diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/preflight/checks.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/preflight/checks.go
index 422167319f7..0a2b6bc3cb5 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/preflight/checks.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/preflight/checks.go
@@ -1063,7 +1063,7 @@ func RunRootCheckOnly(ignorePreflightErrors sets.String) error {
 func RunPullImagesCheck(execer utilsexec.Interface, cfg *kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration, ignorePreflightErrors sets.String) error {
 	containerRuntime, err := utilruntime.NewContainerRuntime(utilsexec.New(), cfg.NodeRegistration.CRISocket)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return &Error{Msg: err.Error()}
 	}
 
 	checks := []Checker{