diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/plugins/loader.go b/pkg/kubectl/plugins/loader.go
index 6a34a150d7c..1301dbbb3c3 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/plugins/loader.go
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/plugins/loader.go
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ func (l *DirectoryPluginLoader) Load() (Plugins, error) {
 	// read the base directory tree searching for plugin descriptors
 	// fails silently (descriptors unable to be read or unmarshalled are logged but skipped)
 	err = filepath.Walk(base, func(path string, fileInfo os.FileInfo, walkErr error) error {
-		if fileInfo.IsDir() || fileInfo.Name() != PluginDescriptorFilename || walkErr != nil {
+		if walkErr != nil || fileInfo.IsDir() || fileInfo.Name() != PluginDescriptorFilename {
 			return nil
 		}