diff --git a/bindata/assets/instaslice-operator/daemonset.yaml b/bindata/assets/instaslice-operator/daemonset.yaml
index 759f348ff..d4f02827d 100644
--- a/bindata/assets/instaslice-operator/daemonset.yaml
+++ b/bindata/assets/instaslice-operator/daemonset.yaml
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ spec:
     spec:
       nodeSelector:
         nvidia.com/mig.capable: "true"
+      runtimeClassName: nvidia-legacy
       securityContext:
         runAsNonRoot: false
         seccompProfile:
diff --git a/pkg/webhook/webhook.go b/pkg/webhook/webhook.go
index da6b696ed..2e943e858 100644
--- a/pkg/webhook/webhook.go
+++ b/pkg/webhook/webhook.go
@@ -154,6 +154,11 @@ func (s *InstasliceWebhook) mutatePod(pod *corev1.Pod) ([]byte, error) {
 	if needsScheduler {
 		mutatedPod.Spec.SchedulerName = secondaryScheduler
 		klog.InfoS("using secondary scheduler", "name", mutatedPod.Name)
+		// Set nvidia-legacy runtime for MIG workloads to avoid CDI resolution issues
+		// with the nvidia runtime's CDI mode
+		runtimeClass := "nvidia-legacy"
+		mutatedPod.Spec.RuntimeClassName = &runtimeClass
+		klog.InfoS("setting runtimeClassName for MIG workload", "name", mutatedPod.Name, "runtimeClassName", runtimeClass)
 	}
 
 	klog.InfoS("finished pod mutation", "mutatedPod", mutatedPod)
diff --git a/pkg/webhook/webhook_test.go b/pkg/webhook/webhook_test.go
index cb3470bbf..57fe18dc5 100644
--- a/pkg/webhook/webhook_test.go
+++ b/pkg/webhook/webhook_test.go
@@ -48,6 +48,10 @@ func TestMutatePodNvidiaResource(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("expected scheduler %s, got %s", secondaryScheduler, mutated.Spec.SchedulerName)
 	}
 
+	if mutated.Spec.RuntimeClassName == nil || *mutated.Spec.RuntimeClassName != "nvidia-legacy" {
+		t.Fatalf("expected runtimeClassName nvidia-legacy")
+	}
+
 	limits := mutated.Spec.Containers[0].Resources.Limits
 	if _, ok := limits[corev1.ResourceName("nvidia.com/mig-1g.5gb")]; ok {
 		t.Fatalf("nvidia resource still present")
@@ -96,6 +100,9 @@ func TestMutatePodEphemeralNvidiaResource(t *testing.T) {
 	if mutated.Spec.SchedulerName != secondaryScheduler {
 		t.Fatalf("expected scheduler set")
 	}
+	if mutated.Spec.RuntimeClassName == nil || *mutated.Spec.RuntimeClassName != "nvidia-legacy" {
+		t.Fatalf("expected runtimeClassName nvidia-legacy")
+	}
 	limits := mutated.Spec.EphemeralContainers[0].Resources.Limits
 	if _, ok := limits[corev1.ResourceName("mig.das.com/1g.5gb")]; !ok {
 		t.Fatalf("instaslice resource missing")
@@ -143,6 +150,9 @@ func TestMutatePodOverrideValues(t *testing.T) {
 	if mutated.Spec.SchedulerName != secondaryScheduler {
 		t.Fatalf("scheduler not overridden")
 	}
+	if mutated.Spec.RuntimeClassName == nil || *mutated.Spec.RuntimeClassName != "nvidia-legacy" {
+		t.Fatalf("expected runtimeClassName nvidia-legacy")
+	}
 
 	envs := mutated.Spec.Containers[0].Env
 	if len(envs) != 2 {
@@ -194,6 +204,9 @@ func TestMutatePodInstaResource(t *testing.T) {
 	if mutated.Spec.SchedulerName != secondaryScheduler {
 		t.Fatalf("expected scheduler set")
 	}
+	if mutated.Spec.RuntimeClassName == nil || *mutated.Spec.RuntimeClassName != "nvidia-legacy" {
+		t.Fatalf("expected runtimeClassName nvidia-legacy")
+	}
 	if _, ok := mutated.Spec.Containers[0].Resources.Limits[corev1.ResourceName("mig.das.com/1g.5gb")]; !ok {
 		t.Fatalf("instaslice resource missing")
 	}
@@ -223,6 +236,9 @@ func TestMutatePodNoResource(t *testing.T) {
 	if mutated.Spec.SchedulerName != "" {
 		t.Fatalf("expected scheduler not set")
 	}
+	if mutated.Spec.RuntimeClassName != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected runtimeClassName not set for non-GPU pod")
+	}
 	if len(mutated.Spec.Containers[0].Env) != 0 {
 		t.Fatalf("env vars should not be added")
 	}