diff --git a/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user-glib.h b/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user-glib.h
index d3200f3afc..64d539d93a 100644
--- a/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user-glib.h
+++ b/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user-glib.h
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ typedef struct VugDev {
     GSource *src;
 } VugDev;
 
-void vug_init(VugDev *dev, int socket,
+bool vug_init(VugDev *dev, uint16_t max_queues, int socket,
               vu_panic_cb panic, const VuDevIface *iface);
 void vug_deinit(VugDev *dev);
 
diff --git a/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user.h b/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user.h
index 3b888ff0a5..46b600799b 100644
--- a/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user.h
+++ b/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user.h
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@
 #define VHOST_USER_F_PROTOCOL_FEATURES 30
 #define VHOST_LOG_PAGE 4096
 
-#define VHOST_MAX_NR_VIRTQUEUE 8
 #define VIRTQUEUE_MAX_SIZE 1024
 
 #define VHOST_MEMORY_MAX_NREGIONS 8
@@ -353,7 +352,7 @@ struct VuDev {
     int sock;
     uint32_t nregions;
     VuDevRegion regions[VHOST_MEMORY_MAX_NREGIONS];
-    VuVirtq vq[VHOST_MAX_NR_VIRTQUEUE];
+    VuVirtq *vq;
     VuDevInflightInfo inflight_info;
     int log_call_fd;
     int slave_fd;
@@ -362,6 +361,7 @@ struct VuDev {
     uint64_t features;
     uint64_t protocol_features;
     bool broken;
+    uint16_t max_queues;
 
     /* @set_watch: add or update the given fd to the watch set,
      * call cb when condition is met */
@@ -391,6 +391,7 @@ typedef struct VuVirtqElement {
 /**
  * vu_init:
  * @dev: a VuDev context
+ * @max_queues: maximum number of virtqueues
  * @socket: the socket connected to vhost-user master
  * @panic: a panic callback
  * @set_watch: a set_watch callback
@@ -398,8 +399,11 @@ typedef struct VuVirtqElement {
  * @iface: a VuDevIface structure with vhost-user device callbacks
  *
  * Intializes a VuDev vhost-user context.
+ *
+ * Returns: true on success, false on failure.
  **/
-void vu_init(VuDev *dev,
+bool vu_init(VuDev *dev,
+             uint16_t max_queues,
              int socket,
              vu_panic_cb panic,
              vu_set_watch_cb set_watch,
diff --git a/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user-glib.c b/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user-glib.c
index 42660a1b36..99edd2f3de 100644
--- a/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user-glib.c
+++ b/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user-glib.c
@@ -131,18 +131,24 @@ static void vug_watch(VuDev *dev, int condition, void *data)
     }
 }
 
-void
-vug_init(VugDev *dev, int socket,
+bool
+vug_init(VugDev *dev, uint16_t max_queues, int socket,
          vu_panic_cb panic, const VuDevIface *iface)
 {
     g_assert(dev);
     g_assert(iface);
 
-    vu_init(&dev->parent, socket, panic, set_watch, remove_watch, iface);
+    if (!vu_init(&dev->parent, max_queues, socket, panic, set_watch,
+                 remove_watch, iface)) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
     dev->fdmap = g_hash_table_new_full(NULL, NULL, NULL,
                                        (GDestroyNotify) g_source_destroy);
 
     dev->src = vug_source_new(dev, socket, G_IO_IN, vug_watch, NULL);
+
+    return true;
 }
 
 void
diff --git a/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user.c b/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user.c
index a8657c7af2..90bea856dd 100644
--- a/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user.c
+++ b/contrib/libvhost-user/libvhost-user.c
@@ -493,9 +493,9 @@ vu_get_features_exec(VuDev *dev, VhostUserMsg *vmsg)
 static void
 vu_set_enable_all_rings(VuDev *dev, bool enabled)
 {
-    int i;
+    uint16_t i;
 
-    for (i = 0; i < VHOST_MAX_NR_VIRTQUEUE; i++) {
+    for (i = 0; i < dev->max_queues; i++) {
         dev->vq[i].enable = enabled;
     }
 }
@@ -916,7 +916,7 @@ vu_check_queue_msg_file(VuDev *dev, VhostUserMsg *vmsg)
 {
     int index = vmsg->payload.u64 & VHOST_USER_VRING_IDX_MASK;
 
-    if (index >= VHOST_MAX_NR_VIRTQUEUE) {
+    if (index >= dev->max_queues) {
         vmsg_close_fds(vmsg);
         vu_panic(dev, "Invalid queue index: %u", index);
         return false;
@@ -1213,7 +1213,7 @@ vu_set_vring_enable_exec(VuDev *dev, VhostUserMsg *vmsg)
     DPRINT("State.index: %d\n", index);
     DPRINT("State.enable:   %d\n", enable);
 
-    if (index >= VHOST_MAX_NR_VIRTQUEUE) {
+    if (index >= dev->max_queues) {
         vu_panic(dev, "Invalid vring_enable index: %u", index);
         return false;
     }
@@ -1582,7 +1582,7 @@ vu_deinit(VuDev *dev)
     }
     dev->nregions = 0;
 
-    for (i = 0; i < VHOST_MAX_NR_VIRTQUEUE; i++) {
+    for (i = 0; i < dev->max_queues; i++) {
         VuVirtq *vq = &dev->vq[i];
 
         if (vq->call_fd != -1) {
@@ -1627,18 +1627,23 @@ vu_deinit(VuDev *dev)
     if (dev->sock != -1) {
         close(dev->sock);
     }
+
+    free(dev->vq);
+    dev->vq = NULL;
 }
 
-void
+bool
 vu_init(VuDev *dev,
+        uint16_t max_queues,
         int socket,
         vu_panic_cb panic,
         vu_set_watch_cb set_watch,
         vu_remove_watch_cb remove_watch,
         const VuDevIface *iface)
 {
-    int i;
+    uint16_t i;
 
+    assert(max_queues > 0);
     assert(socket >= 0);
     assert(set_watch);
     assert(remove_watch);
@@ -1654,18 +1659,28 @@ vu_init(VuDev *dev,
     dev->iface = iface;
     dev->log_call_fd = -1;
     dev->slave_fd = -1;
-    for (i = 0; i < VHOST_MAX_NR_VIRTQUEUE; i++) {
+    dev->max_queues = max_queues;
+
+    dev->vq = malloc(max_queues * sizeof(dev->vq[0]));
+    if (!dev->vq) {
+        DPRINT("%s: failed to malloc virtqueues\n", __func__);
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    for (i = 0; i < max_queues; i++) {
         dev->vq[i] = (VuVirtq) {
             .call_fd = -1, .kick_fd = -1, .err_fd = -1,
             .notification = true,
         };
     }
+
+    return true;
 }
 
 VuVirtq *
 vu_get_queue(VuDev *dev, int qidx)
 {
-    assert(qidx < VHOST_MAX_NR_VIRTQUEUE);
+    assert(qidx < dev->max_queues);
     return &dev->vq[qidx];
 }
 
diff --git a/contrib/vhost-user-blk/vhost-user-blk.c b/contrib/vhost-user-blk/vhost-user-blk.c
index 86a3987744..ae61034656 100644
--- a/contrib/vhost-user-blk/vhost-user-blk.c
+++ b/contrib/vhost-user-blk/vhost-user-blk.c
@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@
 #include <sys/ioctl.h>
 #endif
 
+enum {
+    VHOST_USER_BLK_MAX_QUEUES = 8,
+};
+
 struct virtio_blk_inhdr {
     unsigned char status;
 };
@@ -334,12 +338,6 @@ static void vub_process_vq(VuDev *vu_dev, int idx)
     VuVirtq *vq;
     int ret;
 
-    if ((idx < 0) || (idx >= VHOST_MAX_NR_VIRTQUEUE)) {
-        fprintf(stderr, "VQ Index out of range: %d\n", idx);
-        vub_panic_cb(vu_dev, NULL);
-        return;
-    }
-
     gdev = container_of(vu_dev, VugDev, parent);
     vdev_blk = container_of(gdev, VubDev, parent);
     assert(vdev_blk);
@@ -631,7 +629,11 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
         vdev_blk->enable_ro = true;
     }
 
-    vug_init(&vdev_blk->parent, csock, vub_panic_cb, &vub_iface);
+    if (!vug_init(&vdev_blk->parent, VHOST_USER_BLK_MAX_QUEUES, csock,
+                  vub_panic_cb, &vub_iface)) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "Failed to initialized libvhost-user-glib\n");
+        goto err;
+    }
 
     g_main_loop_run(vdev_blk->loop);
 
diff --git a/contrib/vhost-user-gpu/main.c b/contrib/vhost-user-gpu/main.c
index 04b753046f..b45d2019b4 100644
--- a/contrib/vhost-user-gpu/main.c
+++ b/contrib/vhost-user-gpu/main.c
@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@
 #include "virgl.h"
 #include "vugbm.h"
 
+enum {
+    VHOST_USER_GPU_MAX_QUEUES = 2,
+};
+
 struct virtio_gpu_simple_resource {
     uint32_t resource_id;
     uint32_t width;
@@ -1169,7 +1173,10 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
         exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
     }
 
-    vug_init(&g.dev, fd, vg_panic, &vuiface);
+    if (!vug_init(&g.dev, VHOST_USER_GPU_MAX_QUEUES, fd, vg_panic, &vuiface)) {
+        g_printerr("Failed to initialize libvhost-user-glib.\n");
+        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+    }
 
     loop = g_main_loop_new(NULL, FALSE);
     g_main_loop_run(loop);
diff --git a/contrib/vhost-user-input/main.c b/contrib/vhost-user-input/main.c
index 8b4e7d2536..449fd2171a 100644
--- a/contrib/vhost-user-input/main.c
+++ b/contrib/vhost-user-input/main.c
@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@
 #include "standard-headers/linux/virtio_input.h"
 #include "qapi/error.h"
 
+enum {
+    VHOST_USER_INPUT_MAX_QUEUES = 2,
+};
+
 typedef struct virtio_input_event virtio_input_event;
 typedef struct virtio_input_config virtio_input_config;
 
@@ -384,7 +388,12 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
         g_printerr("Invalid vhost-user socket.\n");
         exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
     }
-    vug_init(&vi.dev, fd, vi_panic, &vuiface);
+
+    if (!vug_init(&vi.dev, VHOST_USER_INPUT_MAX_QUEUES, fd, vi_panic,
+                  &vuiface)) {
+        g_printerr("Failed to initialize libvhost-user-glib.\n");
+        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+    }
 
     loop = g_main_loop_new(NULL, FALSE);
     g_main_loop_run(loop);
diff --git a/contrib/vhost-user-scsi/vhost-user-scsi.c b/contrib/vhost-user-scsi/vhost-user-scsi.c
index 496dd6e693..0fc14d7899 100644
--- a/contrib/vhost-user-scsi/vhost-user-scsi.c
+++ b/contrib/vhost-user-scsi/vhost-user-scsi.c
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@
 
 #define VUS_ISCSI_INITIATOR "iqn.2016-11.com.nutanix:vhost-user-scsi"
 
+enum {
+    VHOST_USER_SCSI_MAX_QUEUES = 8,
+};
+
 typedef struct VusIscsiLun {
     struct iscsi_context *iscsi_ctx;
     int iscsi_lun;
@@ -231,11 +235,6 @@ static void vus_proc_req(VuDev *vu_dev, int idx)
 
     gdev = container_of(vu_dev, VugDev, parent);
     vdev_scsi = container_of(gdev, VusDev, parent);
-    if (idx < 0 || idx >= VHOST_MAX_NR_VIRTQUEUE) {
-        g_warning("VQ Index out of range: %d", idx);
-        vus_panic_cb(vu_dev, NULL);
-        return;
-    }
 
     vq = vu_get_queue(vu_dev, idx);
     if (!vq) {
@@ -295,12 +294,6 @@ static void vus_queue_set_started(VuDev *vu_dev, int idx, bool started)
 
     assert(vu_dev);
 
-    if (idx < 0 || idx >= VHOST_MAX_NR_VIRTQUEUE) {
-        g_warning("VQ Index out of range: %d", idx);
-        vus_panic_cb(vu_dev, NULL);
-        return;
-    }
-
     vq = vu_get_queue(vu_dev, idx);
 
     if (idx == 0 || idx == 1) {
@@ -398,7 +391,11 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
         goto err;
     }
 
-    vug_init(&vdev_scsi->parent, csock, vus_panic_cb, &vus_iface);
+    if (!vug_init(&vdev_scsi->parent, VHOST_USER_SCSI_MAX_QUEUES, csock,
+                  vus_panic_cb, &vus_iface)) {
+        g_printerr("Failed to initialize libvhost-user-glib\n");
+        goto err;
+    }
 
     g_main_loop_run(vdev_scsi->loop);
 
diff --git a/tests/vhost-user-bridge.c b/tests/vhost-user-bridge.c
index 0bb03af0e5..c4e350e1f5 100644
--- a/tests/vhost-user-bridge.c
+++ b/tests/vhost-user-bridge.c
@@ -45,6 +45,10 @@
         } \
     } while (0)
 
+enum {
+    VHOST_USER_BRIDGE_MAX_QUEUES = 8,
+};
+
 typedef void (*CallbackFunc)(int sock, void *ctx);
 
 typedef struct Event {
@@ -512,12 +516,16 @@ vubr_accept_cb(int sock, void *ctx)
     }
     DPRINT("Got connection from remote peer on sock %d\n", conn_fd);
 
-    vu_init(&dev->vudev,
-            conn_fd,
-            vubr_panic,
-            vubr_set_watch,
-            vubr_remove_watch,
-            &vuiface);
+    if (!vu_init(&dev->vudev,
+                 VHOST_USER_BRIDGE_MAX_QUEUES,
+                 conn_fd,
+                 vubr_panic,
+                 vubr_set_watch,
+                 vubr_remove_watch,
+                 &vuiface)) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "Failed to initialize libvhost-user\n");
+        exit(1);
+    }
 
     dispatcher_add(&dev->dispatcher, conn_fd, ctx, vubr_receive_cb);
     dispatcher_remove(&dev->dispatcher, sock);
@@ -560,12 +568,18 @@ vubr_new(const char *path, bool client)
         if (connect(dev->sock, (struct sockaddr *)&un, len) == -1) {
             vubr_die("connect");
         }
-        vu_init(&dev->vudev,
-                dev->sock,
-                vubr_panic,
-                vubr_set_watch,
-                vubr_remove_watch,
-                &vuiface);
+
+        if (!vu_init(&dev->vudev,
+                     VHOST_USER_BRIDGE_MAX_QUEUES,
+                     dev->sock,
+                     vubr_panic,
+                     vubr_set_watch,
+                     vubr_remove_watch,
+                     &vuiface)) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "Failed to initialize libvhost-user\n");
+            exit(1);
+        }
+
         cb = vubr_receive_cb;
     }
 
@@ -584,7 +598,7 @@ static void *notifier_thread(void *arg)
     int qidx;
 
     while (true) {
-        for (qidx = 0; qidx < VHOST_MAX_NR_VIRTQUEUE; qidx++) {
+        for (qidx = 0; qidx < VHOST_USER_BRIDGE_MAX_QUEUES; qidx++) {
             uint16_t *n = vubr->notifier.addr + pagesize * qidx;
 
             if (*n == qidx) {
@@ -616,7 +630,7 @@ vubr_host_notifier_setup(VubrDev *dev)
     void *addr;
     int fd;
 
-    length = getpagesize() * VHOST_MAX_NR_VIRTQUEUE;
+    length = getpagesize() * VHOST_USER_BRIDGE_MAX_QUEUES;
 
     fd = mkstemp(template);
     if (fd < 0) {
