diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/SparkContext.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/SparkContext.scala
index 0262144490ce8..e00e34b89b842 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/SparkContext.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/SparkContext.scala
@@ -455,7 +455,7 @@ class SparkContext(config: SparkConf) extends Logging {
     // Set Spark driver host and port system properties. This explicitly sets the configuration
     // instead of relying on the default value of the config constant.
     if (SparkMasterRegex.isK8s(master) &&
-        _conf.getBoolean("spark.kubernetes.executor.useDriverPodIP", false)) {
+        _conf.getBoolean("spark.kubernetes.executor.useDriverPodIP", true)) {
       logInfo("Use DRIVER_BIND_ADDRESS instead of DRIVER_HOST_ADDRESS as driver address " +
         "because spark.kubernetes.executor.useDriverPodIP is true in K8s mode.")
       _conf.set(DRIVER_HOST_ADDRESS, _conf.get(DRIVER_BIND_ADDRESS))
diff --git a/docs/core-migration-guide.md b/docs/core-migration-guide.md
index 284cd7a8639b2..9be60572387ca 100644
--- a/docs/core-migration-guide.md
+++ b/docs/core-migration-guide.md
@@ -22,6 +22,10 @@ license: |
 * Table of contents
 {:toc}
 
+## Upgrading from Core 4.2 to 4.3
+
+- Since Spark 4.3, Spark executor pods connect to the driver via the driver pod IP directly instead of the driver's Kubernetes Service. To restore the legacy behavior, you can set `spark.kubernetes.executor.useDriverPodIP` to `false`.
+
 ## Upgrading from Core 4.1 to 4.2
 
 - Since Spark 4.2, Spark Master REST API uses Java 21 virtual threads by default when running on Java 21 or later. To restore the legacy behavior, you can set `spark.master.rest.virtualThread.enabled` to `false`.
diff --git a/docs/running-on-kubernetes.md b/docs/running-on-kubernetes.md
index aa753e259bcc7..9be54d8984869 100644
--- a/docs/running-on-kubernetes.md
+++ b/docs/running-on-kubernetes.md
@@ -1585,7 +1585,7 @@ See the [configuration page](configuration.html) for information on Spark config
 </tr>
 <tr>
   <td><code>spark.kubernetes.executor.useDriverPodIP</code></td>
-  <td><code>false</code></td>
+  <td><code>true</code></td>
   <td>
     If true, executor pods use Driver pod IP directly instead of Driver Service.
   </td>
diff --git a/resource-managers/kubernetes/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/k8s/Config.scala b/resource-managers/kubernetes/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/k8s/Config.scala
index 0e79cd0d5606c..120881469e3a9 100644
--- a/resource-managers/kubernetes/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/k8s/Config.scala
+++ b/resource-managers/kubernetes/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/k8s/Config.scala
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ private[spark] object Config extends Logging {
       .doc("If true, executor pods use Driver pod IP directly instead of Driver Service.")
       .version("4.1.0")
       .booleanConf
-      .createWithDefault(false)
+      .createWithDefault(true)
 
   val KUBERNETES_NAMESPACE =
     ConfigBuilder("spark.kubernetes.namespace")