diff --git a/examples/nvme/reconnect/reconnect.c b/examples/nvme/reconnect/reconnect.c
index b44c78029..6babd303a 100644
--- a/examples/nvme/reconnect/reconnect.c
+++ b/examples/nvme/reconnect/reconnect.c
@@ -1088,19 +1088,19 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	}
 	if (spdk_env_init(&opts) < 0) {
 		fprintf(stderr, "Unable to initialize SPDK env\n");
-		rc = -1;
+		rc = 1;
 		goto cleanup;
 	}
 
 	g_tsc_rate = spdk_get_ticks_hz();
 
 	if (register_workers() != 0) {
-		rc = -1;
+		rc = 1;
 		goto cleanup;
 	}
 
 	if (register_controllers() != 0) {
-		rc = -1;
+		rc = 1;
 		goto cleanup;
 	}
 
@@ -1120,7 +1120,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	}
 
 	if (associate_workers_with_ns() != 0) {
-		rc = -1;
+		rc = 1;
 		goto cleanup;
 	}
 
@@ -1156,6 +1156,13 @@ cleanup:
 
 	if (rc != 0) {
 		fprintf(stderr, "%s: errors occured\n", argv[0]);
+		/*
+		 * return a generic error to the caller. This allows us to
+		 * distinguish between a failure in the script and something
+		 * like a segfault or an invalid access which causes the program
+		 * to crash.
+		 */
+		rc = 1;
 	}
 
 	return rc;
diff --git a/test/nvmf/host/target_disconnect.sh b/test/nvmf/host/target_disconnect.sh
index 33a38a9b9..2122fc460 100755
--- a/test/nvmf/host/target_disconnect.sh
+++ b/test/nvmf/host/target_disconnect.sh
@@ -36,6 +36,19 @@ timing_enter target_disconnect
 
 nvmftestinit
 
+# Test to make sure we don't segfault or access null pointers when we try to connect to
+# a discovery controller that doesn't exist yet.
+set +e
+$rootdir/examples/nvme/reconnect/reconnect -q 32 -o 4096 -w randrw -M 50 -t 10 -c 0xF \
+-r "trtype:$TEST_TRANSPORT adrfam:IPv4 traddr:$NVMF_FIRST_TARGET_IP trsvcid:$NVMF_PORT"
+# If the program crashes, the high bit of $? will be set so we will get a value in the hundreds.
+# But if the reconnect code detects errors and exits normally it will return 1.
+if [ $? != 1 ]; then
+	set -e
+	exit 1
+fi
+set -e
+
 disconnect_init $NVMF_FIRST_TARGET_IP
 
 # If perf doesn't shut down, this test will time out.