diff --git a/test/e2e/BUILD b/test/e2e/BUILD
index 7a7d91bc982..54f0bcb81f3 100644
--- a/test/e2e/BUILD
+++ b/test/e2e/BUILD
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ go_library(
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/authentication/serviceaccount:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/util/logs:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/k8s.io/client-go/plugin/pkg/client/auth:go_default_library",
     ],
 )
 
diff --git a/test/e2e/e2e.go b/test/e2e/e2e.go
index f25d5978ef5..853cbc78e8c 100644
--- a/test/e2e/e2e.go
+++ b/test/e2e/e2e.go
@@ -43,6 +43,9 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/test/e2e/framework/metrics"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/test/e2e/manifest"
 	testutils "k8s.io/kubernetes/test/utils"
+
+	// ensure auth plugins are loaded
+	_ "k8s.io/client-go/plugin/pkg/client/auth"
 )
 
 var (