diff --git a/include/path.h b/include/path.h
index 45da692f8..ae36d7f4c 100644
--- a/include/path.h
+++ b/include/path.h
@@ -4,8 +4,11 @@
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <stdint.h>
 
-extern char *path_strdup(const char *path, ...)
+/* Returns a pointer to a static buffer which may be destroyed by any later
+path_* function call. NULL means error and errno will be set. */
+extern const char *path_get(const char *path, ...)
 			__attribute__ ((__format__ (__printf__, 1, 2)));
+
 extern FILE *path_fopen(const char *mode, int exit_on_err, const char *path, ...)
 			__attribute__ ((__format__ (__printf__, 3, 4)));
 extern void path_read_str(char *result, size_t len, const char *path, ...)
@@ -27,7 +30,11 @@ extern cpu_set_t *path_read_cpuset(int, const char *path, ...)
 			      __attribute__ ((__format__ (__printf__, 2, 3)));
 extern cpu_set_t *path_read_cpulist(int, const char *path, ...)
 			       __attribute__ ((__format__ (__printf__, 2, 3)));
-extern void path_set_prefix(const char *);
+
+/* Returns: 0 on success, sets errno on error. */
+extern int path_set_prefix(const char *)
+			__attribute__((warn_unused_result));
+
 #endif /* HAVE_CPU_SET_T */
 
 #endif /* UTIL_LINUX_PATH_H */
diff --git a/lib/mbsedit.c b/lib/mbsedit.c
index d464358fc..e028c496d 100644
--- a/lib/mbsedit.c
+++ b/lib/mbsedit.c
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ static size_t mbs_insert(char *str, wint_t c, size_t *ncells)
 {
 	/* all in bytes! */
 	size_t n = 1, bytes;
-	char *in = (char *) &c;
+	char *in;
 
 #ifdef HAVE_WIDECHAR
 	wchar_t wc = (wchar_t) c;
@@ -162,6 +162,7 @@ static size_t mbs_insert(char *str, wint_t c, size_t *ncells)
 	in = in_buf;
 #else
 	*ncells = 1;
+	in = (char *) &c;
 #endif
 	bytes       = strlen(str);
 
diff --git a/lib/path.c b/lib/path.c
index 1a623bc6d..79c1e7a68 100644
--- a/lib/path.c
+++ b/lib/path.c
@@ -38,16 +38,20 @@ static char pathbuf[PATH_MAX];
 static const char *
 path_vcreate(const char *path, va_list ap)
 {
-	if (prefixlen)
-		vsnprintf(pathbuf + prefixlen,
-			  sizeof(pathbuf) - prefixlen, path, ap);
-	else
-		vsnprintf(pathbuf, sizeof(pathbuf), path, ap);
+	int rc = vsnprintf(
+		pathbuf + prefixlen, sizeof(pathbuf) - prefixlen, path, ap);
+
+	if (rc < 0)
+		return NULL;
+	if ((size_t)rc >= sizeof(pathbuf)) {
+		errno = ENAMETOOLONG;
+		return NULL;
+	}
 	return pathbuf;
 }
 
-char *
-path_strdup(const char *path, ...)
+const char *
+path_get(const char *path, ...)
 {
 	const char *p;
 	va_list ap;
@@ -56,7 +60,7 @@ path_strdup(const char *path, ...)
 	p = path_vcreate(path, ap);
 	va_end(ap);
 
-	return p ? strdup(p) : NULL;
+	return p;
 }
 
 static FILE *
@@ -64,11 +68,18 @@ path_vfopen(const char *mode, int exit_on_error, const char *path, va_list ap)
 {
 	FILE *f;
 	const char *p = path_vcreate(path, ap);
+	if (!p)
+		goto err;
 
 	f = fopen(p, mode);
-	if (!f && exit_on_error)
-		err(EXIT_FAILURE, _("cannot open %s"), p);
+	if (!f)
+		goto err;
+
 	return f;
+err:
+	if (exit_on_error)
+		err(EXIT_FAILURE, _("cannot open %s"), p ? p : "path");
+	return NULL;
 }
 
 static int
@@ -76,11 +87,16 @@ path_vopen(int flags, const char *path, va_list ap)
 {
 	int fd;
 	const char *p = path_vcreate(path, ap);
+	if (!p)
+		goto err;
 
 	fd = open(p, flags);
 	if (fd == -1)
-		err(EXIT_FAILURE, _("cannot open %s"), p);
+		goto err;
+
 	return fd;
+err:
+	err(EXIT_FAILURE, _("cannot open %s"), p ? p : "path");
 }
 
 FILE *
@@ -181,7 +197,7 @@ path_exist(const char *path, ...)
 	p = path_vcreate(path, ap);
 	va_end(ap);
 
-	return access(p, F_OK) == 0;
+	return p && access(p, F_OK) == 0;
 }
 
 #ifdef HAVE_CPU_SET_T
@@ -244,12 +260,18 @@ path_read_cpulist(int maxcpus, const char *path, ...)
 	return set;
 }
 
-void
+int
 path_set_prefix(const char *prefix)
 {
-	prefixlen = strlen(prefix);
-	strncpy(pathbuf, prefix, sizeof(pathbuf));
-	pathbuf[sizeof(pathbuf) - 1] = '\0';
+	size_t len = strlen(prefix);
+
+	if (len >= sizeof(pathbuf) - 1) {
+		errno = ENAMETOOLONG;
+		return -1;
+	}
+	prefixlen = len;
+	strcpy(pathbuf, prefix);
+	return 0;
 }
 
 #endif /* HAVE_CPU_SET_T */
diff --git a/misc-utils/findmnt-verify.c b/misc-utils/findmnt-verify.c
index b32901d66..1cc62def9 100644
--- a/misc-utils/findmnt-verify.c
+++ b/misc-utils/findmnt-verify.c
@@ -126,14 +126,13 @@ done:
 static int verify_target(struct verify_context *vfy)
 {
 	const char *tgt = mnt_fs_get_target(vfy->fs);
-	const char *cn = tgt;
 	struct stat sb;
 
 	if (!tgt)
 		return verify_err(vfy, _("undefined target (fs_file)"));
 
 	if (!(flags & FL_NOCACHE)) {
-		cn = mnt_resolve_target(tgt, cache);
+		const char *cn = mnt_resolve_target(tgt, cache);
 		if (!cn)
 			return -ENOMEM;
 		if (strcmp(cn, tgt) != 0)
diff --git a/sys-utils/hwclock.c b/sys-utils/hwclock.c
index 98ee5bef5..a0a48dd13 100644
--- a/sys-utils/hwclock.c
+++ b/sys-utils/hwclock.c
@@ -1225,10 +1225,11 @@ usage(const struct hwclock_control *ctl)
 	fputs(USAGE_OPTIONS, out);
 	fputs(_(" -u, --utc            inform hwclock the RTC timescale is UTC\n"), out);
 	fputs(_(" -l, --localtime      inform hwclock the RTC timescale is Local\n"), out);
-	fprintf(out, _(
 #ifdef __linux__
-		" -f, --rtc <file>     use an alternate file to %1$s\n"
+	printf(_(
+		" -f, --rtc <file>     use an alternate file to %1$s\n"), _PATH_RTC_DEV);
 #endif
+	printf(_(
 		"     --directisa      use the ISA bus instead of %1$s access\n"), _PATH_RTC_DEV);
 	fputs(_("     --date <time>    date/time input for --set and --predict\n"), out);
 #if defined(__linux__) && defined(__alpha__)
@@ -1457,10 +1458,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 		}
 	}
 
-	argc -= optind;
-	argv += optind;
-
-	if (argc > 0) {
+	if (argc > optind) {
 		warnx(_("%d too many arguments given"), argc);
 		errtryhelp(EXIT_FAILURE);
 	}
diff --git a/sys-utils/lscpu.c b/sys-utils/lscpu.c
index 424b9de0e..852711e74 100644
--- a/sys-utils/lscpu.c
+++ b/sys-utils/lscpu.c
@@ -1430,37 +1430,36 @@ read_nodes(struct lscpu_desc *desc)
 	int i = 0;
 	DIR *dir;
 	struct dirent *d;
-	char *path;
+	const char *path;
+
+	desc->nnodes = 0;
 
 	/* number of NUMA node */
-	path = path_strdup(_PATH_SYS_NODE);
-	dir = opendir(path);
-	free(path);
-
-	while (dir && (d = readdir(dir))) {
+	if (!(path = path_get(_PATH_SYS_NODE)))
+		return;
+	if (!(dir = opendir(path)))
+		return;
+	while ((d = readdir(dir))) {
 		if (is_node_dirent(d))
 			desc->nnodes++;
 	}
 
 	if (!desc->nnodes) {
-		if (dir)
-			closedir(dir);
+		closedir(dir);
 		return;
 	}
 
 	desc->nodemaps = xcalloc(desc->nnodes, sizeof(cpu_set_t *));
 	desc->idx2nodenum = xmalloc(desc->nnodes * sizeof(int));
 
-	if (dir) {
-		rewinddir(dir);
-		while ((d = readdir(dir)) && i < desc->nnodes) {
-			if (is_node_dirent(d))
-				desc->idx2nodenum[i++] = strtol_or_err(((d->d_name) + 4),
-							_("Failed to extract the node number"));
-		}
-		closedir(dir);
-		qsort(desc->idx2nodenum, desc->nnodes, sizeof(int), nodecmp);
+	rewinddir(dir);
+	while ((d = readdir(dir)) && i < desc->nnodes) {
+		if (is_node_dirent(d))
+			desc->idx2nodenum[i++] = strtol_or_err(((d->d_name) + 4),
+						_("Failed to extract the node number"));
 	}
+	closedir(dir);
+	qsort(desc->idx2nodenum, desc->nnodes, sizeof(int), nodecmp);
 
 	/* information about how nodes share different CPUs */
 	for (i = 0; i < desc->nnodes; i++)
@@ -2148,7 +2147,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			mod->mode = c == 'p' ? OUTPUT_PARSABLE : OUTPUT_READABLE;
 			break;
 		case 's':
-			path_set_prefix(optarg);
+			if(path_set_prefix(optarg))
+				err(EXIT_FAILURE, _("invalid argument to %s"), "--sysroot");
 			mod->system = SYSTEM_SNAPSHOT;
 			break;
 		case 'x':
diff --git a/sys-utils/lsmem.c b/sys-utils/lsmem.c
index 04e7d20be..4db678966 100644
--- a/sys-utils/lsmem.c
+++ b/sys-utils/lsmem.c
@@ -248,15 +248,14 @@ static void print_summary(struct lsmem *lsmem)
 static int memory_block_get_node(char *name)
 {
 	struct dirent *de;
-	char *path;
+	const char *path;
 	DIR *dir;
 	int node;
 
-	path = path_strdup(_PATH_SYS_MEMORY"/%s", name);
-	dir = opendir(path);
-	free(path);
-	if (!dir)
-		err(EXIT_FAILURE, _("Failed to open %s"), path);
+	path = path_get(_PATH_SYS_MEMORY"/%s", name);
+	if (!path || !(dir= opendir(path)))
+		err(EXIT_FAILURE, _("Failed to open %s"), path ? path : name);
+
 	node = -1;
 	while ((de = readdir(dir)) != NULL) {
 		if (strncmp("node", de->d_name, 4))
@@ -348,14 +347,16 @@ static int memory_block_filter(const struct dirent *de)
 
 static void read_basic_info(struct lsmem *lsmem)
 {
-	char *dir;
+	const char *dir;
 
 	if (!path_exist(_PATH_SYS_MEMORY_BLOCK_SIZE))
 		errx(EXIT_FAILURE, _("This system does not support memory blocks"));
 
-	dir = path_strdup(_PATH_SYS_MEMORY);
+	dir = path_get(_PATH_SYS_MEMORY);
+	if (!dir)
+		err(EXIT_FAILURE, _("Failed to read %s"), _PATH_SYS_MEMORY);
+
 	lsmem->ndirs = scandir(dir, &lsmem->dirs, memory_block_filter, versionsort);
-	free(dir);
 	if (lsmem->ndirs <= 0)
 		err(EXIT_FAILURE, _("Failed to read %s"), _PATH_SYS_MEMORY);
 
@@ -470,7 +471,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 			lsmem->want_summary = 0;
 			break;
 		case 's':
-			path_set_prefix(optarg);
+			if(path_set_prefix(optarg))
+				err(EXIT_FAILURE, _("invalid argument to %s"), "--sysroot");
 			break;
 		case 'V':
 			printf(UTIL_LINUX_VERSION);
diff --git a/sys-utils/setpriv.c b/sys-utils/setpriv.c
index 41a865ff1..1e5c0b499 100644
--- a/sys-utils/setpriv.c
+++ b/sys-utils/setpriv.c
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ static void __attribute__((__noreturn__)) usage(void)
 	fputs(_(" --apparmor-profile <pr>     set AppArmor profile\n"), out);
 
 	fputs(USAGE_SEPARATOR, out);
-	print_usage_help_options(16);
+	print_usage_help_options(29);
 	fputs(USAGE_SEPARATOR, out);
 	fputs(_(" This tool can be dangerous.  Read the manpage, and be careful.\n"), out);
 	fprintf(out, USAGE_MAN_TAIL("setpriv(1)"));
diff --git a/tools/checkusage.sh b/tools/checkusage.sh
index 6cde8fbf6..69d69fde1 100755
--- a/tools/checkusage.sh
+++ b/tools/checkusage.sh
@@ -61,8 +61,8 @@ function exec_option {
 	# hardcoded ... nologin should always return false
 	if test "$cmdb" = "nologin" &&
 			test "$opt" = "--help" -o "$opt" = "--version"; then
-		if test "$ret" = "0"; then
-			echo "$cmdb, $opt, should return false"
+		if test "$ret" -eq 0 -o "$ret" -ge 128; then
+			echo "$cmdb, $opt, should return false: $ret"
 		fi
 		ret=0
 	fi
@@ -123,6 +123,8 @@ function check_unknownopt {
 
 	if test $ret = 0; then
 		echo "$cb: $opt, returns no error"
+	elif test $ret -ge 128; then
+		echo "$cb: $opt, abnormal exit: $ret"
 	fi
 	if test -n "$out"; then
 		echo "$cb: $opt, non-empty stdout"