diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 37a88e9..bf91b90 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixed
+
+- Invalid payload parsing when the message is broken.
+
 ## [2.4.2] - 2024-01-18
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/membership.lua b/membership.lua
index 087f9c8..9a00507 100755
--- a/membership.lua
+++ b/membership.lua
@@ -779,10 +779,17 @@ local function _member_pack(uri, member)
         return nil
     end
 
+    local payload = member.payload
+    if payload == msgpack.NULL
+    or type(payload) ~= 'table'
+    then
+        payload = {}
+    end
+
     return {
         uri = uri,
         status = opts.STATUS_NAMES[member.status] or tostring(member.status),
-        payload = member.payload or {},
+        payload = payload,
         incarnation = member.incarnation,
         timestamp = member.timestamp,
         clock_delta = member.clock_delta,
@@ -934,6 +941,9 @@ local function set_payload(key, value)
     checks('string', '?')
     local myself = members.get(advertise_uri)
     local payload = myself.payload
+    if type(payload) ~= 'table' then
+        payload = {}
+    end
     if payload[key] == value then
         return true
     end
diff --git a/membership/events.lua b/membership/events.lua
index 95cca95..1bd884b 100644
--- a/membership/events.lua
+++ b/membership/events.lua
@@ -84,11 +84,17 @@ end
 
 function events.unpack(event)
     checks('table')
+    local payload = event[4]
+    if payload == msgpack.NULL
+    or type(payload) ~= 'table'
+    then
+        payload = nil
+    end
     return {
-        uri = event[1],
-        status = event[2],
-        incarnation = event[3],
-        payload = (event[4] ~= msgpack.NULL) and event[4] or nil,
+        uri = tostring(event[1]),
+        status = tonumber(event[2]),
+        incarnation = tonumber(event[3]),
+        payload = payload,
         ttl = event[5],
     }
 end
diff --git a/membership/members.lua b/membership/members.lua
index 6cdc045..43b520e 100644
--- a/membership/members.lua
+++ b/membership/members.lua
@@ -55,10 +55,16 @@ end
 
 function members.unpack(member)
     checks('table')
+    local payload = member[3]
+    if payload == msgpack.NULL
+    or type(payload) ~= 'table'
+    then
+        payload = nil
+    end
     return member[1], {
-        status = member[2],
-        incarnation = member[3],
-        payload = (member[4] ~= msgpack.NULL) and member[4] or nil,
+        status = tonumber(member[2]),
+        incarnation = tonumber(member[3]),
+        payload = payload,
     }
 end
 
diff --git a/test/instance.lua b/test/instance.lua
index e7eb17c..ce509cb 100755
--- a/test/instance.lua
+++ b/test/instance.lua
@@ -4,6 +4,15 @@ require('strict').on()
 local log = require('log')
 local fiber = require('fiber')
 local console = require('console')
+
+local checks = require('checks')
+package.loaded['checks'] = function(...)
+    if rawget(_G, "checks_disabled") == true then
+        return
+    end
+    return checks(...)
+end
+
 local membership = require('membership')
 _G.membership = membership
 
diff --git a/test/test_dissemination.py b/test/test_dissemination.py
index 458ffdf..3a4d4b3 100644
--- a/test/test_dissemination.py
+++ b/test/test_dissemination.py
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ def test_discover_kill(servers, helpers):
     t1 = time.time()
 
     def check_public_opinion():
-        """ Cheack that all members consider URI has given STATUS """
+        """ Check that all members consider URI has given STATUS """
 
         for port, srv in list(servers_copy.items()):
             member = srv.get_member(uri)
diff --git a/test/test_payload.py b/test/test_payload.py
index 2e38f18..af8cf66 100644
--- a/test/test_payload.py
+++ b/test/test_payload.py
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@
 servers_list = [13301, 13302]
 
 
-def check_payload(srv, uri, payload):
+def check_payload(srv, uri, payload, status='alive'):
     member = srv.members()[uri]
-    assert member['status'] == 'alive'
+    assert member['status'] == status
     assert member['payload'] == payload
 
 
@@ -39,3 +39,18 @@ def test(servers, helpers):
             'foo2': 42
         }
     ])
+
+    assert servers[13301].conn.eval('''
+        _G.checks_disabled = true
+        local opts = require('membership.options')
+        require('membership.events').generate('13301', opts.DEAD, 31, 37)
+        _G.checks_disabled = false
+
+        return true
+    ''')[0]
+    helpers.wait_for(check_payload, [
+        servers[13302],
+        '13301',
+        {},
+        'dead',
+    ])