diff --git a/e2e/internal/upgrade/upgrade.go b/e2e/internal/upgrade/upgrade.go
index 819ec28e928..1d9997a2918 100644
--- a/e2e/internal/upgrade/upgrade.go
+++ b/e2e/internal/upgrade/upgrade.go
@@ -108,6 +108,9 @@ func testMicroservicesEventuallyHaveVersion(t *testing.T, wantMicroserviceVersio
 }
 
 func testNodesEventuallyHaveVersion(t *testing.T, k *kubernetes.Clientset, targetVersions VersionContainer, totalNodeCount int, timeout time.Duration) {
+	if targetVersions.ImageRef == "" {
+		return
+	}
 	require.Eventually(t, func() bool {
 		nodes, err := k.CoreV1().Nodes().List(context.Background(), metaV1.ListOptions{})
 		if err != nil {