diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/types.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/types.go
index 0e30c483106..94ed5399be5 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/types.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/types.go
@@ -421,8 +421,8 @@ type HostPathMount struct {
 type Patches struct {
 	// Directory is a path to a directory that contains files named "target[suffix][+patchtype].extension".
 	// For example, "kube-apiserver0+merge.yaml" or just "etcd.json". "target" can be one of
-	// "kube-apiserver", "kube-controller-manager", "kube-scheduler", "etcd". "patchtype" can be one
-	// of "strategic" "merge" or "json" and they match the patch formats supported by kubectl.
+	// "kube-apiserver", "kube-controller-manager", "kube-scheduler", "etcd", "kubeletconfiguration".
+	// "patchtype" can be one of "strategic" "merge" or "json" and they match the patch formats supported by kubectl.
 	// The default "patchtype" is "strategic". "extension" must be either "json" or "yaml".
 	// "suffix" is an optional string that can be used to determine which patches are applied
 	// first alpha-numerically.
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/v1beta3/types.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/v1beta3/types.go
index 525e2046925..eaa2984f40f 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/v1beta3/types.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/v1beta3/types.go
@@ -435,8 +435,8 @@ type HostPathMount struct {
 type Patches struct {
 	// Directory is a path to a directory that contains files named "target[suffix][+patchtype].extension".
 	// For example, "kube-apiserver0+merge.yaml" or just "etcd.json". "target" can be one of
-	// "kube-apiserver", "kube-controller-manager", "kube-scheduler", "etcd". "patchtype" can be one
-	// of "strategic" "merge" or "json" and they match the patch formats supported by kubectl.
+	// "kube-apiserver", "kube-controller-manager", "kube-scheduler", "etcd", "kubeletconfiguration".
+	// "patchtype" can be one of "strategic" "merge" or "json" and they match the patch formats supported by kubectl.
 	// The default "patchtype" is "strategic". "extension" must be either "json" or "yaml".
 	// "suffix" is an optional string that can be used to determine which patches are applied
 	// first alpha-numerically.
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/generic.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/generic.go
index debe6f95ddc..19436dcba9a 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/generic.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/generic.go
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ func AddPatchesFlag(fs *pflag.FlagSet, patchesDir *string) {
 	const usage = `Path to a directory that contains files named ` +
 		`"target[suffix][+patchtype].extension". For example, ` +
 		`"kube-apiserver0+merge.yaml" or just "etcd.json". ` +
-		`"target" can be one of "kube-apiserver", "kube-controller-manager", "kube-scheduler", "etcd". ` +
+		`"target" can be one of "kube-apiserver", "kube-controller-manager", "kube-scheduler", "etcd", "kubeletconfiguration". ` +
 		`"patchtype" can be one of "strategic", "merge" or "json" and they match the patch formats ` +
 		`supported by kubectl. The default "patchtype" is "strategic". "extension" must be either ` +
 		`"json" or "yaml". "suffix" is an optional string that can be used to determine ` +
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/kubelet.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/kubelet.go
index bf43d23821a..204004b28e6 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/kubelet.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/kubelet.go
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ func NewKubeletStartPhase() workflow.Phase {
 			options.CfgPath,
 			options.NodeCRISocket,
 			options.NodeName,
+			options.Patches,
 		},
 	}
 }
@@ -74,7 +75,7 @@ func runKubeletStart(c workflow.RunData) error {
 	}
 
 	// Write the kubelet configuration file to disk.
-	if err := kubeletphase.WriteConfigToDisk(&data.Cfg().ClusterConfiguration, data.KubeletDir()); err != nil {
+	if err := kubeletphase.WriteConfigToDisk(&data.Cfg().ClusterConfiguration, data.KubeletDir(), data.PatchesDir(), data.OutputWriter()); err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "error writing kubelet configuration to disk")
 	}
 
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/kubelet.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/kubelet.go
index 377db62dab0..113a591c536 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/kubelet.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/kubelet.go
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ func NewKubeletStartPhase() workflow.Phase {
 			options.TokenDiscoverySkipCAHash,
 			options.TLSBootstrapToken,
 			options.TokenStr,
+			options.Patches,
 		},
 	}
 }
@@ -174,7 +175,7 @@ func runKubeletStartJoinPhase(c workflow.RunData) (returnErr error) {
 	}
 
 	// Write the configuration for the kubelet (using the bootstrap token credentials) to disk so the kubelet can start
-	if err := kubeletphase.WriteConfigToDisk(&initCfg.ClusterConfiguration, data.KubeletDir()); err != nil {
+	if err := kubeletphase.WriteConfigToDisk(&initCfg.ClusterConfiguration, data.KubeletDir(), data.PatchesDir(), data.OutputWriter()); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/data.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/data.go
index c6ab05a970f..429ce185937 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/data.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/data.go
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ limitations under the License.
 package node
 
 import (
+	"io"
+
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/sets"
 	clientset "k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes"
 
@@ -35,4 +37,5 @@ type Data interface {
 	IgnorePreflightErrors() sets.String
 	PatchesDir() string
 	KubeConfigPath() string
+	OutputWriter() io.Writer
 }
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/kubeletconfig.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/kubeletconfig.go
index 773b5a8d7ad..5ec99c4e260 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/kubeletconfig.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/kubeletconfig.go
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ func NewKubeletConfigPhase() workflow.Phase {
 		InheritFlags: []string{
 			options.DryRun,
 			options.KubeconfigPath,
+			options.Patches,
 		},
 	}
 	return phase
@@ -73,7 +74,7 @@ func runKubeletConfigPhase() func(c workflow.RunData) error {
 		// TODO: Checkpoint the current configuration first so that if something goes wrong it can be recovered
 
 		// Store the kubelet component configuration.
-		if err = kubeletphase.WriteConfigToDisk(&cfg.ClusterConfiguration, kubeletDir); err != nil {
+		if err = kubeletphase.WriteConfigToDisk(&cfg.ClusterConfiguration, kubeletDir, data.PatchesDir(), data.OutputWriter()); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/apply.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/apply.go
index 9900964db3e..ee99707aa27 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/apply.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/apply.go
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ func runApply(flags *applyFlags, args []string) error {
 
 	// Upgrade RBAC rules and addons.
 	klog.V(1).Infoln("[upgrade/postupgrade] upgrading RBAC rules and addons")
-	if err := upgrade.PerformPostUpgradeTasks(client, cfg, flags.dryRun); err != nil {
+	if err := upgrade.PerformPostUpgradeTasks(client, cfg, flags.patchesDir, flags.dryRun, flags.applyPlanFlags.out); err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "[upgrade/postupgrade] FATAL post-upgrade error")
 	}
 
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/node.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/node.go
index 8548fc79364..b76f78ab55c 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/node.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/node.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package upgrade
 
 import (
+	"io"
 	"os"
 
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
@@ -63,10 +64,11 @@ type nodeData struct {
 	patchesDir            string
 	ignorePreflightErrors sets.String
 	kubeConfigPath        string
+	outputWriter          io.Writer
 }
 
 // newCmdNode returns the cobra command for `kubeadm upgrade node`
-func newCmdNode() *cobra.Command {
+func newCmdNode(out io.Writer) *cobra.Command {
 	nodeOptions := newNodeOptions()
 	nodeRunner := workflow.NewRunner()
 
@@ -92,7 +94,7 @@ func newCmdNode() *cobra.Command {
 	// sets the data builder function, that will be used by the runner
 	// both when running the entire workflow or single phases
 	nodeRunner.SetDataInitializer(func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) (workflow.RunData, error) {
-		return newNodeData(cmd, args, nodeOptions)
+		return newNodeData(cmd, args, nodeOptions, out)
 	})
 
 	// binds the Runner to kubeadm upgrade node command by altering
@@ -123,7 +125,7 @@ func addUpgradeNodeFlags(flagSet *flag.FlagSet, nodeOptions *nodeOptions) {
 // newNodeData returns a new nodeData struct to be used for the execution of the kubeadm upgrade node workflow.
 // This func takes care of validating nodeOptions passed to the command, and then it converts
 // options into the internal InitConfiguration type that is used as input all the phases in the kubeadm upgrade node workflow
-func newNodeData(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string, options *nodeOptions) (*nodeData, error) {
+func newNodeData(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string, options *nodeOptions, out io.Writer) (*nodeData, error) {
 	client, err := getClient(options.kubeConfigPath, options.dryRun)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, errors.Wrapf(err, "couldn't create a Kubernetes client from file %q", options.kubeConfigPath)
@@ -168,6 +170,7 @@ func newNodeData(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string, options *nodeOptions) (*node
 		patchesDir:            options.patchesDir,
 		ignorePreflightErrors: ignorePreflightErrorsSet,
 		kubeConfigPath:        options.kubeConfigPath,
+		outputWriter:          out,
 	}, nil
 }
 
@@ -215,3 +218,7 @@ func (d *nodeData) IgnorePreflightErrors() sets.String {
 func (d *nodeData) KubeConfigPath() string {
 	return d.kubeConfigPath
 }
+
+func (d *nodeData) OutputWriter() io.Writer {
+	return d.outputWriter
+}
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/upgrade.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/upgrade.go
index f65376b6f0b..32499f1d4ac 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/upgrade.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/upgrade.go
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ func NewCmdUpgrade(out io.Writer) *cobra.Command {
 	cmd.AddCommand(newCmdApply(flags))
 	cmd.AddCommand(newCmdPlan(flags))
 	cmd.AddCommand(newCmdDiff(out))
-	cmd.AddCommand(newCmdNode())
+	cmd.AddCommand(newCmdNode(out))
 	return cmd
 }
 
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/kubelet/config.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/kubelet/config.go
index f64e93364e9..9f43896a173 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/kubelet/config.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/kubelet/config.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package kubelet
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"io"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 
@@ -27,16 +28,18 @@ import (
 	rbac "k8s.io/api/rbac/v1"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	clientset "k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes"
+	kubeletconfig "k8s.io/kubelet/config/v1beta1"
 
 	kubeadmapi "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/componentconfigs"
 	kubeadmconstants "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/constants"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/apiclient"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/patches"
 )
 
 // WriteConfigToDisk writes the kubelet config object down to a file
 // Used at "kubeadm init" and "kubeadm upgrade" time
-func WriteConfigToDisk(cfg *kubeadmapi.ClusterConfiguration, kubeletDir string) error {
+func WriteConfigToDisk(cfg *kubeadmapi.ClusterConfiguration, kubeletDir, patchesDir string, output io.Writer) error {
 	kubeletCfg, ok := cfg.ComponentConfigs[componentconfigs.KubeletGroup]
 	if !ok {
 		return errors.New("no kubelet component config found")
@@ -51,6 +54,25 @@ func WriteConfigToDisk(cfg *kubeadmapi.ClusterConfiguration, kubeletDir string)
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// Apply patches to the KubeletConfiguration
+	if len(patchesDir) != 0 {
+		target := "kubeletconfiguration"
+		knownTargets := []string{target}
+		patchManager, err := patches.GetPatchManagerForPath(patchesDir, knownTargets, output)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		patchTarget := &patches.PatchTarget{
+			Name:                      target,
+			StrategicMergePatchObject: kubeletconfig.KubeletConfiguration{},
+			Data:                      kubeletBytes,
+		}
+		if err := patchManager.ApplyPatchesToTarget(patchTarget); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		kubeletBytes = patchTarget.Data
+	}
+
 	return writeConfigBytesToDisk(kubeletBytes, kubeletDir)
 }
 
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/postupgrade.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/postupgrade.go
index aad71841736..190c3afefa9 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/postupgrade.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/postupgrade.go
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ package upgrade
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"io"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@ import (
 
 // PerformPostUpgradeTasks runs nearly the same functions as 'kubeadm init' would do
 // Note that the mark-control-plane phase is left out, not needed, and no token is created as that doesn't belong to the upgrade
-func PerformPostUpgradeTasks(client clientset.Interface, cfg *kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration, dryRun bool) error {
+func PerformPostUpgradeTasks(client clientset.Interface, cfg *kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration, patchesDir string, dryRun bool, out io.Writer) error {
 	errs := []error{}
 
 	// Upload currently used configuration to the cluster
@@ -64,7 +65,7 @@ func PerformPostUpgradeTasks(client clientset.Interface, cfg *kubeadmapi.InitCon
 	}
 
 	// Write the new kubelet config down to disk and the env file if needed
-	if err := writeKubeletConfigFiles(client, cfg, dryRun); err != nil {
+	if err := writeKubeletConfigFiles(client, cfg, patchesDir, dryRun, out); err != nil {
 		errs = append(errs, err)
 	}
 
@@ -158,7 +159,7 @@ func PerformPostUpgradeTasks(client clientset.Interface, cfg *kubeadmapi.InitCon
 	return errorsutil.NewAggregate(errs)
 }
 
-func writeKubeletConfigFiles(client clientset.Interface, cfg *kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration, dryRun bool) error {
+func writeKubeletConfigFiles(client clientset.Interface, cfg *kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration, patchesDir string, dryRun bool, out io.Writer) error {
 	kubeletDir, err := GetKubeletDir(dryRun)
 	if err != nil {
 		// The error here should never occur in reality, would only be thrown if /tmp doesn't exist on the machine.
@@ -166,7 +167,7 @@ func writeKubeletConfigFiles(client clientset.Interface, cfg *kubeadmapi.InitCon
 	}
 	errs := []error{}
 	// Write the configuration for the kubelet down to disk so the upgraded kubelet can start with fresh config
-	if err := kubeletphase.WriteConfigToDisk(&cfg.ClusterConfiguration, kubeletDir); err != nil {
+	if err := kubeletphase.WriteConfigToDisk(&cfg.ClusterConfiguration, kubeletDir, patchesDir, out); err != nil {
 		errs = append(errs, errors.Wrap(err, "error writing kubelet configuration to file"))
 	}
 
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/patches/patches_test.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/patches/patches_test.go
index 48aa1691463..b704c820928 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/patches/patches_test.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/patches/patches_test.go
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 
-	"k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	v1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types"
 )
 
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ var testKnownTargets = []string{
 	"kube-apiserver",
 	"kube-controller-manager",
 	"kube-scheduler",
+	"kubeletconfiguration",
 }
 
 const testDirPattern = "patch-files"
@@ -312,6 +313,21 @@ func TestGetPatchManagerForPath(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			},
 		},
+		{
+			name: "valid: kubeletconfiguration target is patched with json patch",
+			patchTarget: &PatchTarget{
+				Name:                      "kubeletconfiguration",
+				StrategicMergePatchObject: nil,
+				Data:                      []byte("foo: bar\n"),
+			},
+			expectedData: []byte(`{"foo":"zzz"}`),
+			files: []*file{
+				{
+					name: "kubeletconfiguration+json.json",
+					data: `[{"op": "replace", "path": "/foo", "value": "zzz"}]`,
+				},
+			},
+		},
 		{
 			name: "valid: kube-apiserver target is patched with strategic merge patch",
 			patchTarget: &PatchTarget{