diff --git a/m4/virt-compile-warnings.m4 b/m4/virt-compile-warnings.m4
index 295fd9be0d..305036fd0f 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 a7977bb81a..6514f4df52 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 a8d28dc595..b132cebc97 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 830f79c861..2b365358fb 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 fb454c1d9a..dc08ea7949 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 f7489f5dbd..468785b7f1 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 f6a1335a59..d0deaebb63 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 9a87dc09cb..b4e81b384b 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 a1f57fab57..49c6b9926d 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 60dce460f5..db68b60e0b 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 792b5ab7f7..2522396482 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 ebde3a1b8d..a7e4cc0356 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 6f51d1e065..5bfbcabb24 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 091943553e..f465105660 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 6641153f51..f2c1780658 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 0cd57af26f..c8dddbb715 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;
 
-    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);
+    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);
+
+    return result;
 }
 
 
diff --git a/tests/testutils.c b/tests/testutils.c
index 58b0275211..bc896906fb 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]);
+        len = virFileReadLimFD(pipefd[0], maxlen, buf);
+        VIR_FORCE_CLOSE(pipefd[0]);
+        waitpid(pid, NULL, 0);
 
-            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);
-
-            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 0ea70ee82b..e8f4153c87 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 465d5eac52..0932efd685 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 = "\
@@ -45,42 +44,32 @@ 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;
+    result = 0;
+
+cleanup:
+    free(actualData);
+
+    return result;
 }
 
-#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];
-
-  snprintf(expect, sizeof expect - 1, "%s/%s", abs_srcdir, expect_rel);
-
-  if (virtTestLoadFile(expect, &expectPtr, MAX_FILE) < 0)
-    return -1;
-
-  return testCompareOutputLit(expectData, filter, argv);
-}
-#endif
-
 #define VIRSH_DEFAULT     "../tools/virsh", \
     "--connect", \
     "test:///default"
@@ -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 3b7e9be7c4..e01e8ad03e 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;
 
-    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);
+    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;
+    }
 
-    return testCompareFiles(vmx, xml);
+    result = 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 36946cf10c..3f96cf2a31 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 62d34880c8..02a8900cc7 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 b258c3d58d..dab8c84680 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 6a4b795d1d..efd4d74930 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;
 
-    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);
+    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;
+    }
 
-    return testCompareFiles(xml, vmx, info->virtualHW_version);
+    result = testCompareFiles(xml, vmx, info->virtualHW_version);
+
+  cleanup:
+    VIR_FREE(xml);
+    VIR_FREE(vmx);
+
+    return result;
 }
 
 static int