tests: Lower stack usage below 4096 bytes

Make virtTestLoadFile allocate the buffer to read the file into.

Fix logic error in virtTestLoadFile, stop reading on the first empty line.

Use virFileReadLimFD in virtTestCaptureProgramOutput to avoid manual
buffer handling.

24 files changed, 588 insertions, 435 deletions

diff --git a/m4/virt-compile-warnings.m4 b/m4/virt-compile-warnings.m4
index 295fd9be0..305036fd0 100644
--- a/m4/virt-compile-warnings.m4
+++ b/m4/virt-compile-warnings.m4
@@ -88,12 +88,10 @@ AC_DEFUN([LIBVIRT_COMPILE_WARNINGS],[
         # that one off, so we need to manually enable this again
         gl_WARN_ADD([-Wjump-misses-init])
 
-        # This should be < 256 really, but with PATH_MAX everywhere
-        # we have doom, even with 4096. In fact we have some functions
-        # with several PATH_MAX sized variables :-( We should kill off
-        # all PATH_MAX usage and then lower this limit
-        gl_WARN_ADD([-Wframe-larger-than=65700])
-        dnl gl_WARN_ADD([-Wframe-larger-than=4096])
+        # This should be < 256 really. Currently we're down to 4096,
+        # but using 1024 bytes sized buffers (mostly for virStrerror)
+        # stops us from going down further
+        gl_WARN_ADD([-Wframe-larger-than=4096])
         dnl gl_WARN_ADD([-Wframe-larger-than=256])
 
         # Extra special flags
diff --git a/tests/conftest.c b/tests/conftest.c
index a7977bb81..6514f4df5 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.c
+++ b/tests/conftest.c
@@ -6,32 +6,43 @@
 #include <string.h>
 #include <errno.h>
 #include "conf.h"
+#include "memory.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv) {
-    int ret;
+int main(int argc, char **argv)
+{
+    int ret, exit_code = EXIT_FAILURE;
     virConfPtr conf;
     int len = 10000;
-    char buffer[10000];
+    char *buffer = NULL;
 
     if (argc != 2) {
         fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s conf_file\n", argv[0]);
-        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+        goto cleanup;
     }
 
+    if (VIR_ALLOC_N(buffer, len) < 0) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "out of memory\n");
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
     conf = virConfReadFile(argv[1], 0);
     if (conf == NULL) {
         fprintf(stderr, "Failed to process %s\n", argv[1]);
-        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+        goto cleanup;
     }
-    ret = virConfWriteMem(&buffer[0], &len, conf);
+    ret = virConfWriteMem(buffer, &len, conf);
     if (ret < 0) {
         fprintf(stderr, "Failed to serialize %s back\n", argv[1]);
-        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+        goto cleanup;
     }
     virConfFree(conf);
     if (fwrite(buffer, 1, len, stdout) != len) {
         fprintf(stderr, "Write failed: %s\n", strerror (errno));
-        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+        goto cleanup;
     }
-    exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
+
+    exit_code = EXIT_SUCCESS;
+
+cleanup:
+    VIR_FREE(buffer);
+    return exit_code;
 }
diff --git a/tests/cputest.c b/tests/cputest.c
index a8d28dc59..b132cebc9 100644
--- a/tests/cputest.c
+++ b/tests/cputest.c
@@ -42,7 +42,6 @@
 static const char *abs_top_srcdir;
 
 #define VIR_FROM_THIS VIR_FROM_CPU
-#define MAX_FILE 4096
 
 enum compResultShadow {
     ERROR           = VIR_CPU_COMPARE_ERROR,
@@ -89,14 +88,13 @@ struct data {
 static virCPUDefPtr
 cpuTestLoadXML(const char *arch, const char *name)
 {
-    char xml[PATH_MAX];
+    char *xml = NULL;
     xmlDocPtr doc = NULL;
     xmlXPathContextPtr ctxt = NULL;
     virCPUDefPtr cpu = NULL;
 
-    snprintf(xml, PATH_MAX,
-             "%s/cputestdata/%s-%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, arch, name);
+    if (virAsprintf(&xml, "%s/cputestdata/%s-%s.xml", abs_srcdir, arch, name) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
 
     if (!(doc = virXMLParseFile(xml)) ||
         !(ctxt = xmlXPathNewContext(doc)))
@@ -108,6 +106,7 @@ cpuTestLoadXML(const char *arch, const char *name)
 cleanup:
     xmlXPathFreeContext(ctxt);
     xmlFreeDoc(doc);
+    free(xml);
     return cpu;
 }
 
@@ -117,7 +116,7 @@ cpuTestLoadMultiXML(const char *arch,
                     const char *name,
                     unsigned int *count)
 {
-    char xml[PATH_MAX];
+    char *xml = NULL;
     xmlDocPtr doc = NULL;
     xmlXPathContextPtr ctxt = NULL;
     xmlNodePtr *nodes = NULL;
@@ -125,9 +124,8 @@ cpuTestLoadMultiXML(const char *arch,
     int n;
     int i;
 
-    snprintf(xml, PATH_MAX,
-             "%s/cputestdata/%s-%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, arch, name);
+    if (virAsprintf(&xml, "%s/cputestdata/%s-%s.xml", abs_srcdir, arch, name) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
 
     if (!(doc = virXMLParseFile(xml)) ||
         !(ctxt = xmlXPathNewContext(doc)))
@@ -149,6 +147,7 @@ cpuTestLoadMultiXML(const char *arch,
     *count = n;
 
 cleanup:
+    free(xml);
     free(nodes);
     xmlXPathFreeContext(ctxt);
     xmlFreeDoc(doc);
@@ -170,17 +169,16 @@ cpuTestCompareXML(const char *arch,
                   const virCPUDefPtr cpu,
                   const char *name)
 {
-    char xml[PATH_MAX];
-    char expected[MAX_FILE];
-    char *expectedPtr = &(expected[0]);
+    char *xml = NULL;
+    char *expected = NULL;
     char *actual = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
 
-    snprintf(xml, PATH_MAX,
-             "%s/cputestdata/%s-%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, arch, name);
+    if (virAsprintf(&xml, "%s/cputestdata/%s-%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, arch, name) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &expectedPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &expected) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
     if (!(actual = virCPUDefFormat(cpu, NULL, 0)))
@@ -194,6 +192,8 @@ cpuTestCompareXML(const char *arch,
     ret = 0;
 
 cleanup:
+    free(xml);
+    free(expected);
     free(actual);
     return ret;
 }
@@ -333,7 +333,7 @@ cpuTestBaseline(const void *arg)
     virCPUDefPtr *cpus = NULL;
     virCPUDefPtr baseline = NULL;
     unsigned int ncpus = 0;
-    char result[PATH_MAX];
+    char *result = NULL;
     unsigned int i;
 
     if (!(cpus = cpuTestLoadMultiXML(data->arch, data->name, &ncpus)))
@@ -353,7 +353,9 @@ cpuTestBaseline(const void *arg)
     if (!baseline)
         goto cleanup;
 
-    snprintf(result, PATH_MAX, "%s-result", data->name);
+    if (virAsprintf(&result, "%s-result", data->name) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
+
     if (cpuTestCompareXML(data->arch, baseline, result) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
@@ -382,6 +384,7 @@ cleanup:
         free(cpus);
     }
     virCPUDefFree(baseline);
+    free(result);
     return ret;
 }
 
@@ -393,7 +396,7 @@ cpuTestUpdate(const void *arg)
     int ret = -1;
     virCPUDefPtr host = NULL;
     virCPUDefPtr cpu = NULL;
-    char result[PATH_MAX];
+    char *result = NULL;
 
     if (!(host = cpuTestLoadXML(data->arch, data->host)) ||
         !(cpu = cpuTestLoadXML(data->arch, data->name)))
@@ -402,12 +405,15 @@ cpuTestUpdate(const void *arg)
     if (cpuUpdate(cpu, host) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
-    snprintf(result, PATH_MAX, "%s+%s", data->host, data->name);
+    if (virAsprintf(&result, "%s+%s", data->host, data->name) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
+
     ret = cpuTestCompareXML(data->arch, cpu, result);
 
 cleanup:
     virCPUDefFree(host);
     virCPUDefFree(cpu);
+    free(result);
     return ret;
 }
 
@@ -465,10 +471,10 @@ static int (*cpuTest[])(const void *) = {
 static int
 cpuTestRun(const char *name, const struct data *data)
 {
-    char label[PATH_MAX];
+    char *label = NULL;
 
-    snprintf(label, PATH_MAX, "CPU %s(%s): %s",
-             apis[data->api], data->arch, name);
+    if (virAsprintf(&label, "CPU %s(%s): %s", apis[data->api], data->arch, name) < 0)
+        return -1;
 
     free(virtTestLogContentAndReset());
 
@@ -480,9 +486,12 @@ cpuTestRun(const char *name, const struct data *data)
                 fprintf(stderr, "\n%s\n", log);
             free(log);
         }
+
+        free(label);
         return -1;
     }
 
+    free(label);
     return 0;
 }
 
@@ -495,15 +504,17 @@ static int
 mymain(void)
 {
     int ret = 0;
-    char map[PATH_MAX];
+    char *map = NULL;
 
     abs_top_srcdir = getenv("abs_top_srcdir");
     if (!abs_top_srcdir)
         abs_top_srcdir = "..";
 
-    snprintf(map, PATH_MAX, "%s/src/cpu/cpu_map.xml", abs_top_srcdir);
-    if (cpuMapOverride(map) < 0)
+    if (virAsprintf(&map, "%s/src/cpu/cpu_map.xml", abs_top_srcdir) < 0 ||
+        cpuMapOverride(map) < 0) {
+        free(map);
         return EXIT_FAILURE;
+    }
 
 #define DO_TEST(arch, api, name, host, cpu,                             \
                 models, nmodels, preferred, result)                     \
@@ -613,6 +624,7 @@ mymain(void)
     DO_TEST_GUESTDATA("x86", "host", "guest", models, "qemu64", 0);
     DO_TEST_GUESTDATA("x86", "host", "guest", nomodel, NULL, -1);
 
+    free(map);
     return (ret == 0 ? EXIT_SUCCESS : EXIT_FAILURE);
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/esxutilstest.c b/tests/esxutilstest.c
index 830f79c86..2b365358f 100644
--- a/tests/esxutilstest.c
+++ b/tests/esxutilstest.c
@@ -273,6 +273,7 @@ testEscapeDatastoreItem(const void *data ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED)
         }
     }
 
+    VIR_FREE(escaped);
     return 0;
 }
 
@@ -314,6 +315,7 @@ testConvertWindows1252ToUTF8(const void *data ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED)
         }
     }
 
+    VIR_FREE(utf8);
     return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/interfacexml2xmltest.c b/tests/interfacexml2xmltest.c
index fb454c1d9..dc08ea794 100644
--- a/tests/interfacexml2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/interfacexml2xmltest.c
@@ -13,17 +13,16 @@
 #include "interface_conf.h"
 #include "testutilsqemu.h"
 
-#define MAX_FILE 4096
 
-
-static int testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *xml) {
-    char xmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *xmlPtr = &(xmlData[0]);
+static int
+testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *xml)
+{
+    char *xmlData = NULL;
     char *actual = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
     virInterfaceDefPtr dev = NULL;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlData) < 0)
         goto fail;
 
     if (!(dev = virInterfaceDefParseString(xmlData)))
@@ -40,16 +39,26 @@ static int testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *xml) {
     ret = 0;
 
  fail:
+    free(xmlData);
     free(actual);
     virInterfaceDefFree(dev);
     return ret;
 }
 
-static int testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data) {
-    char xml[PATH_MAX];
-    snprintf(xml, PATH_MAX, "%s/interfaceschemadata/%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, (const char*)data);
-    return testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(xml);
+static int
+testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
+{
+    int result = -1;
+    char *xml = NULL;
+
+    if (virAsprintf(&xml, "%s/interfaceschemadata/%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, (const char*)data) < 0)
+        return -1;
+
+    result = testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(xml);
+
+    free (xml);
+    return result;
 }
 
 
diff --git a/tests/networkxml2xmltest.c b/tests/networkxml2xmltest.c
index f7489f5db..468785b7f 100644
--- a/tests/networkxml2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/networkxml2xmltest.c
@@ -13,21 +13,18 @@
 #include "network_conf.h"
 #include "testutilsqemu.h"
 
-#define MAX_FILE 4096
-
-
-static int testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *inxml, const char *outxml) {
-    char inXmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *inXmlPtr = &(inXmlData[0]);
-    char outXmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *outXmlPtr = &(outXmlData[0]);
+static int
+testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *inxml, const char *outxml)
+{
+    char *inXmlData = NULL;
+    char *outXmlData = NULL;
     char *actual = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
     virNetworkDefPtr dev = NULL;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(inxml, &inXmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(inxml, &inXmlData) < 0)
         goto fail;
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(outxml, &outXmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(outxml, &outXmlData) < 0)
         goto fail;
 
     if (!(dev = virNetworkDefParseString(inXmlData)))
@@ -44,21 +41,35 @@ static int testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *inxml, const char *outxml) {
     ret = 0;
 
  fail:
+    free(inXmlData);
+    free(outXmlData);
     free(actual);
     virNetworkDefFree(dev);
     return ret;
 }
 
-static int testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data) {
-    char inxml[PATH_MAX];
-    char outxml[PATH_MAX];
-    snprintf(inxml, PATH_MAX, "%s/networkxml2xmlin/%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, (const char*)data);
-    snprintf(outxml, PATH_MAX, "%s/networkxml2xmlout/%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, (const char*)data);
-    return testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(inxml, outxml);
-}
+static int
+testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
+{
+    int result = -1;
+    char *inxml = NULL;
+    char *outxml = NULL;
+
+    if (virAsprintf(&inxml, "%s/networkxml2xmlin/%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, (const char*)data) < 0 ||
+        virAsprintf(&outxml, "%s/networkxml2xmlout/%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, (const char*)data) < 0) {
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+
+    result = testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(inxml, outxml);
 
+cleanup:
+    free(inxml);
+    free(outxml);
+
+    return result;
+}
 
 static int
 mymain(void)
diff --git a/tests/nodedevxml2xmltest.c b/tests/nodedevxml2xmltest.c
index f6a1335a5..d0deaebb6 100644
--- a/tests/nodedevxml2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/nodedevxml2xmltest.c
@@ -13,17 +13,15 @@
 #include "node_device_conf.h"
 #include "testutilsqemu.h"
 
-#define MAX_FILE 4096
-
-
-static int testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *xml) {
-    char xmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *xmlPtr = &(xmlData[0]);
+static int
+testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *xml)
+{
+    char *xmlData = NULL;
     char *actual = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
     virNodeDeviceDefPtr dev = NULL;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlData) < 0)
         goto fail;
 
     if (!(dev = virNodeDeviceDefParseString(xmlData, EXISTING_DEVICE)))
@@ -40,16 +38,26 @@ static int testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *xml) {
     ret = 0;
 
  fail:
+    free(xmlData);
     free(actual);
     virNodeDeviceDefFree(dev);
     return ret;
 }
 
-static int testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data) {
-    char xml[PATH_MAX];
-    snprintf(xml, PATH_MAX, "%s/nodedevschemadata/%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, (const char*)data);
-    return testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(xml);
+static int
+testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
+{
+    int result = -1;
+    char *xml = NULL;
+
+    if (virAsprintf(&xml, "%s/nodedevschemadata/%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, (const char*)data) < 0)
+        return -1;
+
+    result = testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(xml);
+
+    free(xml);
+    return result;
 }
 
 
diff --git a/tests/nodeinfotest.c b/tests/nodeinfotest.c
index 9a87dc09c..b4e81b384 100644
--- a/tests/nodeinfotest.c
+++ b/tests/nodeinfotest.c
@@ -21,24 +21,24 @@ mymain(int argc ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED, char **argv ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED)
 
 #else
 
-# define MAX_FILE 4096
-
 extern int linuxNodeInfoCPUPopulate(FILE *cpuinfo, virNodeInfoPtr nodeinfo,
                                     bool need_hyperthreads);
 
-static int linuxTestCompareFiles(const char *cpuinfofile, const char *outputfile) {
-    char actualData[MAX_FILE];
-    char expectData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *expect = &expectData[0];
+static int
+linuxTestCompareFiles(const char *cpuinfofile, const char *outputfile)
+{
+    int ret = -1;
+    char *actualData = NULL;
+    char *expectData = NULL;
     virNodeInfo nodeinfo;
     FILE *cpuinfo;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(outputfile, &expect, MAX_FILE) < 0)
-        return -1;
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(outputfile, &expectData) < 0)
+        goto fail;
 
     cpuinfo = fopen(cpuinfofile, "r");
     if (!cpuinfo)
-        return -1;
+        goto fail;
 
     memset(&nodeinfo, 0, sizeof(nodeinfo));
     if (linuxNodeInfoCPUPopulate(cpuinfo, &nodeinfo, false) < 0) {
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ static int linuxTestCompareFiles(const char *cpuinfofile, const char *outputfile
             virFreeError(error);
         }
         VIR_FORCE_FCLOSE(cpuinfo);
-        return -1;
+        goto fail;
     }
     VIR_FORCE_FCLOSE(cpuinfo);
 
@@ -58,30 +58,49 @@ static int linuxTestCompareFiles(const char *cpuinfofile, const char *outputfile
      * so blank it to a predictable value */
     nodeinfo.nodes = 1;
 
-    snprintf(actualData, MAX_FILE,
-             "CPUs: %u, MHz: %u, Nodes: %u, Cores: %u\n",
-             nodeinfo.cpus, nodeinfo.mhz, nodeinfo.nodes, nodeinfo.cores);
+    if (virAsprintf(&actualData, "CPUs: %u, MHz: %u, Nodes: %u, Cores: %u\n",
+                    nodeinfo.cpus, nodeinfo.mhz, nodeinfo.nodes,
+                    nodeinfo.cores) < 0)
+        goto fail;
 
     if (STRNEQ(actualData, expectData)) {
         if (getenv("DEBUG_TESTS")) {
             printf("Expect %d '%s'\n", (int)strlen(expectData), expectData);
             printf("Actual %d '%s'\n", (int)strlen(actualData), actualData);
         }
-        return -1;
+        goto fail;
     }
 
-    return 0;
+    ret = 0;
+
+fail:
+    free(expectData);
+    free(actualData);
+    return ret;
 }
 
 
-static int linuxTestNodeInfo(const void *data) {
-    char cpuinfo[PATH_MAX];
-    char output[PATH_MAX];
-    snprintf(cpuinfo, PATH_MAX, "%s/nodeinfodata/linux-%s.cpuinfo",
-             abs_srcdir, (const char*)data);
-    snprintf(output, PATH_MAX, "%s/nodeinfodata/linux-%s.txt",
-             abs_srcdir, (const char*)data);
-    return linuxTestCompareFiles(cpuinfo, output);
+static int
+linuxTestNodeInfo(const void *data)
+{
+    int result = -1;
+    char *cpuinfo = NULL;
+    char *output = NULL;
+
+    if (virAsprintf(&cpuinfo, "%s/nodeinfodata/linux-%s.cpuinfo",
+                    abs_srcdir, (const char*)data) < 0 ||
+        virAsprintf(&output, "%s/nodeinfodata/linux-%s.txt",
+                    abs_srcdir, (const char*)data) < 0) {
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+
+    result = linuxTestCompareFiles(cpuinfo, output);
+
+cleanup:
+    free(cpuinfo);
+    free(output);
+
+    return result;
 }
 
 
diff --git a/tests/nwfilterxml2xmltest.c b/tests/nwfilterxml2xmltest.c
index a1f57fab5..49c6b9926 100644
--- a/tests/nwfilterxml2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/nwfilterxml2xmltest.c
@@ -16,23 +16,19 @@
 #include "nwfilter_conf.h"
 #include "testutilsqemu.h"
 
-#define MAX_FILE 4096
-
-
-static int testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *inxml,
-                                    const char *outxml,
-                                    bool expect_error) {
-    char inXmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *inXmlPtr = &(inXmlData[0]);
-    char outXmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *outXmlPtr = &(outXmlData[0]);
+static int
+testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *inxml, const char *outxml,
+                         bool expect_error)
+{
+    char *inXmlData = NULL;
+    char *outXmlData = NULL;
     char *actual = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
     virNWFilterDefPtr dev = NULL;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(inxml, &inXmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(inxml, &inXmlData) < 0)
         goto fail;
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(outxml, &outXmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(outxml, &outXmlData) < 0)
         goto fail;
 
     virResetLastError();
@@ -59,6 +55,8 @@ static int testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *inxml,
     ret = 0;
 
  fail:
+    free(inXmlData);
+    free(outXmlData);
     free(actual);
     virNWFilterDefFree(dev);
     return ret;
@@ -69,17 +67,29 @@ typedef struct test_parms {
     bool expect_warning;
 } test_parms;
 
-static int testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data) {
+static int
+testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
+{
+    int result = -1;
     const test_parms *tp = data;
-    char inxml[PATH_MAX];
-    char outxml[PATH_MAX];
-    snprintf(inxml, PATH_MAX, "%s/nwfilterxml2xmlin/%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, tp->name);
-    snprintf(outxml, PATH_MAX, "%s/nwfilterxml2xmlout/%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, tp->name);
-    return testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(inxml, outxml, tp->expect_warning);
-}
+    char *inxml = NULL;
+    char *outxml = NULL;
+
+    if (virAsprintf(&inxml, "%s/nwfilterxml2xmlin/%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, tp->name) < 0 ||
+        virAsprintf(&outxml, "%s/nwfilterxml2xmlout/%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, tp->name) < 0) {
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+
+    result = testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(inxml, outxml, tp->expect_warning);
 
+cleanup:
+    free(inxml);
+    free(outxml);
+
+    return result;
+}
 
 static int
 mymain(void)
diff --git a/tests/qemuargv2xmltest.c b/tests/qemuargv2xmltest.c
index 60dce460f..db68b60e0 100644
--- a/tests/qemuargv2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/qemuargv2xmltest.c
@@ -18,8 +18,6 @@
 
 static struct qemud_driver driver;
 
-# define MAX_FILE 4096
-
 static int blankProblemElements(char *data)
 {
     if (virtTestClearLineRegex("<name>[[:alnum:]]+</name>", data) < 0 ||
@@ -35,18 +33,16 @@ static int blankProblemElements(char *data)
 static int testCompareXMLToArgvFiles(const char *xml,
                                      const char *cmdfile,
                                      bool expect_warning) {
-    char xmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char cmdData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *expectxml = &(xmlData[0]);
+    char *expectxml = NULL;
     char *actualxml = NULL;
-    char *cmd = &(cmdData[0]);
+    char *cmd = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
     virDomainDefPtr vmdef = NULL;
     char *log;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(cmdfile, &cmd, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(cmdfile, &cmd) < 0)
         goto fail;
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &expectxml, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &expectxml) < 0)
         goto fail;
 
     if (!(vmdef = qemuParseCommandLineString(driver.caps, cmd)))
@@ -75,7 +71,9 @@ static int testCompareXMLToArgvFiles(const char *xml,
     ret = 0;
 
  fail:
+    free(expectxml);
     free(actualxml);
+    free(cmd);
     virDomainDefFree(vmdef);
     return ret;
 }
@@ -87,15 +85,26 @@ struct testInfo {
     const char *migrateFrom;
 };
 
-static int testCompareXMLToArgvHelper(const void *data) {
+static int
+testCompareXMLToArgvHelper(const void *data)
+{
+    int result = -1;
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
-    char xml[PATH_MAX];
-    char args[PATH_MAX];
-    snprintf(xml, PATH_MAX, "%s/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, info->name);
-    snprintf(args, PATH_MAX, "%s/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-%s.args",
-             abs_srcdir, info->name);
-    return testCompareXMLToArgvFiles(xml, args, !!info->extraFlags);
+    char *xml = NULL;
+    char *args = NULL;
+
+    if (virAsprintf(&xml, "%s/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, info->name) < 0 ||
+        virAsprintf(&args, "%s/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-%s.args",
+                    abs_srcdir, info->name) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
+
+    result = testCompareXMLToArgvFiles(xml, args, !!info->extraFlags);
+
+cleanup:
+    free(xml);
+    free(args);
+    return result;
 }
 
 
diff --git a/tests/qemuhelptest.c b/tests/qemuhelptest.c
index 792b5ab7f..252239648 100644
--- a/tests/qemuhelptest.c
+++ b/tests/qemuhelptest.c
@@ -9,8 +9,6 @@
 # include "qemu/qemu_capabilities.h"
 # include "memory.h"
 
-# define MAX_HELP_OUTPUT_SIZE 1024*64
-
 struct testInfo {
     const char *name;
     virBitmapPtr flags;
@@ -38,8 +36,7 @@ static int testHelpStrParsing(const void *data)
 {
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
     char *path = NULL;
-    char helpStr[MAX_HELP_OUTPUT_SIZE];
-    char *help = &(helpStr[0]);
+    char *help = NULL;
     unsigned int version, is_kvm, kvm_version;
     virBitmapPtr flags = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
@@ -49,7 +46,7 @@ static int testHelpStrParsing(const void *data)
     if (virAsprintf(&path, "%s/qemuhelpdata/%s", abs_srcdir, info->name) < 0)
         return -1;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(path, &help, MAX_HELP_OUTPUT_SIZE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(path, &help) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
     if (!(flags = qemuCapsNew()))
@@ -61,11 +58,12 @@ static int testHelpStrParsing(const void *data)
 
     if (qemuCapsGet(info->flags, QEMU_CAPS_DEVICE)) {
         VIR_FREE(path);
+        VIR_FREE(help);
         if (virAsprintf(&path, "%s/qemuhelpdata/%s-device", abs_srcdir,
                         info->name) < 0)
             goto cleanup;
 
-        if (virtTestLoadFile(path, &help, MAX_HELP_OUTPUT_SIZE) < 0)
+        if (virtTestLoadFile(path, &help) < 0)
             goto cleanup;
 
         if (qemuCapsParseDeviceStr(help, flags) < 0)
@@ -111,6 +109,7 @@ static int testHelpStrParsing(const void *data)
     ret = 0;
 cleanup:
     VIR_FREE(path);
+    VIR_FREE(help);
     qemuCapsFree(flags);
     VIR_FREE(got);
     VIR_FREE(expected);
diff --git a/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c b/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
index ebde3a1b8..a7e4cc035 100644
--- a/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
+++ b/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
@@ -22,16 +22,14 @@
 static const char *abs_top_srcdir;
 static struct qemud_driver driver;
 
-# define MAX_FILE 4096
-
 static int testCompareXMLToArgvFiles(const char *xml,
                                      const char *cmdline,
                                      virBitmapPtr extraFlags,
                                      const char *migrateFrom,
                                      int migrateFd,
-                                     bool expectError) {
-    char argvData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *expectargv = &(argvData[0]);
+                                     bool expectError)
+{
+    char *expectargv = NULL;
     int len;
     char *actualargv = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
@@ -45,7 +43,7 @@ static int testCompareXMLToArgvFiles(const char *xml,
     if (!(conn = virGetConnect()))
         goto fail;
 
-    len = virtTestLoadFile(cmdline, &expectargv, MAX_FILE);
+    len = virtTestLoadFile(cmdline, &expectargv);
     if (len < 0)
         goto fail;
     if (len && expectargv[len - 1] == '\n')
@@ -156,6 +154,7 @@ static int testCompareXMLToArgvFiles(const char *xml,
  fail:
     free(log);
     free(emulator);
+    free(expectargv);
     free(actualargv);
     virCommandFree(cmd);
     virDomainDefFree(vmdef);
@@ -172,17 +171,28 @@ struct testInfo {
     bool expectError;
 };
 
-static int testCompareXMLToArgvHelper(const void *data) {
+static int
+testCompareXMLToArgvHelper(const void *data)
+{
+    int result = -1;
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
-    char xml[PATH_MAX];
-    char args[PATH_MAX];
-    snprintf(xml, PATH_MAX, "%s/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, info->name);
-    snprintf(args, PATH_MAX, "%s/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-%s.args",
-             abs_srcdir, info->name);
-    return testCompareXMLToArgvFiles(xml, args, info->extraFlags,
-                                     info->migrateFrom, info->migrateFd,
-                                     info->expectError);
+    char *xml = NULL;
+    char *args = NULL;
+
+    if (virAsprintf(&xml, "%s/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, info->name) < 0 ||
+        virAsprintf(&args, "%s/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-%s.args",
+                    abs_srcdir, info->name) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
+
+    result = testCompareXMLToArgvFiles(xml, args, info->extraFlags,
+                                      info->migrateFrom, info->migrateFd,
+                                      info->expectError);
+
+cleanup:
+    free(xml);
+    free(args);
+    return result;
 }
 
 
@@ -191,7 +201,7 @@ static int
 mymain(void)
 {
     int ret = 0;
-    char map[PATH_MAX];
+    char *map = NULL;
 
     abs_top_srcdir = getenv("abs_top_srcdir");
     if (!abs_top_srcdir)
@@ -210,10 +220,11 @@ mymain(void)
         return EXIT_FAILURE;
     if (!(driver.spicePassword = strdup("123456")))
         return EXIT_FAILURE;
-
-    snprintf(map, PATH_MAX, "%s/src/cpu/cpu_map.xml", abs_top_srcdir);
-    if (cpuMapOverride(map) < 0)
+    if (virAsprintf(&map, "%s/src/cpu/cpu_map.xml", abs_top_srcdir) < 0 ||
+        cpuMapOverride(map) < 0) {
+        free(map);
         return EXIT_FAILURE;
+    }
 
 # define DO_TEST_FULL(name, migrateFrom, migrateFd, expectError, ...)   \
     do {                                                                \
@@ -484,6 +495,7 @@ mymain(void)
 
     free(driver.stateDir);
     virCapabilitiesFree(driver.caps);
+    free(map);
 
     return(ret==0 ? EXIT_SUCCESS : EXIT_FAILURE);
 }
diff --git a/tests/qemuxml2xmltest.c b/tests/qemuxml2xmltest.c
index 6f51d1e06..5bfbcabb2 100644
--- a/tests/qemuxml2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/qemuxml2xmltest.c
@@ -17,21 +17,18 @@
 
 static struct qemud_driver driver;
 
-# define MAX_FILE 4096
-
-
-static int testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *inxml, const char *outxml) {
-    char inXmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *inXmlPtr = &(inXmlData[0]);
-    char outXmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *outXmlPtr = &(outXmlData[0]);
+static int
+testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *inxml, const char *outxml)
+{
+    char *inXmlData = NULL;
+    char *outXmlData = NULL;
     char *actual = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
     virDomainDefPtr def = NULL;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(inxml, &inXmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(inxml, &inXmlData) < 0)
         goto fail;
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(outxml, &outXmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(outxml, &outXmlData) < 0)
         goto fail;
 
     if (!(def = virDomainDefParseString(driver.caps, inXmlData,
@@ -49,6 +46,8 @@ static int testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *inxml, const char *outxml) {
 
     ret = 0;
  fail:
+    free(inXmlData);
+    free(outXmlData);
     free(actual);
     virDomainDefFree(def);
     return ret;
@@ -59,16 +58,19 @@ struct testInfo {
     int different;
 };
 
-static int testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data) {
+static int
+testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
+{
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
-    char xml_in[PATH_MAX];
-    char xml_out[PATH_MAX];
-    int ret;
+    char *xml_in = NULL;
+    char *xml_out = NULL;
+    int ret = -1;
 
-    snprintf(xml_in, PATH_MAX, "%s/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, info->name);
-    snprintf(xml_out, PATH_MAX, "%s/qemuxml2xmloutdata/qemuxml2xmlout-%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, info->name);
+    if (virAsprintf(&xml_in, "%s/qemuxml2argvdata/qemuxml2argv-%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, info->name) < 0 ||
+        virAsprintf(&xml_out, "%s/qemuxml2xmloutdata/qemuxml2xmlout-%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, info->name) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
 
     if (info->different) {
         ret = testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(xml_in, xml_out);
@@ -76,6 +78,9 @@ static int testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data) {
         ret = testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(xml_in, xml_in);
     }
 
+cleanup:
+    free(xml_in);
+    free(xml_out);
     return ret;
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/sexpr2xmltest.c b/tests/sexpr2xmltest.c
index 091943553..f46510566 100644
--- a/tests/sexpr2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/sexpr2xmltest.c
@@ -15,15 +15,12 @@
 
 static virCapsPtr caps;
 
-#define MAX_FILE 4096
-
-static int testCompareFiles(const char *xml, const char *sexpr,
-                            int xendConfigVersion) {
-  char xmlData[MAX_FILE];
-  char sexprData[MAX_FILE];
+static int
+testCompareFiles(const char *xml, const char *sexpr, int xendConfigVersion)
+{
+  char *xmlData = NULL;
+  char *sexprData = NULL;
   char *gotxml = NULL;
-  char *xmlPtr = &(xmlData[0]);
-  char *sexprPtr = &(sexprData[0]);
   int id;
   char * tty;
   int vncport;
@@ -36,10 +33,10 @@ static int testCompareFiles(const char *xml, const char *sexpr,
   conn = virGetConnect();
   if (!conn) goto fail;
 
-  if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+  if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlData) < 0)
       goto fail;
 
-  if (virtTestLoadFile(sexpr, &sexprPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+  if (virtTestLoadFile(sexpr, &sexprData) < 0)
       goto fail;
 
   memset(&priv, 0, sizeof priv);
@@ -70,6 +67,8 @@ static int testCompareFiles(const char *xml, const char *sexpr,
   ret = 0;
 
  fail:
+  free(xmlData);
+  free(sexprData);
   free(gotxml);
   virDomainDefFree(def);
   if (conn)
@@ -84,17 +83,29 @@ struct testInfo {
     int version;
 };
 
-static int testCompareHelper(const void *data) {
+static int
+testCompareHelper(const void *data)
+{
+    int result = -1;
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
-    char xml[PATH_MAX];
-    char args[PATH_MAX];
-    snprintf(xml, PATH_MAX, "%s/sexpr2xmldata/sexpr2xml-%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, info->input);
-    snprintf(args, PATH_MAX, "%s/sexpr2xmldata/sexpr2xml-%s.sexpr",
-             abs_srcdir, info->output);
-    return testCompareFiles(xml, args, info->version);
-}
+    char *xml = NULL;
+    char *args = NULL;
+
+    if (virAsprintf(&xml, "%s/sexpr2xmldata/sexpr2xml-%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, info->input) < 0 ||
+        virAsprintf(&args, "%s/sexpr2xmldata/sexpr2xml-%s.sexpr",
+                    abs_srcdir, info->output) < 0) {
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+
+    result = testCompareFiles(xml, args, info->version);
 
+cleanup:
+    free(xml);
+    free(args);
+
+    return result;
+}
 
 static int
 mymain(void)
diff --git a/tests/storagepoolxml2xmltest.c b/tests/storagepoolxml2xmltest.c
index 6641153f5..f2c178065 100644
--- a/tests/storagepoolxml2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/storagepoolxml2xmltest.c
@@ -13,21 +13,18 @@
 #include "storage_conf.h"
 #include "testutilsqemu.h"
 
-#define MAX_FILE 4096
-
-
-static int testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *inxml, const char *outxml) {
-    char inXmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *inXmlPtr = &(inXmlData[0]);
-    char outXmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *outXmlPtr = &(outXmlData[0]);
+static int
+testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *inxml, const char *outxml)
+{
+    char *inXmlData = NULL;
+    char *outXmlData = NULL;
     char *actual = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
     virStoragePoolDefPtr dev = NULL;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(inxml, &inXmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(inxml, &inXmlData) < 0)
         goto fail;
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(outxml, &outXmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(outxml, &outXmlData) < 0)
         goto fail;
 
     if (!(dev = virStoragePoolDefParseString(inXmlData)))
@@ -44,21 +41,35 @@ static int testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *inxml, const char *outxml) {
     ret = 0;
 
  fail:
+    free(inXmlData);
+    free(outXmlData);
     free(actual);
     virStoragePoolDefFree(dev);
     return ret;
 }
 
-static int testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data) {
-    char inxml[PATH_MAX];
-    char outxml[PATH_MAX];
-    snprintf(inxml, PATH_MAX, "%s/storagepoolxml2xmlin/%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, (const char*)data);
-    snprintf(outxml, PATH_MAX, "%s/storagepoolxml2xmlout/%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, (const char*)data);
-    return testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(inxml, outxml);
-}
+static int
+testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
+{
+    int result = -1;
+    char *inxml = NULL;
+    char *outxml = NULL;
+
+    if (virAsprintf(&inxml, "%s/storagepoolxml2xmlin/%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, (const char*)data) < 0 ||
+        virAsprintf(&outxml, "%s/storagepoolxml2xmlout/%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, (const char*)data) < 0) {
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+
+    result = testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(inxml, outxml);
 
+cleanup:
+    free(inxml);
+    free(outxml);
+
+    return result;
+}
 
 static int
 mymain(void)
diff --git a/tests/storagevolxml2xmltest.c b/tests/storagevolxml2xmltest.c
index 0cd57af26..c8dddbb71 100644
--- a/tests/storagevolxml2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/storagevolxml2xmltest.c
@@ -13,28 +13,23 @@
 #include "storage_conf.h"
 #include "testutilsqemu.h"
 
-#define MAX_FILE 4096
-
-
-static int testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *poolxml,
-                                    const char *inxml,
-                                    const char *outxml) {
-    char poolXmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *poolXmlPtr = &(poolXmlData[0]);
-    char inXmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *inXmlPtr = &(inXmlData[0]);
-    char outXmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *outXmlPtr = &(outXmlData[0]);
+static int
+testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *poolxml, const char *inxml,
+                         const char *outxml)
+{
+    char *poolXmlData = NULL;
+    char *inXmlData = NULL;
+    char *outXmlData = NULL;
     char *actual = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
     virStoragePoolDefPtr pool = NULL;
     virStorageVolDefPtr dev = NULL;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(poolxml, &poolXmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(poolxml, &poolXmlData) < 0)
         goto fail;
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(inxml, &inXmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(inxml, &inXmlData) < 0)
         goto fail;
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(outxml, &outXmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(outxml, &outXmlData) < 0)
         goto fail;
 
     if (!(pool = virStoragePoolDefParseString(poolXmlData)))
@@ -54,6 +49,9 @@ static int testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *poolxml,
     ret = 0;
 
  fail:
+    free(poolXmlData);
+    free(inXmlData);
+    free(outXmlData);
     free(actual);
     virStoragePoolDefFree(pool);
     virStorageVolDefFree(dev);
@@ -65,19 +63,32 @@ struct testInfo {
     const char *name;
 };
 
-static int testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data) {
-    char poolxml[PATH_MAX];
-    char inxml[PATH_MAX];
-    char outxml[PATH_MAX];
+static int
+testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
+{
+    int result = -1;
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
+    char *poolxml = NULL;
+    char *inxml = NULL;
+    char *outxml = NULL;
+
+    if (virAsprintf(&poolxml, "%s/storagepoolxml2xmlin/%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, info->pool) < 0 ||
+        virAsprintf(&inxml, "%s/storagevolxml2xmlin/%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, info->name) < 0 ||
+        virAsprintf(&outxml, "%s/storagevolxml2xmlout/%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, info->name) < 0) {
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+
+    result = testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(poolxml, inxml, outxml);
+
+cleanup:
+    free(poolxml);
+    free(inxml);
+    free(outxml);
 
-    snprintf(poolxml, PATH_MAX, "%s/storagepoolxml2xmlin/%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, (const char*)info->pool);
-    snprintf(inxml, PATH_MAX, "%s/storagevolxml2xmlin/%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, (const char*)info->name);
-    snprintf(outxml, PATH_MAX, "%s/storagevolxml2xmlout/%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, (const char*)info->name);
-    return testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(poolxml, inxml, outxml);
+    return result;
 }
 
 
diff --git a/tests/testutils.c b/tests/testutils.c
index 58b027521..bc896906f 100644
--- a/tests/testutils.c
+++ b/tests/testutils.c
@@ -173,17 +173,16 @@ virtTestRun(const char *title, int nloops, int (*body)(const void *data), const
     return ret;
 }
 
-/* Read FILE into buffer BUF of length BUFLEN.
-   Upon any failure, or if FILE appears to contain more than BUFLEN bytes,
-   diagnose it and return -1, but don't bother trying to preserve errno.
-   Otherwise, return the number of bytes copied into BUF. */
-int virtTestLoadFile(const char *file,
-                     char **buf,
-                     int buflen) {
+/* Allocate BUF to the size of FILE. Read FILE into buffer BUF.
+   Upon any failure, diagnose it and return -1, but don't bother trying
+   to preserve errno. Otherwise, return the number of bytes copied into BUF. */
+int
+virtTestLoadFile(const char *file, char **buf)
+{
     FILE *fp = fopen(file, "r");
     struct stat st;
-    char *tmp = *buf;
-    int len, tmplen = buflen;
+    char *tmp;
+    int len, tmplen, buflen;
 
     if (!fp) {
         fprintf (stderr, "%s: failed to open: %s\n", file, strerror(errno));
@@ -196,17 +195,23 @@ int virtTestLoadFile(const char *file,
         return -1;
     }
 
-    if (st.st_size > (buflen-1)) {
-        fprintf (stderr, "%s: larger than buffer (> %d)\n", file, buflen-1);
+    tmplen = buflen = st.st_size + 1;
+
+    if (VIR_ALLOC_N(*buf, buflen) < 0) {
+        fprintf (stderr, "%s: larger than available memory (> %d)\n", file, buflen);
         VIR_FORCE_FCLOSE(fp);
         return -1;
     }
 
+    tmp = *buf;
     (*buf)[0] = '\0';
     if (st.st_size) {
         /* read the file line by line */
         while (fgets(tmp, tmplen, fp) != NULL) {
             len = strlen(tmp);
+            /* stop on an empty line */
+            if (len == 0)
+                break;
             /* remove trailing backslash-newline pair */
             if (len >= 2 && tmp[len-2] == '\\' && tmp[len-1] == '\n') {
                 len -= 2;
@@ -219,6 +224,7 @@ int virtTestLoadFile(const char *file,
         if (ferror(fp)) {
             fprintf (stderr, "%s: read failed: %s\n", file, strerror(errno));
             VIR_FORCE_FCLOSE(fp);
+            free(*buf);
             return -1;
         }
     }
@@ -268,10 +274,11 @@ void virtTestCaptureProgramExecChild(const char *const argv[],
     VIR_FORCE_CLOSE(stdinfd);
 }
 
-int virtTestCaptureProgramOutput(const char *const argv[],
-                                 char **buf,
-                                 int buflen) {
+int
+virtTestCaptureProgramOutput(const char *const argv[], char **buf, int maxlen)
+{
     int pipefd[2];
+    int len;
 
     if (pipe(pipefd) < 0)
         return -1;
@@ -289,34 +296,20 @@ int virtTestCaptureProgramOutput(const char *const argv[],
         return -1;
 
     default:
-        {
-            int got = 0;
-            int ret = -1;
-            int want = buflen-1;
-
-            VIR_FORCE_CLOSE(pipefd[1]);
-
-            while (want) {
-                if ((ret = read(pipefd[0], (*buf)+got, want)) <= 0)
-                    break;
-                got += ret;
-                want -= ret;
-            }
-            VIR_FORCE_CLOSE(pipefd[0]);
-
-            if (!ret)
-                (*buf)[got] = '\0';
-
-            waitpid(pid, NULL, 0);
+        VIR_FORCE_CLOSE(pipefd[1]);
+        len = virFileReadLimFD(pipefd[0], maxlen, buf);
+        VIR_FORCE_CLOSE(pipefd[0]);
+        waitpid(pid, NULL, 0);
 
-            return ret;
-        }
+        return len;
     }
 }
 #else /* !WIN32 */
-int virtTestCaptureProgramOutput(const char *const argv[] ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED,
-                                 char **buf ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED,
-                                 int buflen ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED) {
+int
+virtTestCaptureProgramOutput(const char *const argv[] ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED,
+                             char **buf ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED,
+                             int maxlen ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED)
+{
     return -1;
 }
 #endif /* !WIN32 */
diff --git a/tests/testutils.h b/tests/testutils.h
index 0ea70ee82..e8f4153c8 100644
--- a/tests/testutils.h
+++ b/tests/testutils.h
@@ -27,12 +27,8 @@ int virtTestRun(const char *title,
                 int nloops,
                 int (*body)(const void *data),
                 const void *data);
-int virtTestLoadFile(const char *name,
-                     char **buf,
-                     int buflen);
-int virtTestCaptureProgramOutput(const char *const argv[],
-                                 char **buf,
-                                 int buflen);
+int virtTestLoadFile(const char *file, char **buf);
+int virtTestCaptureProgramOutput(const char *const argv[], char **buf, int maxlen);
 
 int virtTestClearLineRegex(const char *pattern,
                            char *string);
diff --git a/tests/virshtest.c b/tests/virshtest.c
index 465d5eac5..0932efd68 100644
--- a/tests/virshtest.c
+++ b/tests/virshtest.c
@@ -6,10 +6,9 @@
 
 #include "internal.h"
 #include "xml.h"
+#include "util.h"
 #include "testutils.h"
 
-#define MAX_FILE 4096
-
 #define DOM_UUID "ef861801-45b9-11cb-88e3-afbfe5370493"
 
 static const char *dominfo_fc4 = "\
@@ -45,41 +44,31 @@ static int testFilterLine(char *buffer,
   return 0;
 }
 
-static int testCompareOutputLit(const char *expectData,
-                                const char *filter, const char *const argv[]) {
-  char actualData[MAX_FILE];
-  char *actualPtr = &(actualData[0]);
+static int
+testCompareOutputLit(const char *expectData,
+                     const char *filter, const char *const argv[])
+{
+    int result = -1;
+    char *actualData = NULL;
 
-  if (virtTestCaptureProgramOutput(argv, &actualPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
-    return -1;
+    if (virtTestCaptureProgramOutput(argv, &actualData, 4096) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
 
-  if (filter)
-    if (testFilterLine(actualData, filter) < 0)
-      return -1;
+    if (filter && testFilterLine(actualData, filter) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
 
-  if (STRNEQ(expectData, actualData)) {
-      virtTestDifference(stderr, expectData, actualData);
-      return -1;
-  }
+    if (STRNEQ(expectData, actualData)) {
+        virtTestDifference(stderr, expectData, actualData);
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
 
-  return 0;
-}
-
-#if unused
-static int testCompareOutput(const char *expect_rel, const char *filter,
-                             const char *const argv[]) {
-  char expectData[MAX_FILE];
-  char *expectPtr = &(expectData[0]);
-  char expect[PATH_MAX];
+    result = 0;
 
-  snprintf(expect, sizeof expect - 1, "%s/%s", abs_srcdir, expect_rel);
+cleanup:
+    free(actualData);
 
-  if (virtTestLoadFile(expect, &expectPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
-    return -1;
-
-  return testCompareOutputLit(expectData, filter, argv);
+    return result;
 }
-#endif
 
 #define VIRSH_DEFAULT     "../tools/virsh", \
     "--connect", \
@@ -233,16 +222,14 @@ static int
 mymain(void)
 {
     int ret = 0;
-    char buffer[PATH_MAX];
 
 #ifdef WIN32
     exit (EXIT_AM_SKIP);
 #endif
 
-    snprintf(buffer, PATH_MAX-1,
-             "test://%s/../examples/xml/test/testnode.xml", abs_srcdir);
-    buffer[PATH_MAX-1] = '\0';
-    custom_uri = buffer;
+    if (virAsprintf(&custom_uri, "test://%s/../examples/xml/test/testnode.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir) < 0)
+        return EXIT_FAILURE;
 
     if (virtTestRun("virsh list (default)",
                     1, testCompareListDefault, NULL) != 0)
@@ -394,6 +381,7 @@ mymain(void)
 
 #undef DO_TEST
 
+    free(custom_uri);
     return(ret==0 ? EXIT_SUCCESS : EXIT_FAILURE);
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/vmx2xmltest.c b/tests/vmx2xmltest.c
index 3b7e9be7c..e01e8ad03 100644
--- a/tests/vmx2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/vmx2xmltest.c
@@ -11,11 +11,9 @@
 # include "testutils.h"
 # include "vmx/vmx.h"
 
-static virCapsPtr caps = NULL;
+static virCapsPtr caps;
 static virVMXContext ctx;
 
-# define MAX_FILE 4096
-
 static void
 testCapsInit(void)
 {
@@ -69,19 +67,17 @@ static int
 testCompareFiles(const char *vmx, const char *xml)
 {
     int result = -1;
-    char vmxData[MAX_FILE];
-    char xmlData[MAX_FILE];
+    char *vmxData = NULL;
+    char *xmlData = NULL;
     char *formatted = NULL;
-    char *vmxPtr = &(vmxData[0]);
-    char *xmlPtr = &(xmlData[0]);
     virDomainDefPtr def = NULL;
     virErrorPtr err = NULL;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(vmx, &vmxPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0) {
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(vmx, &vmxData) < 0) {
         goto failure;
     }
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0) {
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlData) < 0) {
         goto failure;
     }
 
@@ -109,6 +105,8 @@ testCompareFiles(const char *vmx, const char *xml)
     result = 0;
 
   failure:
+    VIR_FREE(vmxData);
+    VIR_FREE(xmlData);
     VIR_FREE(formatted);
     virDomainDefFree(def);
 
@@ -123,16 +121,25 @@ struct testInfo {
 static int
 testCompareHelper(const void *data)
 {
+    int result = -1;
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
-    char vmx[PATH_MAX];
-    char xml[PATH_MAX];
+    char *vmx = NULL;
+    char *xml = NULL;
+
+    if (virAsprintf(&vmx, "%s/vmx2xmldata/vmx2xml-%s.vmx", abs_srcdir,
+                    info->input) < 0 ||
+        virAsprintf(&xml, "%s/vmx2xmldata/vmx2xml-%s.xml", abs_srcdir,
+                    info->output) < 0) {
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
 
-    snprintf(vmx, PATH_MAX, "%s/vmx2xmldata/vmx2xml-%s.vmx", abs_srcdir,
-             info->input);
-    snprintf(xml, PATH_MAX, "%s/vmx2xmldata/vmx2xml-%s.xml", abs_srcdir,
-             info->output);
+    result = testCompareFiles(vmx, xml);
 
-    return testCompareFiles(vmx, xml);
+  cleanup:
+    VIR_FREE(vmx);
+    VIR_FREE(xml);
+
+    return result;
 }
 
 static char *
diff --git a/tests/xencapstest.c b/tests/xencapstest.c
index 36946cf10..3f96cf2a3 100644
--- a/tests/xencapstest.c
+++ b/tests/xencapstest.c
@@ -11,32 +11,27 @@
 #include "xen/xen_hypervisor.h"
 #include "files.h"
 
-#define MAX_FILE 4096
-
-static int testCompareFiles(const char *hostmachine,
-                            const char *xml_rel,
-                            const char *cpuinfo_rel,
-                            const char *capabilities_rel) {
-  char xmlData[MAX_FILE];
-  char *expectxml = &(xmlData[0]);
+static int
+testCompareFiles(const char *hostmachine, const char *xml_rel,
+                 const char *cpuinfo_rel, const char *capabilities_rel)
+{
+  char *expectxml = NULL;
   char *actualxml = NULL;
   FILE *fp1 = NULL, *fp2 = NULL;
   virCapsPtr caps = NULL;
 
   int ret = -1;
 
-  char xml[PATH_MAX];
-  char cpuinfo[PATH_MAX];
-  char capabilities[PATH_MAX];
+  char *xml = NULL;
+  char *cpuinfo = NULL;
+  char *capabilities = NULL;
 
-  snprintf(xml, sizeof xml - 1, "%s/%s",
-           abs_srcdir, xml_rel);
-  snprintf(cpuinfo, sizeof cpuinfo - 1, "%s/%s",
-           abs_srcdir, cpuinfo_rel);
-  snprintf(capabilities, sizeof capabilities - 1, "%s/%s",
-           abs_srcdir, capabilities_rel);
+  if (virAsprintf(&xml, "%s/%s", abs_srcdir, xml_rel) < 0 ||
+      virAsprintf(&cpuinfo, "%s/%s", abs_srcdir, cpuinfo_rel) < 0 ||
+      virAsprintf(&capabilities, "%s/%s", abs_srcdir, capabilities_rel) < 0)
+      goto fail;
 
-  if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &expectxml, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+  if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &expectxml) < 0)
       goto fail;
 
   if (!(fp1 = fopen(cpuinfo, "r")))
@@ -59,8 +54,11 @@ static int testCompareFiles(const char *hostmachine,
   ret = 0;
 
  fail:
-
+  free(expectxml);
   free(actualxml);
+  free(xml);
+  free(cpuinfo);
+  free(capabilities);
   VIR_FORCE_FCLOSE(fp1);
   VIR_FORCE_FCLOSE(fp2);
 
diff --git a/tests/xmconfigtest.c b/tests/xmconfigtest.c
index 62d34880c..02a8900cc 100644
--- a/tests/xmconfigtest.c
+++ b/tests/xmconfigtest.c
@@ -38,30 +38,29 @@
 
 static virCapsPtr caps;
 
-#define MAX_FILE 4096
-
-static int testCompareParseXML(const char *xmcfg, const char *xml,
-                               int xendConfigVersion) {
-    char xmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char xmcfgData[MAX_FILE];
-    char gotxmcfgData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *xmlPtr = &(xmlData[0]);
-    char *xmcfgPtr = &(xmcfgData[0]);
-    char *gotxmcfgPtr = &(gotxmcfgData[0]);
+static int
+testCompareParseXML(const char *xmcfg, const char *xml, int xendConfigVersion)
+{
+    char *xmlData = NULL;
+    char *xmcfgData = NULL;
+    char *gotxmcfgData = NULL;
     virConfPtr conf = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
     virConnectPtr conn;
-    int wrote = MAX_FILE;
+    int wrote = 4096;
     struct _xenUnifiedPrivate priv;
     virDomainDefPtr def = NULL;
 
+    if (VIR_ALLOC_N(gotxmcfgData, wrote) < 0)
+        goto fail;
+
     conn = virGetConnect();
     if (!conn) goto fail;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlData) < 0)
         goto fail;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(xmcfg, &xmcfgPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(xmcfg, &xmcfgData) < 0)
         goto fail;
 
     /* Many puppies died to bring you this code. */
@@ -69,16 +68,16 @@ static int testCompareParseXML(const char *xmcfg, const char *xml,
     priv.caps = caps;
     conn->privateData = &priv;
 
-    if (!(def = virDomainDefParseString(caps, xmlPtr,
+    if (!(def = virDomainDefParseString(caps, xmlData,
                                         VIR_DOMAIN_XML_INACTIVE)))
         goto fail;
 
     if (!(conf = xenFormatXM(conn, def, xendConfigVersion)))
         goto fail;
 
-    if (virConfWriteMem(gotxmcfgPtr, &wrote, conf) < 0)
+    if (virConfWriteMem(gotxmcfgData, &wrote, conf) < 0)
         goto fail;
-    gotxmcfgPtr[wrote] = '\0';
+    gotxmcfgData[wrote] = '\0';
 
     if (STRNEQ(xmcfgData, gotxmcfgData)) {
         virtTestDifference(stderr, xmcfgData, gotxmcfgData);
@@ -88,6 +87,9 @@ static int testCompareParseXML(const char *xmcfg, const char *xml,
     ret = 0;
 
  fail:
+    free(xmlData);
+    free(xmcfgData);
+    free(gotxmcfgData);
     if (conf)
         virConfFree(conf);
     virDomainDefFree(def);
@@ -96,12 +98,11 @@ static int testCompareParseXML(const char *xmcfg, const char *xml,
     return ret;
 }
 
-static int testCompareFormatXML(const char *xmcfg, const char *xml,
-                                int xendConfigVersion) {
-    char xmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char xmcfgData[MAX_FILE];
-    char *xmlPtr = &(xmlData[0]);
-    char *xmcfgPtr = &(xmcfgData[0]);
+static int
+testCompareFormatXML(const char *xmcfg, const char *xml, int xendConfigVersion)
+{
+    char *xmlData = NULL;
+    char *xmcfgData = NULL;
     char *gotxml = NULL;
     virConfPtr conf = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
@@ -112,10 +113,10 @@ static int testCompareFormatXML(const char *xmcfg, const char *xml,
     conn = virGetConnect();
     if (!conn) goto fail;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlData) < 0)
         goto fail;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(xmcfg, &xmcfgPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(xmcfg, &xmcfgData) < 0)
         goto fail;
 
     /* Many puppies died to bring you this code. */
@@ -123,7 +124,7 @@ static int testCompareFormatXML(const char *xmcfg, const char *xml,
     priv.caps = caps;
     conn->privateData = &priv;
 
-    if (!(conf = virConfReadMem(xmcfgPtr, strlen(xmcfgPtr), 0)))
+    if (!(conf = virConfReadMem(xmcfgData, strlen(xmcfgData), 0)))
         goto fail;
 
     if (!(def = xenParseXM(conf, priv.xendConfigVersion, priv.caps)))
@@ -142,6 +143,8 @@ static int testCompareFormatXML(const char *xmcfg, const char *xml,
  fail:
     if (conf)
         virConfFree(conf);
+    VIR_FREE(xmlData);
+    VIR_FREE(xmcfgData);
     VIR_FREE(gotxml);
     virDomainDefFree(def);
     virUnrefConnect(conn);
@@ -156,18 +159,30 @@ struct testInfo {
     int mode;
 };
 
-static int testCompareHelper(const void *data) {
+static int
+testCompareHelper(const void *data)
+{
+    int result = -1;
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
-    char xml[PATH_MAX];
-    char cfg[PATH_MAX];
-    snprintf(xml, PATH_MAX, "%s/xmconfigdata/test-%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, info->name);
-    snprintf(cfg, PATH_MAX, "%s/xmconfigdata/test-%s.cfg",
-             abs_srcdir, info->name);
+    char *xml = NULL;
+    char *cfg = NULL;
+
+    if (virAsprintf(&xml, "%s/xmconfigdata/test-%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, info->name) < 0 ||
+        virAsprintf(&cfg, "%s/xmconfigdata/test-%s.cfg",
+                    abs_srcdir, info->name) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
+
     if (info->mode == 0)
-        return testCompareParseXML(cfg, xml, info->version);
+        result = testCompareParseXML(cfg, xml, info->version);
     else
-        return testCompareFormatXML(cfg, xml, info->version);
+        result = testCompareFormatXML(cfg, xml, info->version);
+
+cleanup:
+    free(xml);
+    free(cfg);
+
+    return result;
 }
 
 
diff --git a/tests/xml2sexprtest.c b/tests/xml2sexprtest.c
index b258c3d58..dab8c8468 100644
--- a/tests/xml2sexprtest.c
+++ b/tests/xml2sexprtest.c
@@ -16,22 +16,19 @@
 
 static virCapsPtr caps;
 
-#define MAX_FILE 4096
-
-static int testCompareFiles(const char *xml, const char *sexpr,
-                            int xendConfigVersion) {
-  char xmlData[MAX_FILE];
-  char sexprData[MAX_FILE];
+static int
+testCompareFiles(const char *xml, const char *sexpr, int xendConfigVersion)
+{
+  char *xmlData = NULL;
+  char *sexprData = NULL;
   char *gotsexpr = NULL;
-  char *xmlPtr = &(xmlData[0]);
-  char *sexprPtr = &(sexprData[0]);
   int ret = -1;
   virDomainDefPtr def = NULL;
 
-  if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+  if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlData) < 0)
       goto fail;
 
-  if (virtTestLoadFile(sexpr, &sexprPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
+  if (virtTestLoadFile(sexpr, &sexprData) < 0)
       goto fail;
 
   if (!(def = virDomainDefParseString(caps, xmlData,
@@ -49,8 +46,10 @@ static int testCompareFiles(const char *xml, const char *sexpr,
   ret = 0;
 
  fail:
-  virDomainDefFree(def);
+  free(xmlData);
+  free(sexprData);
   free(gotsexpr);
+  virDomainDefFree(def);
 
   return ret;
 }
@@ -62,17 +61,29 @@ struct testInfo {
     int version;
 };
 
-static int testCompareHelper(const void *data) {
+static int
+testCompareHelper(const void *data)
+{
+    int result = -1;
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
-    char xml[PATH_MAX];
-    char args[PATH_MAX];
-    snprintf(xml, PATH_MAX, "%s/xml2sexprdata/xml2sexpr-%s.xml",
-             abs_srcdir, info->input);
-    snprintf(args, PATH_MAX, "%s/xml2sexprdata/xml2sexpr-%s.sexpr",
-             abs_srcdir, info->output);
-    return testCompareFiles(xml, args, info->version);
-}
+    char *xml = NULL;
+    char *args = NULL;
+
+    if (virAsprintf(&xml, "%s/xml2sexprdata/xml2sexpr-%s.xml",
+                    abs_srcdir, info->input) < 0 ||
+        virAsprintf(&args, "%s/xml2sexprdata/xml2sexpr-%s.sexpr",
+                    abs_srcdir, info->output) < 0) {
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
 
+    result = testCompareFiles(xml, args, info->version);
+
+cleanup:
+    free(xml);
+    free(args);
+
+    return result;
+}
 
 static int
 mymain(void)
diff --git a/tests/xml2vmxtest.c b/tests/xml2vmxtest.c
index 6a4b795d1..efd4d7493 100644
--- a/tests/xml2vmxtest.c
+++ b/tests/xml2vmxtest.c
@@ -11,11 +11,9 @@
 # include "testutils.h"
 # include "vmx/vmx.h"
 
-static virCapsPtr caps = NULL;
+static virCapsPtr caps;
 static virVMXContext ctx;
 
-# define MAX_FILE 4096
-
 static void
 testCapsInit(void)
 {
@@ -69,18 +67,16 @@ static int
 testCompareFiles(const char *xml, const char *vmx, int virtualHW_version)
 {
     int result = -1;
-    char xmlData[MAX_FILE];
-    char vmxData[MAX_FILE];
+    char *xmlData = NULL;
+    char *vmxData = NULL;
     char *formatted = NULL;
-    char *xmlPtr = &(xmlData[0]);
-    char *vmxPtr = &(vmxData[0]);
     virDomainDefPtr def = NULL;
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0) {
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(xml, &xmlData) < 0) {
         goto failure;
     }
 
-    if (virtTestLoadFile(vmx, &vmxPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0) {
+    if (virtTestLoadFile(vmx, &vmxData) < 0) {
         goto failure;
     }
 
@@ -104,6 +100,8 @@ testCompareFiles(const char *xml, const char *vmx, int virtualHW_version)
     result = 0;
 
   failure:
+    VIR_FREE(xmlData);
+    VIR_FREE(vmxData);
     VIR_FREE(formatted);
     virDomainDefFree(def);
 
@@ -119,16 +117,25 @@ struct testInfo {
 static int
 testCompareHelper(const void *data)
 {
+    int result = -1;
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
-    char xml[PATH_MAX];
-    char vmx[PATH_MAX];
+    char *xml = NULL;
+    char *vmx = NULL;
+
+    if (virAsprintf(&xml, "%s/xml2vmxdata/xml2vmx-%s.xml", abs_srcdir,
+                    info->input) < 0 ||
+        virAsprintf(&vmx, "%s/xml2vmxdata/xml2vmx-%s.vmx", abs_srcdir,
+                    info->output) < 0) {
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+
+    result = testCompareFiles(xml, vmx, info->virtualHW_version);
 
-    snprintf(xml, PATH_MAX, "%s/xml2vmxdata/xml2vmx-%s.xml", abs_srcdir,
-             info->input);
-    snprintf(vmx, PATH_MAX, "%s/xml2vmxdata/xml2vmx-%s.vmx", abs_srcdir,
-             info->output);
+  cleanup:
+    VIR_FREE(xml);
+    VIR_FREE(vmx);
 
-    return testCompareFiles(xml, vmx, info->virtualHW_version);
+    return result;
 }
 
 static int