diff --git a/drivers/net/dummy.c b/drivers/net/dummy.c
index 373ff700404f..756a6bcb038d 100644
--- a/drivers/net/dummy.c
+++ b/drivers/net/dummy.c
@@ -84,9 +84,21 @@ static int dummy_xmit(struct sk_buff *skb, struct net_device *dev)
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static int dummy_validate(struct nlattr *tb[], struct nlattr *data[])
+{
+	if (tb[IFLA_ADDRESS]) {
+		if (nla_len(tb[IFLA_ADDRESS]) != ETH_ALEN)
+			return -EINVAL;
+		if (!is_valid_ether_addr(nla_data(tb[IFLA_ADDRESS])))
+			return -EADDRNOTAVAIL;
+	}
+	return 0;
+}
+
 static struct rtnl_link_ops dummy_link_ops __read_mostly = {
 	.kind		= "dummy",
 	.setup		= dummy_setup,
+	.validate	= dummy_validate,
 };
 
 /* Number of dummy devices to be set up by this module. */
diff --git a/drivers/net/ifb.c b/drivers/net/ifb.c
index c8e7c8f6ba3e..f5c3598e59af 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ifb.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ifb.c
@@ -221,10 +221,22 @@ static int ifb_open(struct net_device *dev)
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static int ifb_validate(struct nlattr *tb[], struct nlattr *data[])
+{
+	if (tb[IFLA_ADDRESS]) {
+		if (nla_len(tb[IFLA_ADDRESS]) != ETH_ALEN)
+			return -EINVAL;
+		if (!is_valid_ether_addr(nla_data(tb[IFLA_ADDRESS])))
+			return -EADDRNOTAVAIL;
+	}
+	return 0;
+}
+
 static struct rtnl_link_ops ifb_link_ops __read_mostly = {
 	.kind		= "ifb",
 	.priv_size	= sizeof(struct ifb_private),
 	.setup		= ifb_setup,
+	.validate	= ifb_validate,
 };
 
 /* Number of ifb devices to be set up by this module. */
diff --git a/net/8021q/vlan.c b/net/8021q/vlan.c
index 34c1d0b241ca..abb9900edb3f 100644
--- a/net/8021q/vlan.c
+++ b/net/8021q/vlan.c
@@ -324,8 +324,10 @@ static int vlan_dev_init(struct net_device *dev)
 					  (1<<__LINK_STATE_DORMANT))) |
 		      (1<<__LINK_STATE_PRESENT);
 
-	memcpy(dev->broadcast, real_dev->broadcast, real_dev->addr_len);
-	memcpy(dev->dev_addr, real_dev->dev_addr, real_dev->addr_len);
+	if (is_zero_ether_addr(dev->dev_addr))
+		memcpy(dev->dev_addr, real_dev->dev_addr, dev->addr_len);
+	if (is_zero_ether_addr(dev->broadcast))
+		memcpy(dev->broadcast, real_dev->broadcast, dev->addr_len);
 
 	if (real_dev->features & NETIF_F_HW_VLAN_TX) {
 		dev->hard_header     = real_dev->hard_header;
@@ -373,6 +375,8 @@ void vlan_setup(struct net_device *new_dev)
 	new_dev->set_multicast_list = vlan_dev_set_multicast_list;
 	new_dev->destructor = free_netdev;
 	new_dev->do_ioctl = vlan_dev_ioctl;
+
+	memset(new_dev->broadcast, 0, sizeof(ETH_ALEN));
 }
 
 static void vlan_transfer_operstate(const struct net_device *dev, struct net_device *vlandev)
diff --git a/net/8021q/vlan_netlink.c b/net/8021q/vlan_netlink.c
index 844c7e43d0fa..6cdd1e015e2d 100644
--- a/net/8021q/vlan_netlink.c
+++ b/net/8021q/vlan_netlink.c
@@ -41,6 +41,13 @@ static int vlan_validate(struct nlattr *tb[], struct nlattr *data[])
 	u16 id;
 	int err;
 
+	if (tb[IFLA_ADDRESS]) {
+		if (nla_len(tb[IFLA_ADDRESS]) != ETH_ALEN)
+			return -EINVAL;
+		if (!is_valid_ether_addr(nla_data(tb[IFLA_ADDRESS])))
+			return -EADDRNOTAVAIL;
+	}
+
 	if (!data)
 		return -EINVAL;
 
diff --git a/net/core/rtnetlink.c b/net/core/rtnetlink.c
index 7b6b16396745..864cbdf31ed7 100644
--- a/net/core/rtnetlink.c
+++ b/net/core/rtnetlink.c
@@ -1032,8 +1032,7 @@ replay:
 
 		if (ifm->ifi_index || ifm->ifi_flags || ifm->ifi_change)
 			return -EOPNOTSUPP;
-		if (tb[IFLA_ADDRESS] || tb[IFLA_BROADCAST] || tb[IFLA_MAP] ||
-		    tb[IFLA_MASTER] || tb[IFLA_PROTINFO])
+		if (tb[IFLA_MAP] || tb[IFLA_MASTER] || tb[IFLA_PROTINFO])
 			return -EOPNOTSUPP;
 
 		if (!ops) {
@@ -1065,6 +1064,12 @@ replay:
 
 		if (tb[IFLA_MTU])
 			dev->mtu = nla_get_u32(tb[IFLA_MTU]);
+		if (tb[IFLA_ADDRESS])
+			memcpy(dev->dev_addr, nla_data(tb[IFLA_ADDRESS]),
+			       nla_len(tb[IFLA_ADDRESS]));
+		if (tb[IFLA_BROADCAST])
+			memcpy(dev->broadcast, nla_data(tb[IFLA_BROADCAST]),
+			       nla_len(tb[IFLA_BROADCAST]));
 		if (tb[IFLA_TXQLEN])
 			dev->tx_queue_len = nla_get_u32(tb[IFLA_TXQLEN]);
 		if (tb[IFLA_WEIGHT])