diff --git a/drivers/md/md.c b/drivers/md/md.c
index 0a1daf2cde1f7faf5541c93a8d65ca5230680d97..caedc11f902096282d3d45a738f250cce639469e 100644
--- a/drivers/md/md.c
+++ b/drivers/md/md.c
@@ -1093,7 +1093,15 @@ static int super_90_load(struct md_rdev *rdev, struct md_rdev *refdev, int minor
 		rdev->desc_nr = sb->this_disk.number;
 
 	if (!refdev) {
-		ret = 1;
+		/*
+		 * Insist on good event counter while assembling, except
+		 * for spares (which don't need an event count)
+		 */
+		if (sb->disks[rdev->desc_nr].state & (
+			(1<<MD_DISK_SYNC) | (1 << MD_DISK_ACTIVE)))
+			ret = 1;
+		else
+			ret = 0;
 	} else {
 		__u64 ev1, ev2;
 		mdp_super_t *refsb = page_address(refdev->sb_page);
@@ -1109,7 +1117,14 @@ static int super_90_load(struct md_rdev *rdev, struct md_rdev *refdev, int minor
 		}
 		ev1 = md_event(sb);
 		ev2 = md_event(refsb);
-		if (ev1 > ev2)
+
+		/*
+		 * Insist on good event counter while assembling, except
+		 * for spares (which don't need an event count)
+		 */
+		if (sb->disks[rdev->desc_nr].state & (
+			(1<<MD_DISK_SYNC) | (1 << MD_DISK_ACTIVE)) &&
+			(ev1 > ev2))
 			ret = 1;
 		else
 			ret = 0;
@@ -1469,6 +1484,7 @@ static int super_1_load(struct md_rdev *rdev, struct md_rdev *refdev, int minor_
 	sector_t sectors;
 	char b[BDEVNAME_SIZE], b2[BDEVNAME_SIZE];
 	int bmask;
+	__u64 role;
 
 	/*
 	 * Calculate the position of the superblock in 512byte sectors.
@@ -1598,8 +1614,20 @@ static int super_1_load(struct md_rdev *rdev, struct md_rdev *refdev, int minor_
 		rdev->ppl.sector = rdev->sb_start + rdev->ppl.offset;
 	}
 
+	role = le16_to_cpu(sb->dev_roles[rdev->desc_nr]);
+
 	if (!refdev) {
-		ret = 1;
+		/*
+		 * Insist of good event counter while assembling, except for
+		 * spares (which don't need an event count)
+		 */
+		if (rdev->desc_nr >= 0 &&
+		    rdev->desc_nr < le32_to_cpu(sb->max_dev) &&
+			(role < MD_DISK_ROLE_MAX ||
+			 role == MD_DISK_ROLE_JOURNAL))
+			ret = 1;
+		else
+			ret = 0;
 	} else {
 		__u64 ev1, ev2;
 		struct mdp_superblock_1 *refsb = page_address(refdev->sb_page);
@@ -1616,7 +1644,14 @@ static int super_1_load(struct md_rdev *rdev, struct md_rdev *refdev, int minor_
 		ev1 = le64_to_cpu(sb->events);
 		ev2 = le64_to_cpu(refsb->events);
 
-		if (ev1 > ev2)
+		/*
+		 * Insist of good event counter while assembling, except for
+		 * spares (which don't need an event count)
+		 */
+		if (rdev->desc_nr >= 0 &&
+		    rdev->desc_nr < le32_to_cpu(sb->max_dev) &&
+			(role < MD_DISK_ROLE_MAX ||
+			 role == MD_DISK_ROLE_JOURNAL) && ev1 > ev2)
 			ret = 1;
 		else
 			ret = 0;
@@ -3529,7 +3564,7 @@ static struct md_rdev *md_import_device(dev_t newdev, int super_format, int supe
  * Check a full RAID array for plausibility
  */
 
-static void analyze_sbs(struct mddev *mddev)
+static int analyze_sbs(struct mddev *mddev)
 {
 	int i;
 	struct md_rdev *rdev, *freshest, *tmp;
@@ -3550,6 +3585,12 @@ static void analyze_sbs(struct mddev *mddev)
 			md_kick_rdev_from_array(rdev);
 		}
 
+	/* Cannot find a valid fresh disk */
+	if (!freshest) {
+		pr_warn("md: cannot find a valid disk\n");
+		return -EINVAL;
+	}
+
 	super_types[mddev->major_version].
 		validate_super(mddev, freshest);
 
@@ -3584,6 +3625,8 @@ static void analyze_sbs(struct mddev *mddev)
 			clear_bit(In_sync, &rdev->flags);
 		}
 	}
+
+	return 0;
 }
 
 /* Read a fixed-point number.
@@ -5467,7 +5510,9 @@ int md_run(struct mddev *mddev)
 	if (!mddev->raid_disks) {
 		if (!mddev->persistent)
 			return -EINVAL;
-		analyze_sbs(mddev);
+		err = analyze_sbs(mddev);
+		if (err)
+			return -EINVAL;
 	}
 
 	if (mddev->level != LEVEL_NONE)