.32 or higher, or when RBAC changes have been backported.
+		// ref: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/128168
+		Skip("Skipping version skew tests for " + *branch + " due to AuthorizeNodeWithSelectors")
+
 		upgradeChannel = "stable"
 	} else {
 		upgradeChannel = strings.Replace(*branch, "release-", "v", 1)
@@ -48,11 +53,11 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func() {
 	lastMinorVersion, err = tester.GetVersionFromChannel(upgradeChannel)
 	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 	Expect(lastMinorVersion).To(ContainSubstring("v1."))
+
 	fmt.Println("Using last minor version: ", lastMinorVersion)
 })
 
 var _ = Describe("Skew Tests", Ordered, func() {
-
 	Context("Setup Cluster with Server newer than Agent", func() {
 		It("should provision new servers and old agents", func() {
 			var err error
diff --git a/tests/docker/test-run-compat b/tests/docker/test-run-compat
index 87cb89c00ab9..ec71f4a74c06 100755
--- a/tests/docker/test-run-compat
+++ b/tests/docker/test-run-compat
@@ -36,14 +36,23 @@ LATEST_VERSION=$(curl -s https://update.k3s.io/v1-release/channels/latest -o /de
 
 # --- create a basic cluster to test for compat with the previous minor version of the server and agent
 K3S_IMAGE_SERVER=${REPO}/${IMAGE_NAME}:${PREVIOUS_VERSION} LABEL=PREVIOUS-SERVER run-test
-K3S_IMAGE_AGENT=${REPO}/${IMAGE_NAME}:${PREVIOUS_VERSION} LABEL=PREVIOUS-AGENT run-test
+# disabled: AuthorizeNodeWithSelectors is now on by default, which breaks compat with agents < v1.32.
+# This can be ren-enabled once the previous branch is v1.32 or higher, or when RBAC changes have been backported.
+# ref: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/128168
+#K3S_IMAGE_AGENT=${REPO}/${IMAGE_NAME}:${PREVIOUS_VERSION} LABEL=PREVIOUS-AGENT run-test
 
 # --- create a basic cluster to test for compat with the stable version of the server and agent
 K3S_IMAGE_SERVER=${REPO}/${IMAGE_NAME}:${STABLE_VERSION} LABEL=STABLE-SERVER run-test
-K3S_IMAGE_AGENT=${REPO}/${IMAGE_NAME}:${STABLE_VERSION} LABEL=STABLE-AGENT run-test
+# disabled: AuthorizeNodeWithSelectors is now on by default, which breaks compat with agents < v1.32
+# This can be ren-enabled once the stable release is v1.32 or higher, or when RBAC changes have been backported.
+# ref: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/128168
+#K3S_IMAGE_AGENT=${REPO}/${IMAGE_NAME}:${STABLE_VERSION} LABEL=STABLE-AGENT run-test
 
 # --- create a basic cluster to test for compat with the latest version of the server and agent
 K3S_IMAGE_SERVER=${REPO}/${IMAGE_NAME}:${LATEST_VERSION} LABEL=LATEST-SERVER run-test
-K3S_IMAGE_AGENT=${REPO}/${IMAGE_NAME}:${LATEST_VERSION} LABEL=LATEST-AGENT run-test
+# disabled: AuthorizeNodeWithSelectors is now on by default, which breaks compat with agents < v1.32
+# This can be ren-enabled once the latest release is v1.32 or higher, or when RBAC changes have been backported.
+# ref: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/128168
+#K3S_IMAGE_AGENT=${REPO}/${IMAGE_NAME}:${LATEST_VERSION} LABEL=LATEST-AGENT run-test
 
 cleanup-test-env