diff --git a/clients/src/main/java/org/apache/kafka/common/config/SslConfigs.java b/clients/src/main/java/org/apache/kafka/common/config/SslConfigs.java
index 6cd31be527492..810f6a86aabe3 100644
--- a/clients/src/main/java/org/apache/kafka/common/config/SslConfigs.java
+++ b/clients/src/main/java/org/apache/kafka/common/config/SslConfigs.java
@@ -49,11 +49,11 @@ public class SslConfigs {
 
     public static final String SSL_PROTOCOL_CONFIG = "ssl.protocol";
     public static final String SSL_PROTOCOL_DOC = "The SSL protocol used to generate the SSLContext. "
-            + "Default setting is TLS, which is fine for most cases. "
-            + "Allowed values in recent JVMs are TLS, TLSv1.1 and TLSv1.2. SSL, SSLv2 and SSLv3 "
+            + "Default setting is TLSv1.2, which is fine for most cases. "
+            + "Allowed values in recent JVMs are TLSv1.2 and TLSv1.3. TLS, TLSv1.1, SSL, SSLv2 and SSLv3 "
             + "may be supported in older JVMs, but their usage is discouraged due to known security vulnerabilities.";
 
-    public static final String DEFAULT_SSL_PROTOCOL = "TLS";
+    public static final String DEFAULT_SSL_PROTOCOL = "TLSv1.2";
 
     public static final String SSL_PROVIDER_CONFIG = "ssl.provider";
     public static final String SSL_PROVIDER_DOC = "The name of the security provider used for SSL connections. Default value is the default security provider of the JVM.";
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ public class SslConfigs {
 
     public static final String SSL_ENABLED_PROTOCOLS_CONFIG = "ssl.enabled.protocols";
     public static final String SSL_ENABLED_PROTOCOLS_DOC = "The list of protocols enabled for SSL connections.";
-    public static final String DEFAULT_SSL_ENABLED_PROTOCOLS = "TLSv1.2,TLSv1.1,TLSv1";
+    public static final String DEFAULT_SSL_ENABLED_PROTOCOLS = "TLSv1.2";
 
     public static final String SSL_KEYSTORE_TYPE_CONFIG = "ssl.keystore.type";
     public static final String SSL_KEYSTORE_TYPE_DOC = "The file format of the key store file. "
diff --git a/clients/src/test/java/org/apache/kafka/common/network/SslTransportLayerTest.java b/clients/src/test/java/org/apache/kafka/common/network/SslTransportLayerTest.java
index 2809cbd883444..126af6ee2fe57 100644
--- a/clients/src/test/java/org/apache/kafka/common/network/SslTransportLayerTest.java
+++ b/clients/src/test/java/org/apache/kafka/common/network/SslTransportLayerTest.java
@@ -552,20 +552,54 @@ public void testInvalidKeyPassword() throws Exception {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Tests that connections cannot be made with unsupported TLS versions
+     * Tests that connection success with the default TLS version.
      */
     @Test
-    public void testUnsupportedTLSVersion() throws Exception {
-        String node = "0";
-        sslServerConfigs.put(SslConfigs.SSL_ENABLED_PROTOCOLS_CONFIG, Arrays.asList("TLSv1.2"));
+    public void testTLSDefaults() throws Exception {
+        sslServerConfigs = serverCertStores.getTrustingConfig(clientCertStores);
+        sslClientConfigs = clientCertStores.getTrustingConfig(serverCertStores);
+
+        assertEquals(SslConfigs.DEFAULT_SSL_PROTOCOL, sslServerConfigs.get(SslConfigs.SSL_PROTOCOL_CONFIG));
+        assertEquals(SslConfigs.DEFAULT_SSL_PROTOCOL, sslClientConfigs.get(SslConfigs.SSL_PROTOCOL_CONFIG));
+
         server = createEchoServer(SecurityProtocol.SSL);
+        createSelector(sslClientConfigs);
+
+        InetSocketAddress addr = new InetSocketAddress("localhost", server.port());
+        selector.connect("0", addr, BUFFER_SIZE, BUFFER_SIZE);
+
+        NetworkTestUtils.checkClientConnection(selector, "0", 10, 100);
+        server.verifyAuthenticationMetrics(1, 0);
+        selector.close();
+
+        checkAuthentiationFailed("1", "TLSv1.1");
+        server.verifyAuthenticationMetrics(1, 1);
 
-        sslClientConfigs.put(SslConfigs.SSL_ENABLED_PROTOCOLS_CONFIG, Arrays.asList("TLSv1.1"));
+        checkAuthentiationFailed("2", "TLSv1");
+        server.verifyAuthenticationMetrics(1, 2);
+    }
+
+    /** Checks connection failed using the specified {@code tlsVersion}. */
+    private void checkAuthentiationFailed(String node, String tlsVersion) throws IOException {
+        sslClientConfigs.put(SslConfigs.SSL_ENABLED_PROTOCOLS_CONFIG, Arrays.asList(tlsVersion));
         createSelector(sslClientConfigs);
         InetSocketAddress addr = new InetSocketAddress("localhost", server.port());
         selector.connect(node, addr, BUFFER_SIZE, BUFFER_SIZE);
 
         NetworkTestUtils.waitForChannelClose(selector, node, ChannelState.State.AUTHENTICATION_FAILED);
+
+        selector.close();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Tests that connections cannot be made with unsupported TLS versions
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void testUnsupportedTLSVersion() throws Exception {
+        sslServerConfigs.put(SslConfigs.SSL_ENABLED_PROTOCOLS_CONFIG, Arrays.asList("TLSv1.2"));
+        server = createEchoServer(SecurityProtocol.SSL);
+
+        checkAuthentiationFailed("0", "TLSv1.1");
         server.verifyAuthenticationMetrics(0, 1);
     }
 
diff --git a/clients/src/test/java/org/apache/kafka/test/TestSslUtils.java b/clients/src/test/java/org/apache/kafka/test/TestSslUtils.java
index 71f0e8957371e..469bb923203ee 100644
--- a/clients/src/test/java/org/apache/kafka/test/TestSslUtils.java
+++ b/clients/src/test/java/org/apache/kafka/test/TestSslUtils.java
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@
 public class TestSslUtils {
 
     public static final String TRUST_STORE_PASSWORD = "TrustStorePassword";
-    public static final String DEFAULT_TLS_PROTOCOL_FOR_TESTS = "TLSv1.2";
+    public static final String DEFAULT_TLS_PROTOCOL_FOR_TESTS = SslConfigs.DEFAULT_SSL_PROTOCOL;
 
     /**
      * Create a self-signed X.509 Certificate.