diff --git a/pkg/cri/server/container_execsync.go b/pkg/cri/server/container_execsync.go
index cd9e31fc7..eb17981a7 100644
--- a/pkg/cri/server/container_execsync.go
+++ b/pkg/cri/server/container_execsync.go
@@ -146,6 +146,8 @@ func (c *criService) execInternal(ctx context.Context, container containerd.Cont
 	}
 
 	pspec.Args = opts.cmd
+	// CommandLine may already be set on the container's spec, but we want to only use Args here.
+	pspec.CommandLine = ""
 
 	if opts.stdout == nil {
 		opts.stdout = cio.NewDiscardLogger()