diff --git a/roles/network_plugin/cni/defaults/main.yml b/roles/network_plugin/cni/defaults/main.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5d11edfa3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/roles/network_plugin/cni/defaults/main.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+---
+cni_bin_owner: "{{ kube_owner }}"
diff --git a/roles/network_plugin/cni/tasks/main.yml b/roles/network_plugin/cni/tasks/main.yml
index d74f169c6..bcab4efb9 100644
--- a/roles/network_plugin/cni/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/network_plugin/cni/tasks/main.yml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
     path: /opt/cni/bin
     state: directory
     mode: 0755
-    owner: "{{ kube_owner }}"
+    owner: "{{ cni_bin_owner }}"
     recurse: true
 
 - name: CNI | Copy cni plugins
@@ -12,5 +12,5 @@
     src: "{{ downloads.cni.dest }}"
     dest: "/opt/cni/bin"
     mode: 0755
-    owner: "{{ kube_owner }}"
+    owner: "{{ cni_bin_owner }}"
     remote_src: yes