diff --git a/drivers/md/raid1.c b/drivers/md/raid1.c
index 6ea4f2679b78..0466ee2453b4 100644
--- a/drivers/md/raid1.c
+++ b/drivers/md/raid1.c
@@ -3129,6 +3129,13 @@ static int raid1_run(struct mddev *mddev)
 		    !test_bit(In_sync, &conf->mirrors[i].rdev->flags) ||
 		    test_bit(Faulty, &conf->mirrors[i].rdev->flags))
 			mddev->degraded++;
+	/*
+	 * RAID1 needs at least one disk in active
+	 */
+	if (conf->raid_disks - mddev->degraded < 1) {
+		ret = -EINVAL;
+		goto abort;
+	}
 
 	if (conf->raid_disks - mddev->degraded == 1)
 		mddev->recovery_cp = MaxSector;
@@ -3162,8 +3169,12 @@ static int raid1_run(struct mddev *mddev)
 	ret = md_integrity_register(mddev);
 	if (ret) {
 		md_unregister_thread(&mddev->thread);
-		raid1_free(mddev, conf);
+		goto abort;
 	}
+	return 0;
+
+abort:
+	raid1_free(mddev, conf);
 	return ret;
 }