diff --git a/pkg/state/cluster.go b/pkg/state/cluster.go
index e081a59a4..37c91fb01 100644
--- a/pkg/state/cluster.go
+++ b/pkg/state/cluster.go
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ func (c *Cluster) SafeToRepair(targetVersion string) (bool, string) {
 
 	var highestVer *semver.Version
 	for _, host := range c.ControlPlane {
-		if !host.IsInCluster {
+		if !host.IsInCluster || host.Kubelet.Version == nil {
 			continue
 		}
 		if highestVer == nil || host.Kubelet.Version.GreaterThan(highestVer) {