diff --git a/pkg/controller/daemon/util/daemonset_util.go b/pkg/controller/daemon/util/daemonset_util.go
index acff170506c..5058f747df3 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/daemon/util/daemonset_util.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/daemon/util/daemonset_util.go
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ func UnavailableCount(ds *apps.DaemonSet, numberToSchedule int) (int, error) {
 func IsPodUpdated(pod *v1.Pod, hash string, dsTemplateGeneration *int64) bool {
 	// Compare with hash to see if the pod is updated, need to maintain backward compatibility of templateGeneration
 	templateMatches := dsTemplateGeneration != nil &&
-		pod.Labels[extensions.DaemonSetTemplateGenerationKey] == fmt.Sprint(dsTemplateGeneration)
+		pod.Labels[extensions.DaemonSetTemplateGenerationKey] == fmt.Sprint(*dsTemplateGeneration)
 	hashMatches := len(hash) > 0 && pod.Labels[extensions.DefaultDaemonSetUniqueLabelKey] == hash
 	return hashMatches || templateMatches
 }
diff --git a/pkg/controller/daemon/util/daemonset_util_test.go b/pkg/controller/daemon/util/daemonset_util_test.go
index e7dfba56092..de34f6f0803 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/daemon/util/daemonset_util_test.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/daemon/util/daemonset_util_test.go
@@ -52,10 +52,10 @@ func newPod(podName string, nodeName string, label map[string]string) *v1.Pod {
 
 func TestIsPodUpdated(t *testing.T) {
 	templateGeneration := utilpointer.Int64Ptr(12345)
-	badGeneration := utilpointer.Int64Ptr(12345)
+	badGeneration := utilpointer.Int64Ptr(12350)
 	hash := "55555"
-	labels := map[string]string{extensions.DaemonSetTemplateGenerationKey: fmt.Sprint(templateGeneration), extensions.DefaultDaemonSetUniqueLabelKey: hash}
-	labelsNoHash := map[string]string{extensions.DaemonSetTemplateGenerationKey: fmt.Sprint(templateGeneration)}
+	labels := map[string]string{extensions.DaemonSetTemplateGenerationKey: fmt.Sprint(*templateGeneration), extensions.DefaultDaemonSetUniqueLabelKey: hash}
+	labelsNoHash := map[string]string{extensions.DaemonSetTemplateGenerationKey: fmt.Sprint(*templateGeneration)}
 	tests := []struct {
 		test               string
 		templateGeneration *int64