diff --git a/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx.h b/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx.h
index 40c5968ea9..094fad6367 100644
--- a/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx.h
+++ b/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx.h
@@ -4080,6 +4080,24 @@ efx_mae_match_spec_fini(
 	__in				efx_nic_t *enp,
 	__in				efx_mae_match_spec_t *spec);
 
+typedef enum efx_mae_field_id_e {
+	EFX_MAE_FIELD_NIDS
+} efx_mae_field_id_t;
+
+/*
+ * Make sure that match fields known by EFX have proper masks set
+ * in the match specification as per requirements of SF-122526-TC.
+ *
+ * In the case efx_mae_field_id_t lacks named identifiers for any
+ * fields which the FW maintains with support status MATCH_ALWAYS,
+ * the validation result may not be accurate.
+ */
+LIBEFX_API
+extern	__checkReturn			boolean_t
+efx_mae_match_spec_is_valid(
+	__in				efx_nic_t *enp,
+	__in				const efx_mae_match_spec_t *spec);
+
 #endif /* EFSYS_OPT_MAE */
 
 #ifdef	__cplusplus
diff --git a/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx_impl.h b/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx_impl.h
index 931989f17a..2b872bb62e 100644
--- a/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx_impl.h
+++ b/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx_impl.h
@@ -782,8 +782,22 @@ typedef struct efx_proxy_ops_s {
 
 #if EFSYS_OPT_MAE
 
+typedef struct efx_mae_field_cap_s {
+	uint32_t			emfc_support;
+	boolean_t			emfc_mask_affects_class;
+	boolean_t			emfc_match_affects_class;
+} efx_mae_field_cap_t;
+
 typedef struct efx_mae_s {
 	uint32_t			em_max_n_action_prios;
+	/*
+	 * The number of MAE field IDs recognised by the FW implementation.
+	 * Any field ID greater than or equal to this value is unsupported.
+	 */
+	uint32_t			em_max_nfields;
+	/** Action rule match field capabilities. */
+	efx_mae_field_cap_t		*em_action_rule_field_caps;
+	size_t				em_action_rule_field_caps_size;
 } efx_mae_t;
 
 #endif /* EFSYS_OPT_MAE */
@@ -1680,6 +1694,9 @@ efx_pci_xilinx_cap_tbl_find(
 struct efx_mae_match_spec_s {
 	efx_mae_rule_type_t		emms_type;
 	uint32_t			emms_prio;
+	union emms_mask_value_pairs {
+		uint8_t			action[MAE_FIELD_MASK_VALUE_PAIRS_LEN];
+	} emms_mask_value_pairs;
 };
 
 #endif /* EFSYS_OPT_MAE */
diff --git a/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx_mae.c b/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx_mae.c
index b1ebc93714..9e22c3d507 100644
--- a/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx_mae.c
+++ b/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx_mae.c
@@ -42,8 +42,93 @@ efx_mae_get_capabilities(
 	maep->em_max_n_action_prios =
 	    MCDI_OUT_DWORD(req, MAE_GET_CAPS_OUT_ACTION_PRIOS);
 
+	maep->em_max_nfields =
+	    MCDI_OUT_DWORD(req, MAE_GET_CAPS_OUT_MATCH_FIELD_COUNT);
+
+	return (0);
+
+fail2:
+	EFSYS_PROBE(fail2);
+fail1:
+	EFSYS_PROBE1(fail1, efx_rc_t, rc);
+	return (rc);
+}
+
+static	__checkReturn			efx_rc_t
+efx_mae_get_action_rule_caps(
+	__in				efx_nic_t *enp,
+	__in				unsigned int field_ncaps,
+	__out_ecount(field_ncaps)	efx_mae_field_cap_t *field_caps)
+{
+	efx_mcdi_req_t req;
+	EFX_MCDI_DECLARE_BUF(payload,
+	    MC_CMD_MAE_GET_AR_CAPS_IN_LEN,
+	    MC_CMD_MAE_GET_AR_CAPS_OUT_LENMAX_MCDI2);
+	unsigned int mcdi_field_ncaps;
+	unsigned int i;
+	efx_rc_t rc;
+
+	if (MC_CMD_MAE_GET_AR_CAPS_OUT_LEN(field_ncaps) >
+	    MC_CMD_MAE_GET_AR_CAPS_OUT_LENMAX_MCDI2) {
+		rc = EINVAL;
+		goto fail1;
+	}
+
+	req.emr_cmd = MC_CMD_MAE_GET_AR_CAPS;
+	req.emr_in_buf = payload;
+	req.emr_in_length = MC_CMD_MAE_GET_AR_CAPS_IN_LEN;
+	req.emr_out_buf = payload;
+	req.emr_out_length = MC_CMD_MAE_GET_AR_CAPS_OUT_LEN(field_ncaps);
+
+	efx_mcdi_execute(enp, &req);
+
+	if (req.emr_rc != 0) {
+		rc = req.emr_rc;
+		goto fail2;
+	}
+
+	mcdi_field_ncaps = MCDI_OUT_DWORD(req, MAE_GET_OR_CAPS_OUT_COUNT);
+
+	if (req.emr_out_length_used <
+	    MC_CMD_MAE_GET_AR_CAPS_OUT_LEN(mcdi_field_ncaps)) {
+		rc = EMSGSIZE;
+		goto fail3;
+	}
+
+	if (mcdi_field_ncaps > field_ncaps) {
+		rc = EMSGSIZE;
+		goto fail4;
+	}
+
+	for (i = 0; i < mcdi_field_ncaps; ++i) {
+		uint32_t match_flag;
+		uint32_t mask_flag;
+
+		field_caps[i].emfc_support = MCDI_OUT_INDEXED_DWORD_FIELD(req,
+		    MAE_GET_AR_CAPS_OUT_FIELD_FLAGS, i,
+		    MAE_FIELD_FLAGS_SUPPORT_STATUS);
+
+		match_flag = MCDI_OUT_INDEXED_DWORD_FIELD(req,
+		    MAE_GET_AR_CAPS_OUT_FIELD_FLAGS, i,
+		    MAE_FIELD_FLAGS_MATCH_AFFECTS_CLASS);
+
+		field_caps[i].emfc_match_affects_class =
+		    (match_flag != 0) ? B_TRUE : B_FALSE;
+
+		mask_flag = MCDI_OUT_INDEXED_DWORD_FIELD(req,
+		    MAE_GET_AR_CAPS_OUT_FIELD_FLAGS, i,
+		    MAE_FIELD_FLAGS_MASK_AFFECTS_CLASS);
+
+		field_caps[i].emfc_mask_affects_class =
+		    (mask_flag != 0) ? B_TRUE : B_FALSE;
+	}
+
 	return (0);
 
+fail4:
+	EFSYS_PROBE(fail4);
+fail3:
+	EFSYS_PROBE(fail3);
 fail2:
 	EFSYS_PROBE(fail2);
 fail1:
@@ -56,6 +141,8 @@ efx_mae_init(
 	__in				efx_nic_t *enp)
 {
 	const efx_nic_cfg_t *encp = efx_nic_cfg_get(enp);
+	efx_mae_field_cap_t *ar_fcaps;
+	size_t ar_fcaps_size;
 	efx_mae_t *maep;
 	efx_rc_t rc;
 
@@ -76,8 +163,27 @@ efx_mae_init(
 	if (rc != 0)
 		goto fail3;
 
+	ar_fcaps_size = maep->em_max_nfields * sizeof (*ar_fcaps);
+	EFSYS_KMEM_ALLOC(enp->en_esip, ar_fcaps_size, ar_fcaps);
+	if (ar_fcaps == NULL) {
+		rc = ENOMEM;
+		goto fail4;
+	}
+
+	maep->em_action_rule_field_caps_size = ar_fcaps_size;
+	maep->em_action_rule_field_caps = ar_fcaps;
+
+	rc = efx_mae_get_action_rule_caps(enp, maep->em_max_nfields, ar_fcaps);
+	if (rc != 0)
+		goto fail5;
+
 	return (0);
 
+fail5:
+	EFSYS_PROBE(fail5);
+	EFSYS_KMEM_FREE(enp->en_esip, ar_fcaps_size, ar_fcaps);
+fail4:
+	EFSYS_PROBE(fail4);
 fail3:
 	EFSYS_PROBE(fail3);
 	EFSYS_KMEM_FREE(enp->en_esip, sizeof (struct efx_mae_s), enp->en_maep);
@@ -99,6 +205,8 @@ efx_mae_fini(
 	if (encp->enc_mae_supported == B_FALSE)
 		return;
 
+	EFSYS_KMEM_FREE(enp->en_esip, maep->em_action_rule_field_caps_size,
+	    maep->em_action_rule_field_caps);
 	EFSYS_KMEM_FREE(enp->en_esip, sizeof (*maep), maep);
 	enp->en_maep = NULL;
 }
@@ -172,4 +280,158 @@ efx_mae_match_spec_fini(
 	EFSYS_KMEM_FREE(enp->en_esip, sizeof (*spec), spec);
 }
 
+/* Named identifiers which are valid indices to efx_mae_field_cap_t */
+typedef enum efx_mae_field_cap_id_e {
+	EFX_MAE_FIELD_CAP_NIDS
+} efx_mae_field_cap_id_t;
+
+typedef enum efx_mae_field_endianness_e {
+	EFX_MAE_FIELD_LE = 0,
+	EFX_MAE_FIELD_BE,
+
+	EFX_MAE_FIELD_ENDIANNESS_NTYPES
+} efx_mae_field_endianness_t;
+
+/*
+ * The following structure is a means to describe an MAE field.
+ * The information in it is meant to be used internally by
+ * APIs for addressing a given field in a mask-value pairs
+ * structure and for validation purposes.
+ */
+typedef struct efx_mae_mv_desc_s {
+	efx_mae_field_cap_id_t		emmd_field_cap_id;
+
+	size_t				emmd_value_size;
+	size_t				emmd_value_offset;
+	size_t				emmd_mask_size;
+	size_t				emmd_mask_offset;
+
+	efx_mae_field_endianness_t	emmd_endianness;
+} efx_mae_mv_desc_t;
+
+/* Indices to this array are provided by efx_mae_field_id_t */
+static const efx_mae_mv_desc_t __efx_mae_action_rule_mv_desc_set[] = {
+};
+
+#define	EFX_MASK_BIT_IS_SET(_mask, _mask_page_nbits, _bit)		\
+	    ((_mask)[(_bit) / (_mask_page_nbits)] &			\
+		    (1ULL << ((_bit) & ((_mask_page_nbits) - 1))))
+
+static inline				boolean_t
+efx_mask_is_prefix(
+	__in				size_t mask_nbytes,
+	__in_bcount(mask_nbytes)	const uint8_t *maskp)
+{
+	boolean_t prev_bit_is_set = B_TRUE;
+	unsigned int i;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < 8 * mask_nbytes; ++i) {
+		boolean_t bit_is_set = EFX_MASK_BIT_IS_SET(maskp, 8, i);
+
+		if (!prev_bit_is_set && bit_is_set)
+			return B_FALSE;
+
+		prev_bit_is_set = bit_is_set;
+	}
+
+	return B_TRUE;
+}
+
+static inline				boolean_t
+efx_mask_is_all_ones(
+	__in				size_t mask_nbytes,
+	__in_bcount(mask_nbytes)	const uint8_t *maskp)
+{
+	unsigned int i;
+	uint8_t t = ~0;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < mask_nbytes; ++i)
+		t &= maskp[i];
+
+	return (t == (uint8_t)(~0));
+}
+
+static inline				boolean_t
+efx_mask_is_all_zeros(
+	__in				size_t mask_nbytes,
+	__in_bcount(mask_nbytes)	const uint8_t *maskp)
+{
+	unsigned int i;
+	uint8_t t = 0;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < mask_nbytes; ++i)
+		t |= maskp[i];
+
+	return (t == 0);
+}
+
+	__checkReturn			boolean_t
+efx_mae_match_spec_is_valid(
+	__in				efx_nic_t *enp,
+	__in				const efx_mae_match_spec_t *spec)
+{
+	efx_mae_t *maep = enp->en_maep;
+	unsigned int field_ncaps = maep->em_max_nfields;
+	const efx_mae_field_cap_t *field_caps;
+	const efx_mae_mv_desc_t *desc_setp;
+	unsigned int desc_set_nentries;
+	boolean_t is_valid = B_TRUE;
+	efx_mae_field_id_t field_id;
+	const uint8_t *mvp;
+
+	switch (spec->emms_type) {
+	case EFX_MAE_RULE_ACTION:
+		field_caps = maep->em_action_rule_field_caps;
+		desc_setp = __efx_mae_action_rule_mv_desc_set;
+		desc_set_nentries =
+		    EFX_ARRAY_SIZE(__efx_mae_action_rule_mv_desc_set);
+		mvp = spec->emms_mask_value_pairs.action;
+		break;
+	default:
+		return (B_FALSE);
+	}
+
+	if (field_caps == NULL)
+		return (B_FALSE);
+
+	for (field_id = 0; field_id < desc_set_nentries; ++field_id) {
+		const efx_mae_mv_desc_t *descp = &desc_setp[field_id];
+		efx_mae_field_cap_id_t field_cap_id = descp->emmd_field_cap_id;
+		const uint8_t *m_buf = mvp + descp->emmd_mask_offset;
+		size_t m_size = descp->emmd_mask_size;
+
+		if (m_size == 0)
+			continue; /* Skip array gap */
+
+		if (field_cap_id >= field_ncaps)
+			break;
+
+		switch (field_caps[field_cap_id].emfc_support) {
+		case MAE_FIELD_SUPPORTED_MATCH_MASK:
+			is_valid = B_TRUE;
+			break;
+		case MAE_FIELD_SUPPORTED_MATCH_PREFIX:
+			is_valid = efx_mask_is_prefix(m_size, m_buf);
+			break;
+		case MAE_FIELD_SUPPORTED_MATCH_OPTIONAL:
+			is_valid = (efx_mask_is_all_ones(m_size, m_buf) ||
+			    efx_mask_is_all_zeros(m_size, m_buf));
+			break;
+		case MAE_FIELD_SUPPORTED_MATCH_ALWAYS:
+			is_valid = efx_mask_is_all_ones(m_size, m_buf);
+			break;
+		case MAE_FIELD_SUPPORTED_MATCH_NEVER:
+		case MAE_FIELD_UNSUPPORTED:
+		default:
+			is_valid = efx_mask_is_all_zeros(m_size, m_buf);
+			break;
+		}
+
+		if (is_valid == B_FALSE)
+			break;
+	}
+
+	return (is_valid);
+}
+
 #endif /* EFSYS_OPT_MAE */
diff --git a/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx_mcdi.h b/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx_mcdi.h
index 77a3d636e2..9dd0a23862 100644
--- a/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx_mcdi.h
+++ b/drivers/common/sfc_efx/base/efx_mcdi.h
@@ -421,6 +421,10 @@ efx_mcdi_phy_module_get_info(
 	EFX_DWORD_FIELD(*MCDI_OUT2(_emr, efx_dword_t, _ofst),		\
 			MC_CMD_ ## _field)
 
+#define	MCDI_OUT_INDEXED_DWORD_FIELD(_emr, _ofst, _idx, _field)		\
+	EFX_DWORD_FIELD(*(MCDI_OUT2(_emr, efx_dword_t, _ofst) +		\
+			(_idx)), _field)
+
 #define	MCDI_EV_FIELD(_eqp, _field)					\
 	EFX_QWORD_FIELD(*_eqp, MCDI_EVENT_ ## _field)
 
diff --git a/drivers/common/sfc_efx/rte_common_sfc_efx_version.map b/drivers/common/sfc_efx/rte_common_sfc_efx_version.map
index 57a6c96b3e..0e6d44b6dc 100644
--- a/drivers/common/sfc_efx/rte_common_sfc_efx_version.map
+++ b/drivers/common/sfc_efx/rte_common_sfc_efx_version.map
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ INTERNAL {
 	efx_mae_init;
 	efx_mae_match_spec_fini;
 	efx_mae_match_spec_init;
+	efx_mae_match_spec_is_valid;
 
 	efx_mcdi_fini;
 	efx_mcdi_get_proxy_handle;
