Waterford took the spoils in this well-contested Munster derby in Dungarvan, with Kevin Moran hitting the clinching point.
The wind-backed Deise went in at the break with a 0-11 to 0-10 lead, aided by scores from Richie Foley, Shane Walsh, Maurice Shanahan and John Mullane.
The throw-in was delayed by some 20 minutes due to the large crowd assembling at Fraher Field for the counties' second meeting in little over a month.
Waterford won the Waterford Crystal Cup in early February, beating Cork on a 0-21 to 0-16 scoreline, and another tight affair was expected here.
Davy Fitzgerald brought in Moran and Mullane, who return from club duty with De La Salle, for Jamie Nagle and Eamonn Murphy.
Cork lined out as selected, with Eoin Dillon and Brian Murphy starting in defence and Lorcan McLoughlin joining Pa Cronin in midfield.
Free-taker Foley (0-02) and Walsh helped Waterford take an early 0-03 to 0-00 lead, before Cronin and Luke O'Farrell got Cork off the mark.
The three-point gap was restored for the hosts with efforts from Walsh and Pauric Mahony.
McLoughlin, Seamus Prendergast, Shanahan, Cian McCarthy and Pat Horgan all added their names to the scoresheet and a second score from Horgan, which was quickly followed by a William Egan point, got Cork back level at 0-07 apiece.
There was little to chose between the sides over the remaining 15 minutes of the half. Waterford again hit their stride to move 0-10 to 0-07 ahead thanks to points from Moran, Mullane and Foley (free).
Horgan converted a free from 20 metres out and the elusive O'Farrell struck his second point from play. Mullane and Horgan, with his fourth of the day, closed out the scoring to leave just the minimum between them at half-time.
With Horgan accurate from frees and O’Farrell taking his tally to 0-03, Cork had to be hauled back on four separate occasions in the second half.
John Gardiner sent a '65' through the posts for the opening point and Brian Murphy followed with a point on the run.
Horgan had Cork ahead before Mullane, who was yellow carded for a wild pull, and Foley (free) nudged the Deise back in front.
The pace quickened as Shanahan had a shot saved by Cork's long-serving goalkeeper Donal Og Cusack.
A Horgan free had the Rebels 0-15 to 0-14 ahead in the 56th minute. The lead lasted two minutes, Walsh raising his fourth white flag.
It was nip-and-tuck all the way as Niall McCarthy, Walsh and substitute Jerry O'Connor picked off further scores, making it 0-17 to 0-16 to Denis Walsh's charges.
There were a number of missed chances in the closing stages, but late scores from Foley and Moran edged Waterford home and saw Cork suffered their second one-point defeat of the league campaign.
In an edge of the seat finish, Foley converted a free from 65 metres and with two minutes left, Moran created enough space to point his side in front for the final time.
Cork engineered a last-gasp opportunity in injury-time, but Egan missed the target from a position wide out on the left wing.
