diff --git a/internal/plugin/installer/base.go b/internal/plugin/installer/base.go
index 4ef7f2b29..1b2f5c8a9 100644
--- a/internal/plugin/installer/base.go
+++ b/internal/plugin/installer/base.go
@@ -30,11 +30,16 @@ type base struct {
 
 func newBase(source string) base {
 	settings := cli.New()
-	// When HELM_PLUGINS contains a list of paths, use only the first one for
-	// installation so the plugin ends up in a directory that is actually searched.
+	// When HELM_PLUGINS contains a list of paths, install into the first non-empty
+	// entry so the plugin ends up in a directory that is actually searched. Skipping
+	// empty segments avoids installing into a relative path when HELM_PLUGINS contains
+	// entries like ":/path" or "/path:".
 	pluginsDir := settings.PluginsDirectory
-	if dirs := filepath.SplitList(pluginsDir); len(dirs) > 0 {
-		pluginsDir = dirs[0]
+	for _, dir := range filepath.SplitList(pluginsDir) {
+		if dir != "" {
+			pluginsDir = dir
+			break
+		}
 	}
 	return base{
 		Source:           source,
diff --git a/internal/plugin/installer/base_test.go b/internal/plugin/installer/base_test.go
index 8a1056605..9f6ade8fd 100644
--- a/internal/plugin/installer/base_test.go
+++ b/internal/plugin/installer/base_test.go
@@ -66,6 +66,22 @@ func TestPathEmptyPluginDir(t *testing.T) {
 	// When HELM_PLUGINS is explicitly empty, newBase must not panic.
 	t.Setenv("HELM_PLUGINS", "")
 	b := newBase("https://github.com/jkroepke/helm-secrets")
-	// Path() returns "" when source is "" or PluginsDirectory is ""; just verify no panic.
+	// Path() only returns "" when Source is ""; with an empty PluginsDirectory it
+	// returns a relative path. Just verify no panic.
 	_ = b.Path()
 }
+
+func TestPathSkipsEmptyPluginDirs(t *testing.T) {
+	// A leading empty segment (e.g. ":/real/path") must be skipped so the plugin is
+	// installed into the first real directory rather than a relative path.
+	real := filepath.FromSlash("/helm/data/plugins")
+	multiPath := string(filepath.ListSeparator) + real
+
+	t.Setenv("HELM_PLUGINS", multiPath)
+	b := newBase("https://github.com/jkroepke/helm-secrets")
+	got := b.Path()
+	expected := filepath.Join(real, "helm-secrets")
+	if got != expected {
+		t.Errorf("expected path %s, got %s", expected, got)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/plugin/installer/http_installer_test.go b/internal/plugin/installer/http_installer_test.go
index a5fdfb399..a43f4d9d2 100644
--- a/internal/plugin/installer/http_installer_test.go
+++ b/internal/plugin/installer/http_installer_test.go
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+//go:build !windows
+
 /*
 Copyright The Helm Authors.
 Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
@@ -13,8 +15,6 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-//go:build !windows
-
 package installer // import "helm.sh/helm/v4/internal/plugin/installer"
 
 import (
diff --git a/internal/plugin/installer/oci_installer.go b/internal/plugin/installer/oci_installer.go
index 0a522e555..f323c7aa7 100644
--- a/internal/plugin/installer/oci_installer.go
+++ b/internal/plugin/installer/oci_installer.go
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ func (i OCIInstaller) Path() string {
 	if i.Source == "" {
 		return ""
 	}
-	return filepath.Join(i.base.PluginsDirectory, i.PluginName)
+	return filepath.Join(i.PluginsDirectory, i.PluginName)
 }
 
 // extractTarGz extracts a gzipped tar archive to a directory