diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 2edd111ba8..587a0e0988 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ ARG TARGETARCH
 ARG TARGETVARIANT
 ARG RESTIC_VERSION
 
-env CGO_ENABLED=0 \
+ENV CGO_ENABLED=0 \
     GO111MODULE=on \
     GOPROXY=${GOPROXY} \
     GOOS=${TARGETOS} \
diff --git a/changelogs/unreleased/6598-aws_creds b/changelogs/unreleased/6598-aws_creds
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..74aee6ee1d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/unreleased/6598-aws_creds
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix how the AWS credentials are obtained from configuration
diff --git a/pkg/repository/config/aws.go b/pkg/repository/config/aws.go
index 9363894127..7da509b0e5 100644
--- a/pkg/repository/config/aws.go
+++ b/pkg/repository/config/aws.go
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import (
 	goerr "errors"
 
 	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/aws/credentials"
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/aws/credentials/stscreds"
 	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/aws/endpoints"
 	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/aws/session"
 	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/service/s3/s3manager"
@@ -33,8 +34,13 @@ import (
 const (
 	// AWS specific environment variable
 	awsProfileEnvVar         = "AWS_PROFILE"
+	awsRoleEnvVar            = "AWS_ROLE_ARN"
+	awsKeyIDEnvVar           = "AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID"
+	awsSecretKeyEnvVar       = "AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY"
+	awsSessTokenEnvVar       = "AWS_SESSION_TOKEN"
 	awsProfileKey            = "profile"
 	awsCredentialsFileEnvVar = "AWS_SHARED_CREDENTIALS_FILE"
+	awsConfigFileEnvVar      = "AWS_CONFIG_FILE"
 )
 
 // GetS3ResticEnvVars gets the environment variables that restic
@@ -51,32 +57,48 @@ func GetS3ResticEnvVars(config map[string]string) (map[string]string, error) {
 		result[awsProfileEnvVar] = profile
 	}
 
+	// GetS3ResticEnvVars reads the AWS config, from files and envs
+	// if needed assumes the role and returns the session credentials
+	// setting these variables emulates what would happen for example when using kube2iam
+	if creds, err := GetS3Credentials(config); err == nil && creds != nil {
+		result[awsKeyIDEnvVar] = creds.AccessKeyID
+		result[awsSecretKeyEnvVar] = creds.SecretAccessKey
+		result[awsSessTokenEnvVar] = creds.SessionToken
+		result[awsCredentialsFileEnvVar] = ""
+		result[awsProfileEnvVar] = ""
+		result[awsConfigFileEnvVar] = ""
+	}
+
 	return result, nil
 }
 
 // GetS3Credentials gets the S3 credential values according to the information
 // of the provided config or the system's environment variables
 func GetS3Credentials(config map[string]string) (*credentials.Value, error) {
-	if len(os.Getenv("AWS_ROLE_ARN")) > 0 {
+	if os.Getenv(awsRoleEnvVar) != "" && os.Getenv(awsCredentialsFileEnvVar) == "" {
 		return nil, nil
 	}
 
+	opts := session.Options{}
 	credentialsFile := config[CredentialsFileKey]
 	if credentialsFile == "" {
 		credentialsFile = os.Getenv("AWS_SHARED_CREDENTIALS_FILE")
 	}
-
-	if credentialsFile == "" {
-		return nil, errors.New("missing credential file")
+	if credentialsFile != "" {
+		opts.SharedConfigState = session.SharedConfigEnable
 	}
 
-	creds := credentials.NewSharedCredentials(credentialsFile, "")
-	credValue, err := creds.Get()
+	sess, err := session.NewSessionWithOptions(opts)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
+	if os.Getenv(awsRoleEnvVar) != "" {
+		sess.Config.WithCredentials(stscreds.NewCredentials(sess, os.Getenv(awsRoleEnvVar)))
+	}
+
+	creds, err := sess.Config.Credentials.Get()
 
-	return &credValue, nil
+	return &creds, err
 }
 
 // GetAWSBucketRegion returns the AWS region that a bucket is in, or an error
diff --git a/pkg/restic/common.go b/pkg/restic/common.go
index 26eb2ef27a..a5bf05c447 100644
--- a/pkg/restic/common.go
+++ b/pkg/restic/common.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"strconv"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
@@ -71,11 +72,26 @@ func TempCACertFile(caCert []byte, bsl string, fs filesystem.Interface) (string,
 	return name, nil
 }
 
+// environ is a slice of strings representing the environment, in the form "key=value".
+type environ []string
+
+// Unset a single environment variable.
+func (e *environ) Unset(key string) {
+	for i := range *e {
+		if strings.HasPrefix((*e)[i], key+"=") {
+			(*e)[i] = (*e)[len(*e)-1]
+			*e = (*e)[:len(*e)-1]
+			break
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 // CmdEnv returns a list of environment variables (in the format var=val) that
 // should be used when running a restic command for a particular backend provider.
 // This list is the current environment, plus any provider-specific variables restic needs.
 func CmdEnv(backupLocation *velerov1api.BackupStorageLocation, credentialFileStore credentials.FileStore) ([]string, error) {
-	env := os.Environ()
+	var env environ
+	env = os.Environ()
 	customEnv := map[string]string{}
 	var err error
 
@@ -113,6 +129,10 @@ func CmdEnv(backupLocation *velerov1api.BackupStorageLocation, credentialFileSto
 	}
 
 	for k, v := range customEnv {
+		env.Unset(k)
+		if v == "" {
+			continue
+		}
 		env = append(env, fmt.Sprintf("%s=%s", k, v))
 	}