diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ExternalSecrets/externalSecretsHelper.ee.ts b/packages/cli/src/ExternalSecrets/externalSecretsHelper.ee.ts
index 2d2ddb084b..b498216744 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ExternalSecrets/externalSecretsHelper.ee.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ExternalSecrets/externalSecretsHelper.ee.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import config from '@/config';
 import Container from 'typedi';
 
 export const updateIntervalTime = () => config.getEnv('externalSecrets.updateInterval') * 1000;
+export const preferGet = () => config.getEnv('externalSecrets.preferGet');
 
 export function isExternalSecretsEnabled() {
 	const license = Container.get(License);
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ExternalSecrets/providers/vault.ts b/packages/cli/src/ExternalSecrets/providers/vault.ts
index f7427c7f5e..6156d762bd 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ExternalSecrets/providers/vault.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ExternalSecrets/providers/vault.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import type { AxiosInstance, AxiosResponse } from 'axios';
 import axios from 'axios';
 import { Logger } from '@/Logger';
 import { EXTERNAL_SECRETS_NAME_REGEX } from '../constants';
+import { preferGet } from '../externalSecretsHelper.ee';
 import { Container } from 'typedi';
 
 type VaultAuthMethod = 'token' | 'usernameAndPassword' | 'appRole';
@@ -422,10 +423,14 @@ export class VaultProvider extends SecretsProvider {
 		listPath += path;
 		let listResp: AxiosResponse<VaultResponse<VaultSecretList>>;
 		try {
+			const shouldPreferGet = preferGet();
+			const url = `${listPath}${shouldPreferGet ? '?list=true' : ''}`;
+			// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-assignment
+			const method = shouldPreferGet ? 'GET' : ('LIST' as any);
 			listResp = await this.#http.request<VaultResponse<VaultSecretList>>({
-				url: listPath,
+				url,
 				// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-assignment
-				method: 'LIST' as any,
+				method,
 			});
 		} catch {
 			return null;
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/schema.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/schema.ts
index 9afb4a7eeb..bd0d3072ac 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/config/schema.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/config/schema.ts
@@ -1032,6 +1032,12 @@ export const schema = {
 			env: 'N8N_EXTERNAL_SECRETS_UPDATE_INTERVAL',
 			doc: 'How often (in seconds) to check for secret updates.',
 		},
+		preferGet: {
+			format: Boolean,
+			default: false,
+			env: 'N8N_EXTERNAL_SECRETS_PREFER_GET',
+			doc: 'Whether to prefer GET over LIST when fetching secrets from Hashicorp Vault.',
+		},
 	},
 
 	deployment: {