diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/fuzzer/fuzzer.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/fuzzer/fuzzer.go
index 5dedda4e4b5..d9288ffeee0 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/fuzzer/fuzzer.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/fuzzer/fuzzer.go
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ func Funcs(codecs runtimeserializer.CodecFactory) []interface{} {
 			obj.Etcd.Image = "foo"
 			obj.Etcd.DataDir = "foo"
 			obj.ImageRepository = "foo"
+			obj.CIImageRepository = ""
 			obj.UnifiedControlPlaneImage = "foo"
 			obj.FeatureFlags = map[string]bool{}
 		},
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/types.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/types.go
index 62010f10bea..32d9c3410bb 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/types.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/types.go
@@ -49,6 +49,11 @@ type MasterConfiguration struct {
 
 	// ImageRepository what container registry to pull control plane images from
 	ImageRepository string
+
+	// Container registry for core images generated by CI
+	// +k8s:conversion-gen=false
+	CIImageRepository string
+
 	// UnifiedControlPlaneImage specifies if a specific container image should be used for all control plane components
 	UnifiedControlPlaneImage string
 
@@ -115,3 +120,15 @@ type NodeConfiguration struct {
 	// the security of kubeadm since other nodes can impersonate the master.
 	DiscoveryTokenUnsafeSkipCAVerification bool
 }
+
+// GetControlPlaneImageRepository returns name of image repository
+// for control plane images (API,Controller Manager,Scheduler and Proxy)
+// It will override location with CI registry name in case user requests special
+// Kubernetes version from CI build area.
+// (See: kubeadmconstants.DefaultCIImageRepository)
+func (cfg *MasterConfiguration) GetControlPlaneImageRepository() string {
+	if cfg.CIImageRepository != "" {
+		return cfg.CIImageRepository
+	}
+	return cfg.ImageRepository
+}
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/v1alpha1/BUILD b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/v1alpha1/BUILD
index 3feef312b9d..b75dec730b3 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/v1alpha1/BUILD
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/v1alpha1/BUILD
@@ -12,10 +12,12 @@ go_library(
         "doc.go",
         "register.go",
         "types.go",
+        "zz_generated.conversion.go",
         "zz_generated.deepcopy.go",
         "zz_generated.defaults.go",
     ],
     deps = [
+        "//cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm:go_default_library",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/constants:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/conversion:go_default_library",
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/v1alpha1/doc.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/v1alpha1/doc.go
index 4609a57d9eb..d0a277ec0b2 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/v1alpha1/doc.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/v1alpha1/doc.go
@@ -17,4 +17,5 @@ limitations under the License.
 // +k8s:defaulter-gen=TypeMeta
 // +groupName=kubeadm.k8s.io
 // +k8s:deepcopy-gen=package
+// +k8s:conversion-gen=k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm
 package v1alpha1 // import "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/v1alpha1"
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/constants/constants.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/constants/constants.go
index 8a5a98c0ab7..c3c1d961531 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/constants/constants.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/constants/constants.go
@@ -116,6 +116,9 @@ const (
 	// NodeBootstrapTokenAuthGroup specifies which group a Node Bootstrap Token should be authenticated in
 	// TODO: This should be changed in the v1.8 dev cycle to a node-BT-specific group instead of the generic Bootstrap Token group that is used now
 	NodeBootstrapTokenAuthGroup = "system:bootstrappers"
+
+	// DefaultCIImageRepository points to image registry where CI uploads images from ci-cross build job
+	DefaultCIImageRepository = "gcr.io/kubernetes-ci-images"
 )
 
 var (
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/addons/proxy/proxy.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/addons/proxy/proxy.go
index 3cab1968131..98c5dfe60d6 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/addons/proxy/proxy.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/addons/proxy/proxy.go
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ func EnsureProxyAddon(cfg *kubeadmapi.MasterConfiguration, client clientset.Inte
 	}
 
 	proxyDaemonSetBytes, err := kubeadmutil.ParseTemplate(KubeProxyDaemonSet, struct{ ImageRepository, Arch, Version, ImageOverride, ClusterCIDR, MasterTaintKey, CloudTaintKey string }{
-		ImageRepository: cfg.ImageRepository,
+		ImageRepository: cfg.GetControlPlaneImageRepository(),
 		Arch:            runtime.GOARCH,
 		Version:         kubeadmutil.KubernetesVersionToImageTag(cfg.KubernetesVersion),
 		ImageOverride:   cfg.UnifiedControlPlaneImage,
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/controlplane/manifests.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/controlplane/manifests.go
index ed073cedd5f..b6d6c7d5a6d 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/controlplane/manifests.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/controlplane/manifests.go
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ func GetStaticPodSpecs(cfg *kubeadmapi.MasterConfiguration, k8sVersion *version.
 	staticPodSpecs := map[string]v1.Pod{
 		kubeadmconstants.KubeAPIServer: staticpodutil.ComponentPod(v1.Container{
 			Name:          kubeadmconstants.KubeAPIServer,
-			Image:         images.GetCoreImage(kubeadmconstants.KubeAPIServer, cfg.ImageRepository, cfg.KubernetesVersion, cfg.UnifiedControlPlaneImage),
+			Image:         images.GetCoreImage(kubeadmconstants.KubeAPIServer, cfg.GetControlPlaneImageRepository(), cfg.KubernetesVersion, cfg.UnifiedControlPlaneImage),
 			Command:       getAPIServerCommand(cfg, k8sVersion),
 			VolumeMounts:  mounts.GetVolumeMounts(kubeadmconstants.KubeAPIServer),
 			LivenessProbe: staticpodutil.ComponentProbe(int(cfg.API.BindPort), "/healthz", v1.URISchemeHTTPS),
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ func GetStaticPodSpecs(cfg *kubeadmapi.MasterConfiguration, k8sVersion *version.
 		}, mounts.GetVolumes(kubeadmconstants.KubeAPIServer)),
 		kubeadmconstants.KubeControllerManager: staticpodutil.ComponentPod(v1.Container{
 			Name:          kubeadmconstants.KubeControllerManager,
-			Image:         images.GetCoreImage(kubeadmconstants.KubeControllerManager, cfg.ImageRepository, cfg.KubernetesVersion, cfg.UnifiedControlPlaneImage),
+			Image:         images.GetCoreImage(kubeadmconstants.KubeControllerManager, cfg.GetControlPlaneImageRepository(), cfg.KubernetesVersion, cfg.UnifiedControlPlaneImage),
 			Command:       getControllerManagerCommand(cfg, k8sVersion),
 			VolumeMounts:  mounts.GetVolumeMounts(kubeadmconstants.KubeControllerManager),
 			LivenessProbe: staticpodutil.ComponentProbe(10252, "/healthz", v1.URISchemeHTTP),
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ func GetStaticPodSpecs(cfg *kubeadmapi.MasterConfiguration, k8sVersion *version.
 		}, mounts.GetVolumes(kubeadmconstants.KubeControllerManager)),
 		kubeadmconstants.KubeScheduler: staticpodutil.ComponentPod(v1.Container{
 			Name:          kubeadmconstants.KubeScheduler,
-			Image:         images.GetCoreImage(kubeadmconstants.KubeScheduler, cfg.ImageRepository, cfg.KubernetesVersion, cfg.UnifiedControlPlaneImage),
+			Image:         images.GetCoreImage(kubeadmconstants.KubeScheduler, cfg.GetControlPlaneImageRepository(), cfg.KubernetesVersion, cfg.UnifiedControlPlaneImage),
 			Command:       getSchedulerCommand(cfg),
 			VolumeMounts:  mounts.GetVolumeMounts(kubeadmconstants.KubeScheduler),
 			LivenessProbe: staticpodutil.ComponentProbe(10251, "/healthz", v1.URISchemeHTTP),
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/config/masterconfig.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/config/masterconfig.go
index 8cb6aaf018c..7a2bb0d94bb 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/config/masterconfig.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/config/masterconfig.go
@@ -44,6 +44,11 @@ func SetInitDynamicDefaults(cfg *kubeadmapi.MasterConfiguration) error {
 	}
 	cfg.API.AdvertiseAddress = ip.String()
 
+	// Requested version is automatic CI build, thus use KubernetesCI Image Repository for core images
+	if kubeadmutil.KubernetesIsCIVersion(cfg.KubernetesVersion) {
+		cfg.CIImageRepository = kubeadmconstants.DefaultCIImageRepository
+	}
+
 	// Validate version argument
 	ver, err := kubeadmutil.KubernetesReleaseVersion(cfg.KubernetesVersion)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/version.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/version.go
index ae442701aa0..81d521c2616 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/version.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/version.go
@@ -25,9 +25,10 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	kubeReleaseBucketURL  = "https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release"
+	kubeReleaseBucketURL  = "https://dl.k8s.io"
 	kubeReleaseRegex      = regexp.MustCompile(`^v?(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\.(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\.(0|[1-9][0-9]*)([-0-9a-zA-Z_\.+]*)?$`)
 	kubeReleaseLabelRegex = regexp.MustCompile(`^[[:lower:]]+(-[-\w_\.]+)?$`)
+	kubeBucketPrefixes    = regexp.MustCompile(`^((release|ci|ci-cross)/)?([-\w_\.+]+)$`)
 )
 
 // KubernetesReleaseVersion is helper function that can fetch
@@ -53,22 +54,20 @@ func KubernetesReleaseVersion(version string) (string, error) {
 			return version, nil
 		}
 		return "v" + version, nil
-	} else if kubeReleaseLabelRegex.MatchString(version) {
-		url := fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s.txt", kubeReleaseBucketURL, version)
-		resp, err := http.Get(url)
+	}
+
+	bucketURL, versionLabel, err := splitVersion(version)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	if kubeReleaseLabelRegex.MatchString(versionLabel) {
+		url := fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s.txt", bucketURL, versionLabel)
+		body, err := fetchFromURL(url)
 		if err != nil {
-			return "", fmt.Errorf("unable to get URL %q: %s", url, err.Error())
-		}
-		defer resp.Body.Close()
-		if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
-			return "", fmt.Errorf("unable to fetch release information. URL: %q Status: %v", url, resp.Status)
-		}
-		body, err := ioutil.ReadAll(resp.Body)
-		if err != nil {
-			return "", fmt.Errorf("unable to read content of URL %q: %s", url, err.Error())
+			return "", err
 		}
 		// Re-validate received version and return.
-		return KubernetesReleaseVersion(strings.Trim(string(body), " \t\n"))
+		return KubernetesReleaseVersion(body)
 	}
 	return "", fmt.Errorf("version %q doesn't match patterns for neither semantic version nor labels (stable, latest, ...)", version)
 }
@@ -83,3 +82,49 @@ func KubernetesVersionToImageTag(version string) string {
 	allowed := regexp.MustCompile(`[^-a-zA-Z0-9_\.]`)
 	return allowed.ReplaceAllString(version, "_")
 }
+
+// KubernetesIsCIVersion checks if user requested CI version
+func KubernetesIsCIVersion(version string) bool {
+	subs := kubeBucketPrefixes.FindAllStringSubmatch(version, 1)
+	if len(subs) == 1 && len(subs[0]) == 4 && strings.HasPrefix(subs[0][2], "ci") {
+		return true
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// Internal helper: split version parts,
+// Return base URL and cleaned-up version
+func splitVersion(version string) (string, string, error) {
+	var urlSuffix string
+	subs := kubeBucketPrefixes.FindAllStringSubmatch(version, 1)
+	if len(subs) != 1 || len(subs[0]) != 4 {
+		return "", "", fmt.Errorf("invalid version %q", version)
+	}
+
+	switch {
+	case strings.HasPrefix(subs[0][2], "ci"):
+		// Special case. CI images populated only by ci-cross area
+		urlSuffix = "ci-cross"
+	default:
+		urlSuffix = "release"
+	}
+	url := fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", kubeReleaseBucketURL, urlSuffix)
+	return url, subs[0][3], nil
+}
+
+// Internal helper: return content of URL
+func fetchFromURL(url string) (string, error) {
+	resp, err := http.Get(url)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("unable to get URL %q: %s", url, err.Error())
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("unable to fetch file. URL: %q Status: %v", url, resp.Status)
+	}
+	body, err := ioutil.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("unable to read content of URL %q: %s", url, err.Error())
+	}
+	return strings.TrimSpace(string(body)), nil
+}
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/version_test.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/version_test.go
index 491ea24344a..a333031a5b1 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/version_test.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/version_test.go
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ func TestValidVersion(t *testing.T) {
 		"v1.6.0-alpha.0.536+d60d9f3269288f",
 		"v1.5.0-alpha.0.1078+1044b6822497da-pull",
 		"v1.5.0-alpha.1.822+49b9e32fad9f32-pull-gke-gci",
-		"v1.6.1_coreos.0",
+		"v1.6.1+coreos.0",
 	}
 	for _, s := range validVersions {
 		ver, err := KubernetesReleaseVersion(s)
@@ -165,3 +165,70 @@ func TestVersionToTag(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+func TestSplitVersion(t *testing.T) {
+	type T struct {
+		input  string
+		bucket string
+		label  string
+		valid  bool
+	}
+	cases := []T{
+		// Release area
+		{"v1.7.0", "https://dl.k8s.io/release", "v1.7.0", true},
+		{"v1.8.0-alpha.2.1231+afabd012389d53a", "https://dl.k8s.io/release", "v1.8.0-alpha.2.1231+afabd012389d53a", true},
+		{"release/v1.7.0", "https://dl.k8s.io/release", "v1.7.0", true},
+		{"release/latest-1.7", "https://dl.k8s.io/release", "latest-1.7", true},
+		// CI builds area, lookup actual builds at ci-cross/*.txt
+		{"ci-cross/latest", "https://dl.k8s.io/ci-cross", "latest", true},
+		{"ci/latest-1.7", "https://dl.k8s.io/ci-cross", "latest-1.7", true},
+		// unknown label in default (release) area: splitVersion validate only areas.
+		{"unknown-1", "https://dl.k8s.io/release", "unknown-1", true},
+		// unknown area, not valid input.
+		{"unknown/latest-1", "", "", false},
+	}
+
+	// kubeReleaseBucketURL can be overriden during network tests, thus ensure
+	// it will contain value corresponding to expected outcome for this unit test
+	kubeReleaseBucketURL = "https://dl.k8s.io"
+
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		bucket, label, err := splitVersion(tc.input)
+		switch {
+		case err != nil && tc.valid:
+			t.Errorf("splitVersion: unexpected error for %q. Error: %v", tc.input, err)
+		case err == nil && !tc.valid:
+			t.Errorf("splitVersion: error expected for key %q, but result is %q, %q", tc.input, bucket, label)
+		case bucket != tc.bucket:
+			t.Errorf("splitVersion: unexpected bucket result for key %q. Expected: %q Actual: %q", tc.input, tc.bucket, bucket)
+		case label != tc.label:
+			t.Errorf("splitVersion: unexpected label result for key %q. Expected: %q Actual: %q", tc.input, tc.label, label)
+		}
+
+	}
+}
+
+func TestKubernetesIsCIVersion(t *testing.T) {
+	type T struct {
+		input    string
+		expected bool
+	}
+	cases := []T{
+		{"", false},
+		// Official releases
+		{"v1.0.0", false},
+		{"release/v1.0.0", false},
+		// CI builds
+		{"ci/latest-1", true},
+		{"ci-cross/latest", true},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		result := KubernetesIsCIVersion(tc.input)
+		t.Logf("KubernetesIsCIVersion: Input: %q. Result: %v. Expected: %v", tc.input, result, tc.expected)
+		if result != tc.expected {
+			t.Errorf("failed KubernetesIsCIVersion: Input: %q. Result: %v. Expected: %v", tc.input, result, tc.expected)
+		}
+	}
+
+}