diff --git a/cluster/addons/dns/coredns/coredns.yaml.base b/cluster/addons/dns/coredns/coredns.yaml.base
index b6774713e0..35e14918a1 100644
--- a/cluster/addons/dns/coredns/coredns.yaml.base
+++ b/cluster/addons/dns/coredns/coredns.yaml.base
@@ -27,6 +27,12 @@ rules:
   verbs:
   - list
   - watch
+- apiGroups:
+  - ""
+  resources:
+  - nodes
+  verbs:
+  - get
 ---
 apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
 kind: ClusterRoleBinding
@@ -108,7 +114,7 @@ spec:
           operator: "Exists"
       containers:
       - name: coredns
-        image: k8s.gcr.io/coredns:1.2.2
+        image: k8s.gcr.io/coredns:1.2.4
         imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
         resources:
           limits:
diff --git a/cluster/addons/dns/coredns/coredns.yaml.in b/cluster/addons/dns/coredns/coredns.yaml.in
index 7beb3769c3..245a00d4f3 100644
--- a/cluster/addons/dns/coredns/coredns.yaml.in
+++ b/cluster/addons/dns/coredns/coredns.yaml.in
@@ -27,6 +27,12 @@ rules:
   verbs:
   - list
   - watch
+- apiGroups:
+  - ""
+  resources:
+  - nodes
+  verbs:
+  - get
 ---
 apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
 kind: ClusterRoleBinding
@@ -108,7 +114,7 @@ spec:
           operator: "Exists"
       containers:
       - name: coredns
-        image: k8s.gcr.io/coredns:1.2.2
+        image: k8s.gcr.io/coredns:1.2.4
         imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
         resources:
           limits:
diff --git a/cluster/addons/dns/coredns/coredns.yaml.sed b/cluster/addons/dns/coredns/coredns.yaml.sed
index 4f0dc10a10..00f1880309 100644
--- a/cluster/addons/dns/coredns/coredns.yaml.sed
+++ b/cluster/addons/dns/coredns/coredns.yaml.sed
@@ -27,6 +27,12 @@ rules:
   verbs:
   - list
   - watch
+- apiGroups:
+  - ""
+  resources:
+  - nodes
+  verbs:
+  - get
 ---
 apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
 kind: ClusterRoleBinding
@@ -108,7 +114,7 @@ spec:
           operator: "Exists"
       containers:
       - name: coredns
-        image: k8s.gcr.io/coredns:1.2.2
+        image: k8s.gcr.io/coredns:1.2.4
         imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
         resources:
           limits:
diff --git a/cluster/gce/config-default.sh b/cluster/gce/config-default.sh
index 84d67833f9..671c1a5db7 100755
--- a/cluster/gce/config-default.sh
+++ b/cluster/gce/config-default.sh
@@ -261,8 +261,8 @@ if [[ ! -z "${NODE_ACCELERATORS}" ]]; then
 fi
 
 # Optional: Install cluster DNS.
-# Set CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS to 'true' to install CoreDNS instead of kube-dns.
-CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS="${CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS:-false}"
+# Set CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS to 'false' to install kube-dns instead of CoreDNS.
+CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS="${CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS:-true}"
 ENABLE_CLUSTER_DNS="${KUBE_ENABLE_CLUSTER_DNS:-true}"
 DNS_SERVER_IP="${KUBE_DNS_SERVER_IP:-10.0.0.10}"
 DNS_DOMAIN="${KUBE_DNS_DOMAIN:-cluster.local}"
diff --git a/cluster/gce/config-test.sh b/cluster/gce/config-test.sh
index 1017c07f82..c9ce3694c5 100755
--- a/cluster/gce/config-test.sh
+++ b/cluster/gce/config-test.sh
@@ -268,8 +268,8 @@ if [[ ! -z "${NODE_ACCELERATORS}" ]]; then
 fi
 
 # Optional: Install cluster DNS.
-# Set CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS to 'true' to install CoreDNS instead of kube-dns.
-CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS="${CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS:-false}"
+# Set CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS to 'false' to install kube-dns instead of CoreDNS.
+CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS="${CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS:-true}"
 ENABLE_CLUSTER_DNS="${KUBE_ENABLE_CLUSTER_DNS:-true}"
 DNS_SERVER_IP="10.0.0.10"
 DNS_DOMAIN="cluster.local"
diff --git a/cluster/gce/util.sh b/cluster/gce/util.sh
index 0fc3f7cfe5..0f6af3a2c7 100755
--- a/cluster/gce/util.sh
+++ b/cluster/gce/util.sh
@@ -847,7 +847,7 @@ ENABLE_NODE_LOGGING: $(yaml-quote ${ENABLE_NODE_LOGGING:-false})
 LOGGING_DESTINATION: $(yaml-quote ${LOGGING_DESTINATION:-})
 ELASTICSEARCH_LOGGING_REPLICAS: $(yaml-quote ${ELASTICSEARCH_LOGGING_REPLICAS:-})
 ENABLE_CLUSTER_DNS: $(yaml-quote ${ENABLE_CLUSTER_DNS:-false})
-CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS: $(yaml-quote ${CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS:-false})
+CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS: $(yaml-quote ${CLUSTER_DNS_CORE_DNS:-true})
 DNS_SERVER_IP: $(yaml-quote ${DNS_SERVER_IP:-})
 DNS_DOMAIN: $(yaml-quote ${DNS_DOMAIN:-})
 ENABLE_DNS_HORIZONTAL_AUTOSCALER: $(yaml-quote ${ENABLE_DNS_HORIZONTAL_AUTOSCALER:-false})
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/constants/constants.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/constants/constants.go
index 79dd498d24..e707564ef5 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/constants/constants.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/constants/constants.go
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ const (
 	KubeDNSVersion = "1.14.13"
 
 	// CoreDNSVersion is the version of CoreDNS to be deployed if it is used
-	CoreDNSVersion = "1.2.2"
+	CoreDNSVersion = "1.2.4"
 
 	// ClusterConfigurationKind is the string kind value for the ClusterConfiguration struct
 	ClusterConfigurationKind = "ClusterConfiguration"
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/addons/dns/manifests.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/addons/dns/manifests.go
index d5a03302fc..cdf84c2e71 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/addons/dns/manifests.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/addons/dns/manifests.go
@@ -331,6 +331,12 @@ rules:
   verbs:
   - list
   - watch
+- apiGroups:
+  - ""
+  resources:
+  - nodes
+  verbs:
+  - get
 `
 	// CoreDNSClusterRoleBinding is the CoreDNS Clusterrolebinding manifest
 	CoreDNSClusterRoleBinding = `
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/compute_test.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/compute_test.go
index b7b56e1e0f..6c9a143df0 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/compute_test.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/compute_test.go
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 						KubeVersion:    "v1.10.3",
 						KubeadmVersion: "v1.10.3",
 						DNSType:        "coredns",
-						DNSVersion:     "1.2.2",
+						DNSVersion:     "1.2.4",
 						EtcdVersion:    "3.1.12",
 					},
 				},
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 						KubeVersion:    "v1.10.3",
 						KubeadmVersion: "v1.10.3",
 						DNSType:        "coredns",
-						DNSVersion:     "1.2.2",
+						DNSVersion:     "1.2.4",
 						EtcdVersion:    "3.1.12",
 					},
 				},
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 						KubeVersion:    "v1.11.0",
 						KubeadmVersion: "v1.11.0",
 						DNSType:        "coredns",
-						DNSVersion:     "1.2.2",
+						DNSVersion:     "1.2.4",
 						EtcdVersion:    "3.2.18",
 					},
 				},
@@ -285,7 +285,7 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 						KubeVersion:    "v1.10.5",
 						KubeadmVersion: "v1.10.5", // Note: The kubeadm version mustn't be "downgraded" here
 						DNSType:        "coredns",
-						DNSVersion:     "1.2.2",
+						DNSVersion:     "1.2.4",
 						EtcdVersion:    "3.1.12",
 					},
 				},
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 						KubeVersion:    "v1.11.1",
 						KubeadmVersion: "v1.11.1",
 						DNSType:        "coredns",
-						DNSVersion:     "1.2.2",
+						DNSVersion:     "1.2.4",
 						EtcdVersion:    "3.2.18",
 					},
 				},
@@ -364,7 +364,7 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 						KubeVersion:    "v1.11.0-alpha.2",
 						KubeadmVersion: "v1.11.0-alpha.2",
 						DNSType:        "coredns",
-						DNSVersion:     "1.2.2",
+						DNSVersion:     "1.2.4",
 						EtcdVersion:    "3.2.18",
 					},
 				},
@@ -404,7 +404,7 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 						KubeVersion:    "v1.11.0-alpha.2",
 						KubeadmVersion: "v1.11.0-alpha.2",
 						DNSType:        "coredns",
-						DNSVersion:     "1.2.2",
+						DNSVersion:     "1.2.4",
 						EtcdVersion:    "3.2.18",
 					},
 				},
@@ -445,7 +445,7 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 						KubeVersion:    "v1.11.0-beta.1",
 						KubeadmVersion: "v1.11.0-beta.1",
 						DNSType:        "coredns",
-						DNSVersion:     "1.2.2",
+						DNSVersion:     "1.2.4",
 						EtcdVersion:    "3.2.18",
 					},
 				},
@@ -486,7 +486,7 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 						KubeVersion:    "v1.11.0-rc.1",
 						KubeadmVersion: "v1.11.0-rc.1",
 						DNSType:        "coredns",
-						DNSVersion:     "1.2.2",
+						DNSVersion:     "1.2.4",
 						EtcdVersion:    "3.2.18",
 					},
 				},
@@ -527,7 +527,7 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 						KubeVersion:    "v1.11.6-rc.1",
 						KubeadmVersion: "v1.11.6-rc.1",
 						DNSType:        "coredns",
-						DNSVersion:     "1.2.2",
+						DNSVersion:     "1.2.4",
 						EtcdVersion:    "3.2.18",
 					},
 				},
@@ -568,7 +568,7 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 						KubeVersion:    "v1.11.0-rc.1",
 						KubeadmVersion: "v1.11.0-rc.1",
 						DNSType:        "coredns",
-						DNSVersion:     "1.2.2",
+						DNSVersion:     "1.2.4",
 						EtcdVersion:    "3.2.18",
 					},
 				},
@@ -588,7 +588,7 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 						KubeVersion:    "v1.12.0-alpha.2",
 						KubeadmVersion: "v1.12.0-alpha.2",
 						DNSType:        "coredns",
-						DNSVersion:     "1.2.2",
+						DNSVersion:     "1.2.4",
 						EtcdVersion:    "3.2.24",
 					},
 				},
@@ -641,7 +641,7 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 						KubeVersion:    "v1.12.1",
 						KubeadmVersion: "v1.12.1",
 						DNSType:        "coredns",
-						DNSVersion:     "1.2.2",
+						DNSVersion:     "1.2.4",
 						EtcdVersion:    "3.2.24",
 					},
 				},
@@ -678,7 +678,7 @@ func TestGetAvailableUpgrades(t *testing.T) {
 						KubeVersion:    "v1.12.0",
 						KubeadmVersion: "v1.12.0",
 						DNSType:        "coredns",
-						DNSVersion:     "1.2.2",
+						DNSVersion:     "1.2.4",
 						EtcdVersion:    "3.2.24",
 					},
 				},