diff --git a/pkg/configfilearg/defaultparser.go b/pkg/configfilearg/defaultparser.go
index 85d553bc08..608857c408 100644
--- a/pkg/configfilearg/defaultparser.go
+++ b/pkg/configfilearg/defaultparser.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package configfilearg
 
 import (
+	"path/filepath"
 	"slices"
 
 	"github.com/k3s-io/k3s/pkg/cli/cmds"
@@ -31,10 +32,10 @@ func MustFindString(args []string, target string, commandsWithoutOverride ...str
 	// Some subcommands such as `k3s ctr` or just `ctr` need to be extracted out even to
 	// provide version or help text, and we cannot short-circuit loading the config file. For
 	// these commands, treat failure to load the config file as a warning instead of a fatal.
-	if len(args) > 0 && args[0] == version.Program {
+	if len(args) > 0 && filepath.Base(args[0]) == version.Program {
 		args = args[1:]
 	}
-	if len(args) > 0 && slices.Contains(commandsWithoutOverride, args[0]) {
+	if len(args) > 0 && slices.Contains(commandsWithoutOverride, filepath.Base(args[0])) {
 		overrideFlags = nil
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/configfilearg/defaultparser_test.go b/pkg/configfilearg/defaultparser_test.go
index 92002a8cb0..1fbf64949b 100644
--- a/pkg/configfilearg/defaultparser_test.go
+++ b/pkg/configfilearg/defaultparser_test.go
@@ -124,12 +124,32 @@ func Test_UnitMustFindString(t *testing.T) {
 			teardown: func() error { return os.Unsetenv("K3S_CONFIG_FILE") },
 		},
 		{
-			name:   "Override flag is not returned for specific subcommands",
+			name:   "Override flag is not returned for specific subcommands with full path",
+			args:   []string{"/usr/local/bin/k3s", "ctr", "--foo", "bar", "--version"},
+			target: "token",
+
+			want: "12345",
+
+			setup:    func() error { return os.Setenv("K3S_CONFIG_FILE", "./testdata/defaultdata.yaml") },
+			teardown: func() error { return os.Unsetenv("K3S_CONFIG_FILE") },
+		},
+		{
+			name:   "Override flag is not returned for wrapped commands",
 			args:   []string{"kubectl", "--foo", "bar", "--help"},
 			target: "token",
 
 			want: "12345",
 
+			setup:    func() error { return os.Setenv("K3S_CONFIG_FILE", "./testdata/defaultdata.yaml") },
+			teardown: func() error { return os.Unsetenv("K3S_CONFIG_FILE") },
+		},
+		{
+			name:   "Override flag is not returned for wrapped commands with full path",
+			args:   []string{"/usr/local/bin/kubectl", "--foo", "bar", "--help"},
+			target: "token",
+
+			want: "12345",
+
 			setup:    func() error { return os.Setenv("K3S_CONFIG_FILE", "./testdata/defaultdata.yaml") },
 			teardown: func() error { return os.Unsetenv("K3S_CONFIG_FILE") },
 		},