diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/main.go b/pkg/kubectl/main.go
index dfcab9292dca..775382b3f236 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/main.go
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/main.go
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/component-base/cli"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd"
 	"k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util"
+
+	// Import to initialize client auth plugins.
+	_ "k8s.io/client-go/plugin/pkg/client/auth"
 )
 
 func Main() {