diff --git a/lib/eal/common/eal_common_options.c b/lib/eal/common/eal_common_options.c
index 1802e3d9e1..1cfdd75f3b 100644
--- a/lib/eal/common/eal_common_options.c
+++ b/lib/eal/common/eal_common_options.c
@@ -703,10 +703,50 @@ update_lcore_config(int *cores)
 	return ret;
 }
 
+static int
+check_core_list(int *lcores, unsigned int count)
+{
+	char lcorestr[RTE_MAX_LCORE * 10];
+	bool overflow = false;
+	int len = 0, ret;
+	unsigned int i;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < count; i++) {
+		if (lcores[i] < RTE_MAX_LCORE)
+			continue;
+
+		RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "lcore %d >= RTE_MAX_LCORE (%d)\n",
+			lcores[i], RTE_MAX_LCORE);
+		overflow = true;
+	}
+	if (!overflow)
+		return 0;
+
+	/*
+	 * We've encountered a core that's greater than RTE_MAX_LCORE,
+	 * suggest using --lcores option to map lcores onto physical cores
+	 * greater than RTE_MAX_LCORE.
+	 */
+	for (i = 0; i < count; i++) {
+		ret = snprintf(&lcorestr[len], sizeof(lcorestr) - len,
+			"%d@%d,", i, lcores[i]);
+		if (ret > 0)
+			len = len + ret;
+	}
+	if (len > 0)
+		lcorestr[len - 1] = 0;
+	RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "To use high physical core ids, "
+		"please use --lcores to map them to lcore ids below RTE_MAX_LCORE, "
+		"e.g. --lcores %s\n", lcorestr);
+	return -1;
+}
+
 static int
 eal_parse_coremask(const char *coremask, int *cores)
 {
-	unsigned count = 0;
+	const char *coremask_orig = coremask;
+	int lcores[RTE_MAX_LCORE];
+	unsigned int count = 0;
 	int i, j, idx;
 	int val;
 	char c;
@@ -726,29 +766,52 @@ eal_parse_coremask(const char *coremask, int *cores)
 	i = strlen(coremask);
 	while ((i > 0) && isblank(coremask[i - 1]))
 		i--;
-	if (i == 0)
+	if (i == 0) {
+		RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "No lcores in coremask: [%s]\n",
+			coremask_orig);
 		return -1;
+	}
 
-	for (i = i - 1; i >= 0 && idx < RTE_MAX_LCORE; i--) {
+	for (i = i - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
 		c = coremask[i];
 		if (isxdigit(c) == 0) {
 			/* invalid characters */
+			RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "invalid characters in coremask: [%s]\n",
+				coremask_orig);
 			return -1;
 		}
 		val = xdigit2val(c);
-		for (j = 0; j < BITS_PER_HEX && idx < RTE_MAX_LCORE; j++, idx++)
+		for (j = 0; j < BITS_PER_HEX; j++, idx++)
 		{
 			if ((1 << j) & val) {
-				cores[idx] = count;
-				count++;
+				if (count >= RTE_MAX_LCORE) {
+					RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "Too many lcores provided. Cannot exceed RTE_MAX_LCORE (%d)\n",
+						RTE_MAX_LCORE);
+					return -1;
+				}
+				lcores[count++] = idx;
 			}
 		}
 	}
-	for (; i >= 0; i--)
-		if (coremask[i] != '0')
-			return -1;
-	if (count == 0)
+	if (count == 0) {
+		RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "No lcores in coremask: [%s]\n",
+			coremask_orig);
 		return -1;
+	}
+
+	if (check_core_list(lcores, count))
+		return -1;
+
+	/*
+	 * Now that we've got a list of cores no longer than RTE_MAX_LCORE,
+	 * and no lcore in that list is greater than RTE_MAX_LCORE, populate
+	 * the cores array.
+	 */
+	do {
+		count--;
+		cores[lcores[count]] = count;
+	} while (count != 0);
+
 	return 0;
 }
 
@@ -833,7 +896,8 @@ eal_parse_service_corelist(const char *corelist)
 static int
 eal_parse_corelist(const char *corelist, int *cores)
 {
-	unsigned count = 0;
+	unsigned int count = 0, i;
+	int lcores[RTE_MAX_LCORE];
 	char *end = NULL;
 	int min, max;
 	int idx;
@@ -846,7 +910,7 @@ eal_parse_corelist(const char *corelist, int *cores)
 		corelist++;
 
 	/* Get list of cores */
-	min = RTE_MAX_LCORE;
+	min = -1;
 	do {
 		while (isblank(*corelist))
 			corelist++;
@@ -856,7 +920,7 @@ eal_parse_corelist(const char *corelist, int *cores)
 		idx = strtol(corelist, &end, 10);
 		if (errno || end == NULL)
 			return -1;
-		if (idx < 0 || idx >= RTE_MAX_LCORE)
+		if (idx < 0)
 			return -1;
 		while (isblank(*end))
 			end++;
@@ -864,15 +928,26 @@ eal_parse_corelist(const char *corelist, int *cores)
 			min = idx;
 		} else if ((*end == ',') || (*end == '\0')) {
 			max = idx;
-			if (min == RTE_MAX_LCORE)
+			if (min == -1)
 				min = idx;
 			for (idx = min; idx <= max; idx++) {
-				if (cores[idx] == -1) {
-					cores[idx] = count;
-					count++;
+				bool dup = false;
+
+				/* Check if this idx is already present */
+				for (i = 0; i < count; i++) {
+					if (lcores[i] == idx)
+						dup = true;
 				}
+				if (dup)
+					continue;
+				if (count >= RTE_MAX_LCORE) {
+					RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "Too many lcores provided. Cannot exceed RTE_MAX_LCORE (%d)\n",
+						RTE_MAX_LCORE);
+					return -1;
+				}
+				lcores[count++] = idx;
 			}
-			min = RTE_MAX_LCORE;
+			min = -1;
 		} else
 			return -1;
 		corelist = end + 1;
@@ -880,6 +955,20 @@ eal_parse_corelist(const char *corelist, int *cores)
 
 	if (count == 0)
 		return -1;
+
+	if (check_core_list(lcores, count))
+		return -1;
+
+	/*
+	 * Now that we've got a list of cores no longer than RTE_MAX_LCORE,
+	 * and no lcore in that list is greater than RTE_MAX_LCORE, populate
+	 * the cores array.
+	 */
+	do {
+		count--;
+		cores[lcores[count]] = count;
+	} while (count != 0);
+
 	return 0;
 }