diff --git a/manifests/charts/istio-cni/templates/daemonset.yaml b/manifests/charts/istio-cni/templates/daemonset.yaml
index aa1d49cc9585..8b2758f83612 100644
--- a/manifests/charts/istio-cni/templates/daemonset.yaml
+++ b/manifests/charts/istio-cni/templates/daemonset.yaml
@@ -202,7 +202,9 @@ spec:
             path: /var/run/istio-cni
         - name: cni-netns-dir
           hostPath:
-            path: /var/run/netns
+            path: {{ .Values.cniNetnsDir | default "/var/run/netns" }}
+            type: Directory # this directory must exist on the node, if it does not,
+            # consult your container runtime documentation for the appropriate path
         {{- if eq .Values.cni.ambient.redirectMode "ebpf"}}
         - name: cni-bpffs-dir
           hostPath:
diff --git a/manifests/charts/istio-cni/values.yaml b/manifests/charts/istio-cni/values.yaml
index 41758eaaa060..d7bc77ee34f4 100644
--- a/manifests/charts/istio-cni/values.yaml
+++ b/manifests/charts/istio-cni/values.yaml
@@ -20,6 +20,10 @@ cni:
   cniBinDir: "" # Auto-detected based on version; defaults to /opt/cni/bin.
   cniConfDir: /etc/cni/net.d
   cniConfFileName: ""
+  # This directory must exist on the node, if it does not, consult your container runtime
+  # documentation for the appropriate path.
+  cniNetnsDir: # Defaults to '/var/run/netns', in minikube/docker/others can be '/run/docker/netns'.
+
 
   excludeNamespaces:
     - istio-system
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/47444.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/47444.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7ba10c326f5f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/47444.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+apiVersion: release-notes/v2
+kind: bug-fix
+area: traffic-management
+issue:
+  - 47444
+releaseNotes:
+- |
+  **Added** Support alternate network namespace paths (for e.g. minikube) via `values.cni.cniNetnsDir`