diff --git a/src/core/device.c b/src/core/device.c
index 444286e02b..2c41c7b6f4 100644
--- a/src/core/device.c
+++ b/src/core/device.c
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ static int device_make_description(Unit *u, struct udev_device *dev, const char
 
 static int device_add_udev_wants(Unit *u, struct udev_device *dev) {
         const char *wants;
-        char *state, *w;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         int r;
 
@@ -234,11 +234,11 @@ static int device_add_udev_wants(Unit *u, struct udev_device *dev) {
         if (!wants)
                 return 0;
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, wants, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, wants, state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *n = NULL;
                 char e[l+1];
 
-                memcpy(e, w, l);
+                memcpy(e, word, l);
                 e[l] = 0;
 
                 n = unit_name_mangle(e, MANGLE_NOGLOB);
@@ -393,13 +393,13 @@ static int device_process_new_device(Manager *m, struct udev_device *dev) {
          * aliases */
         alias = udev_device_get_property_value(dev, "SYSTEMD_ALIAS");
         if (alias) {
-                char *state, *w;
+                const char *word, *state;
                 size_t l;
 
-                FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, alias, state) {
+                FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, alias, state) {
                         char e[l+1];
 
-                        memcpy(e, w, l);
+                        memcpy(e, word, l);
                         e[l] = 0;
 
                         if (path_is_absolute(e))
diff --git a/src/core/load-fragment.c b/src/core/load-fragment.c
index 6d8431015d..b0448e2c4b 100644
--- a/src/core/load-fragment.c
+++ b/src/core/load-fragment.c
@@ -97,18 +97,18 @@ int config_parse_unit_deps(const char* unit,
 
         UnitDependency d = ltype;
         Unit *u = userdata;
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
 
         assert(filename);
         assert(lvalue);
         assert(rvalue);
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *t = NULL, *k = NULL;
                 int r;
 
-                t = strndup(w, l);
+                t = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!t)
                         return log_oom();
 
@@ -227,7 +227,8 @@ int config_parse_unit_path_strv_printf(
                 void *data,
                 void *userdata) {
 
-        char *w, *state, ***x = data;
+        char ***x = data;
+        const char *word, *state;
         Unit *u = userdata;
         size_t l;
         int r;
@@ -237,11 +238,11 @@ int config_parse_unit_path_strv_printf(
         assert(rvalue);
         assert(u);
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *k = NULL;
                 char t[l+1];
 
-                memcpy(t, w, l);
+                memcpy(t, word, l);
                 t[l] = 0;
 
                 r = unit_full_printf(u, t, &k);
@@ -533,9 +534,8 @@ int config_parse_exec(const char *unit,
          * overriding of argv[0]. */
         for (;;) {
                 int i;
-                char *w;
+                const char *word, *state;
                 size_t l;
-                char *state;
                 bool honour_argv0 = false, ignore = false;
 
                 path = NULL;
@@ -566,8 +566,8 @@ int config_parse_exec(const char *unit,
                 }
 
                 k = 0;
-                FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
-                        if (strneq(w, ";", MAX(l, 1U)))
+                FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
+                        if (strneq(word, ";", MAX(l, 1U)))
                                 break;
 
                         k++;
@@ -578,16 +578,16 @@ int config_parse_exec(const char *unit,
                         return log_oom();
 
                 k = 0;
-                FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
-                        if (strneq(w, ";", MAX(l, 1U)))
+                FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
+                        if (strneq(word, ";", MAX(l, 1U)))
                                 break;
-                        else if (strneq(w, "\\;", MAX(l, 1U)))
-                                w ++;
+                        else if (strneq(word, "\\;", MAX(l, 1U)))
+                                word ++;
 
-                        if (honour_argv0 && w == rvalue) {
+                        if (honour_argv0 && word == rvalue) {
                                 assert(!path);
 
-                                path = strndup(w, l);
+                                path = strndup(word, l);
                                 if (!path) {
                                         r = log_oom();
                                         goto fail;
@@ -602,7 +602,7 @@ int config_parse_exec(const char *unit,
                         } else {
                                 char *c;
 
-                                c = n[k++] = cunescape_length(w, l);
+                                c = n[k++] = cunescape_length(word, l);
                                 if (!c) {
                                         r = log_oom();
                                         goto fail;
@@ -854,9 +854,8 @@ int config_parse_exec_cpu_affinity(const char *unit,
                                    void *userdata) {
 
         ExecContext *c = data;
-        char *w;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
-        char *state;
 
         assert(filename);
         assert(lvalue);
@@ -871,12 +870,12 @@ int config_parse_exec_cpu_affinity(const char *unit,
                 return 0;
         }
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *t = NULL;
                 int r;
                 unsigned cpu;
 
-                t = strndup(w, l);
+                t = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!t)
                         return log_oom();
 
@@ -945,9 +944,8 @@ int config_parse_exec_secure_bits(const char *unit,
                                   void *userdata) {
 
         ExecContext *c = data;
-        char *w;
         size_t l;
-        char *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
 
         assert(filename);
         assert(lvalue);
@@ -960,18 +958,18 @@ int config_parse_exec_secure_bits(const char *unit,
                 return 0;
         }
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
-                if (first_word(w, "keep-caps"))
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
+                if (first_word(word, "keep-caps"))
                         c->secure_bits |= 1<<SECURE_KEEP_CAPS;
-                else if (first_word(w, "keep-caps-locked"))
+                else if (first_word(word, "keep-caps-locked"))
                         c->secure_bits |= 1<<SECURE_KEEP_CAPS_LOCKED;
-                else if (first_word(w, "no-setuid-fixup"))
+                else if (first_word(word, "no-setuid-fixup"))
                         c->secure_bits |= 1<<SECURE_NO_SETUID_FIXUP;
-                else if (first_word(w, "no-setuid-fixup-locked"))
+                else if (first_word(word, "no-setuid-fixup-locked"))
                         c->secure_bits |= 1<<SECURE_NO_SETUID_FIXUP_LOCKED;
-                else if (first_word(w, "noroot"))
+                else if (first_word(word, "noroot"))
                         c->secure_bits |= 1<<SECURE_NOROOT;
-                else if (first_word(w, "noroot-locked"))
+                else if (first_word(word, "noroot-locked"))
                         c->secure_bits |= 1<<SECURE_NOROOT_LOCKED;
                 else {
                         log_syntax(unit, LOG_ERR, filename, line, EINVAL,
@@ -995,9 +993,8 @@ int config_parse_bounding_set(const char *unit,
                               void *userdata) {
 
         uint64_t *capability_bounding_set_drop = data;
-        char *w;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
-        char *state;
         bool invert = false;
         uint64_t sum = 0;
 
@@ -1016,12 +1013,12 @@ int config_parse_bounding_set(const char *unit,
          * non-inverted everywhere to have a fully normalized
          * interface. */
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *t = NULL;
                 int r;
                 cap_value_t cap;
 
-                t = strndup(w, l);
+                t = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!t)
                         return log_oom();
 
@@ -1163,9 +1160,8 @@ int config_parse_exec_mount_flags(const char *unit,
                                   void *userdata) {
 
         ExecContext *c = data;
-        char *w;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
-        char *state;
         unsigned long flags = 0;
 
         assert(filename);
@@ -1173,10 +1169,10 @@ int config_parse_exec_mount_flags(const char *unit,
         assert(rvalue);
         assert(data);
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(w, l, rvalue, ", ", state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, l, rvalue, ", ", state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *t;
 
-                t = strndup(w, l);
+                t = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!t)
                         return log_oom();
 
@@ -1184,7 +1180,7 @@ int config_parse_exec_mount_flags(const char *unit,
                         flags = MS_SHARED;
                 else if (streq(t, "slave"))
                         flags = MS_SLAVE;
-                else if (streq(w, "private"))
+                else if (streq(word, "private"))
                         flags = MS_PRIVATE;
                 else {
                         log_syntax(unit, LOG_ERR, filename, line, EINVAL, "Failed to parse mount flag %s, ignoring: %s", t, rvalue);
@@ -1538,7 +1534,7 @@ int config_parse_service_sockets(const char *unit,
 
         Service *s = data;
         int r;
-        char *state, *w;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
 
         assert(filename);
@@ -1546,10 +1542,10 @@ int config_parse_service_sockets(const char *unit,
         assert(rvalue);
         assert(data);
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *t = NULL, *k = NULL;
 
-                t = strndup(w, l);
+                t = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!t)
                         return log_oom();
 
@@ -1780,7 +1776,8 @@ int config_parse_environ(const char *unit,
                          void *userdata) {
 
         Unit *u = userdata;
-        char*** env = data, *w, *state;
+        char*** env = data;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         _cleanup_free_ char *k = NULL;
         int r;
@@ -1809,11 +1806,11 @@ int config_parse_environ(const char *unit,
         if (!k)
                 return log_oom();
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, k, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, k, state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *n;
                 char **x;
 
-                n = cunescape_length(w, l);
+                n = cunescape_length(word, l);
                 if (!n)
                         return log_oom();
 
@@ -2052,20 +2049,19 @@ int config_parse_unit_requires_mounts_for(
                 void *userdata) {
 
         Unit *u = userdata;
-        char *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
-        char *w;
 
         assert(filename);
         assert(lvalue);
         assert(rvalue);
         assert(data);
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
                 int r;
                 _cleanup_free_ char *n;
 
-                n = strndup(w, l);
+                n = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!n)
                         return log_oom();
 
@@ -2156,7 +2152,7 @@ int config_parse_syscall_filter(
         ExecContext *c = data;
         Unit *u = userdata;
         bool invert = false;
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         int r;
 
@@ -2209,11 +2205,11 @@ int config_parse_syscall_filter(
                 }
         }
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *t = NULL;
                 int id;
 
-                t = strndup(w, l);
+                t = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!t)
                         return log_oom();
 
@@ -2257,7 +2253,7 @@ int config_parse_syscall_archs(
                 void *userdata) {
 
         Set **archs = data;
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         int r;
 
@@ -2271,11 +2267,11 @@ int config_parse_syscall_archs(
         if (r < 0)
                 return log_oom();
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *t = NULL;
                 uint32_t a;
 
-                t = strndup(w, l);
+                t = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!t)
                         return log_oom();
 
@@ -2345,7 +2341,7 @@ int config_parse_address_families(
         ExecContext *c = data;
         Unit *u = userdata;
         bool invert = false;
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         int r;
 
@@ -2375,11 +2371,11 @@ int config_parse_address_families(
                 c->address_families_whitelist = !invert;
         }
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *t = NULL;
                 int af;
 
-                t = strndup(w, l);
+                t = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!t)
                         return log_oom();
 
@@ -2874,7 +2870,8 @@ int config_parse_runtime_directory(
                 void *data,
                 void *userdata) {
 
-        char***rt = data, *w, *state;
+        char***rt = data;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         int r;
 
@@ -2890,10 +2887,10 @@ int config_parse_runtime_directory(
                 return 0;
         }
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *n;
 
-                n = strndup(w, l);
+                n = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!n)
                         return log_oom();
 
@@ -2924,9 +2921,8 @@ int config_parse_set_status(
                 void *data,
                 void *userdata) {
 
-        char *w;
         size_t l;
-        char *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         int r;
         ExitStatusSet *status_set = data;
 
@@ -2941,11 +2937,11 @@ int config_parse_set_status(
                 return 0;
         }
 
-        FOREACH_WORD(w, l, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD(word, l, rvalue, state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *temp;
                 int val;
 
-                temp = strndup(w, l);
+                temp = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!temp)
                         return log_oom();
 
@@ -2960,11 +2956,11 @@ int config_parse_set_status(
 
                                 r = set_put(status_set->signal, INT_TO_PTR(val));
                                 if (r < 0) {
-                                        log_syntax(unit, LOG_ERR, filename, line, -r, "Unable to store: %s", w);
+                                        log_syntax(unit, LOG_ERR, filename, line, -r, "Unable to store: %s", word);
                                         return r;
                                 }
                         } else {
-                                log_syntax(unit, LOG_ERR, filename, line, -val, "Failed to parse value, ignoring: %s", w);
+                                log_syntax(unit, LOG_ERR, filename, line, -val, "Failed to parse value, ignoring: %s", word);
                                 return 0;
                         }
                 } else {
@@ -2977,7 +2973,7 @@ int config_parse_set_status(
 
                                 r = set_put(status_set->status, INT_TO_PTR(val));
                                 if (r < 0) {
-                                        log_syntax(unit, LOG_ERR, filename, line, -r, "Unable to store: %s", w);
+                                        log_syntax(unit, LOG_ERR, filename, line, -r, "Unable to store: %s", word);
                                         return r;
                                 }
                         }
@@ -2999,7 +2995,8 @@ int config_parse_namespace_path_strv(
                 void *data,
                 void *userdata) {
 
-        char*** sv = data, *w, *state;
+        char*** sv = data;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         int r;
 
@@ -3015,11 +3012,11 @@ int config_parse_namespace_path_strv(
                 return 0;
         }
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *n;
                 int offset;
 
-                n = strndup(w, l);
+                n = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!n)
                         return log_oom();
 
diff --git a/src/core/main.c b/src/core/main.c
index 2741989c48..fad15c7c3f 100644
--- a/src/core/main.c
+++ b/src/core/main.c
@@ -455,9 +455,8 @@ static int config_parse_cpu_affinity2(
                 void *data,
                 void *userdata) {
 
-        char *w;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
-        char *state;
         cpu_set_t *c = NULL;
         unsigned ncpus = 0;
 
@@ -465,12 +464,12 @@ static int config_parse_cpu_affinity2(
         assert(lvalue);
         assert(rvalue);
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
                 char *t;
                 int r;
                 unsigned cpu;
 
-                if (!(t = strndup(w, l)))
+                if (!(t = strndup(word, l)))
                         return log_oom();
 
                 r = safe_atou(t, &cpu);
@@ -559,7 +558,7 @@ static int config_parse_join_controllers(const char *unit,
                                          void *userdata) {
 
         unsigned n = 0;
-        char *state, *w;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t length;
 
         assert(filename);
@@ -568,10 +567,10 @@ static int config_parse_join_controllers(const char *unit,
 
         free_join_controllers();
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, length, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, length, rvalue, state) {
                 char *s, **l;
 
-                s = strndup(w, length);
+                s = strndup(word, length);
                 if (!s)
                         return log_oom();
 
diff --git a/src/cryptsetup/cryptsetup.c b/src/cryptsetup/cryptsetup.c
index 67dc88fa51..94570eb82d 100644
--- a/src/cryptsetup/cryptsetup.c
+++ b/src/cryptsetup/cryptsetup.c
@@ -175,16 +175,16 @@ static int parse_one_option(const char *option) {
 }
 
 static int parse_options(const char *options) {
-        char *state, *w;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         int r;
 
         assert(options);
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(w, l, options, ",", state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, l, options, ",", state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *o;
 
-                o = strndup(w, l);
+                o = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!o)
                         return -ENOMEM;
                 r = parse_one_option(o);
diff --git a/src/delta/delta.c b/src/delta/delta.c
index 96a9fa5ee1..dd7523d473 100644
--- a/src/delta/delta.c
+++ b/src/delta/delta.c
@@ -488,23 +488,23 @@ static int help(void) {
 }
 
 static int parse_flags(const char *flag_str, int flags) {
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
 
-        FOREACH_WORD(w, l, flag_str, state) {
-                if (strneq("masked", w, l))
+        FOREACH_WORD(word, l, flag_str, state) {
+                if (strneq("masked", word, l))
                         flags |= SHOW_MASKED;
-                else if (strneq ("equivalent", w, l))
+                else if (strneq ("equivalent", word, l))
                         flags |= SHOW_EQUIVALENT;
-                else if (strneq("redirected", w, l))
+                else if (strneq("redirected", word, l))
                         flags |= SHOW_REDIRECTED;
-                else if (strneq("overridden", w, l))
+                else if (strneq("overridden", word, l))
                         flags |= SHOW_OVERRIDDEN;
-                else if (strneq("unchanged", w, l))
+                else if (strneq("unchanged", word, l))
                         flags |= SHOW_UNCHANGED;
-                else if (strneq("extended", w, l))
+                else if (strneq("extended", word, l))
                         flags |= SHOW_EXTENDED;
-                else if (strneq("default", w, l))
+                else if (strneq("default", word, l))
                         flags |= SHOW_DEFAULTS;
                 else
                         return -EINVAL;
diff --git a/src/getty-generator/getty-generator.c b/src/getty-generator/getty-generator.c
index 7d4b546f72..c78a511f94 100644
--- a/src/getty-generator/getty-generator.c
+++ b/src/getty-generator/getty-generator.c
@@ -154,14 +154,14 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
 
                 r = getenv_for_pid(1, "container_ttys", &container_ttys);
                 if (r > 0) {
-                        char *w, *state;
+                        const char *word, *state;
                         size_t l;
 
-                        FOREACH_WORD(w, l, container_ttys, state) {
+                        FOREACH_WORD(word, l, container_ttys, state) {
                                 const char *t;
                                 char tty[l + 1];
 
-                                memcpy(tty, w, l);
+                                memcpy(tty, word, l);
                                 tty[l] = 0;
 
                                 /* First strip off /dev/ if it is specified */
@@ -184,15 +184,15 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
         }
 
         if (read_one_line_file("/sys/class/tty/console/active", &active) >= 0) {
-                char *w, *state;
+                const char *word, *state;
                 size_t l;
 
                 /* Automatically add in a serial getty on all active
                  * kernel consoles */
-                FOREACH_WORD(w, l, active, state) {
+                FOREACH_WORD(word, l, active, state) {
                         _cleanup_free_ char *tty = NULL;
 
-                        tty = strndup(w, l);
+                        tty = strndup(word, l);
                         if (!tty) {
                                 log_oom();
                                 return EXIT_FAILURE;
diff --git a/src/journal-remote/journal-remote.c b/src/journal-remote/journal-remote.c
index 37ad9029fd..3249027b63 100644
--- a/src/journal-remote/journal-remote.c
+++ b/src/journal-remote/journal-remote.c
@@ -1344,7 +1344,7 @@ static int parse_argv(int argc, char *argv[]) {
 
                 case ARG_GNUTLS_LOG: {
 #ifdef HAVE_GNUTLS
-                        char *word, *state;
+                        const char *word, *state;
                         size_t size;
 
                         FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, size, optarg, ",", state) {
diff --git a/src/journal/journald-server.c b/src/journal/journald-server.c
index 4ea9d43c0d..eac0a4ca67 100644
--- a/src/journal/journald-server.c
+++ b/src/journal/journald-server.c
@@ -1282,7 +1282,7 @@ static int setup_signals(Server *s) {
 
 static int server_parse_proc_cmdline(Server *s) {
         _cleanup_free_ char *line = NULL;
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *w, *state;
         size_t l;
         int r;
 
diff --git a/src/journal/sd-journal.c b/src/journal/sd-journal.c
index 6349aeb785..01c91e4c02 100644
--- a/src/journal/sd-journal.c
+++ b/src/journal/sd-journal.c
@@ -997,7 +997,7 @@ _public_ int sd_journal_get_cursor(sd_journal *j, char **cursor) {
 }
 
 _public_ int sd_journal_seek_cursor(sd_journal *j, const char *cursor) {
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         unsigned long long seqnum, monotonic, realtime, xor_hash;
         bool
@@ -1013,18 +1013,18 @@ _public_ int sd_journal_seek_cursor(sd_journal *j, const char *cursor) {
         assert_return(!journal_pid_changed(j), -ECHILD);
         assert_return(!isempty(cursor), -EINVAL);
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(w, l, cursor, ";", state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, l, cursor, ";", state) {
                 char *item;
                 int k = 0;
 
-                if (l < 2 || w[1] != '=')
+                if (l < 2 || word[1] != '=')
                         return -EINVAL;
 
-                item = strndup(w, l);
+                item = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!item)
                         return -ENOMEM;
 
-                switch (w[0]) {
+                switch (word[0]) {
 
                 case 's':
                         seqnum_id_set = true;
@@ -1103,7 +1103,7 @@ _public_ int sd_journal_seek_cursor(sd_journal *j, const char *cursor) {
 
 _public_ int sd_journal_test_cursor(sd_journal *j, const char *cursor) {
         int r;
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         Object *o;
 
@@ -1118,20 +1118,20 @@ _public_ int sd_journal_test_cursor(sd_journal *j, const char *cursor) {
         if (r < 0)
                 return r;
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(w, l, cursor, ";", state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, l, cursor, ";", state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *item = NULL;
                 sd_id128_t id;
                 unsigned long long ll;
                 int k = 0;
 
-                if (l < 2 || w[1] != '=')
+                if (l < 2 || word[1] != '=')
                         return -EINVAL;
 
-                item = strndup(w, l);
+                item = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!item)
                         return -ENOMEM;
 
-                switch (w[0]) {
+                switch (word[0]) {
 
                 case 's':
                         k = sd_id128_from_string(item+2, &id);
diff --git a/src/libsystemd-network/network-internal.c b/src/libsystemd-network/network-internal.c
index 603ee6dbe9..7f744215cc 100644
--- a/src/libsystemd-network/network-internal.c
+++ b/src/libsystemd-network/network-internal.c
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ void serialize_in_addrs(FILE *f, const struct in_addr *addresses, size_t size) {
 int deserialize_in_addrs(struct in_addr **ret, const char *string) {
         _cleanup_free_ struct in_addr *addresses = NULL;
         int size = 0;
-        char *word, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t len;
 
         assert(ret);
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ int deserialize_in_addrs(struct in_addr **ret, const char *string) {
 int deserialize_in6_addrs(struct in6_addr **ret, const char *string) {
         _cleanup_free_ struct in6_addr *addresses = NULL;
         int size = 0;
-        char *word, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t len;
 
         assert(ret);
@@ -446,7 +446,7 @@ void serialize_dhcp_routes(FILE *f, const char *key, struct sd_dhcp_route *route
 int deserialize_dhcp_routes(struct sd_dhcp_route **ret, size_t *ret_size, size_t *ret_allocated, const char *string) {
         _cleanup_free_ struct sd_dhcp_route *routes = NULL;
         size_t size = 0, allocated = 0;
-        char *word, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t len;
 
         assert(ret);
diff --git a/src/libsystemd/sd-login/sd-login.c b/src/libsystemd/sd-login/sd-login.c
index 38ff944892..95cb6ff581 100644
--- a/src/libsystemd/sd-login/sd-login.c
+++ b/src/libsystemd/sd-login/sd-login.c
@@ -226,11 +226,10 @@ _public_ int sd_uid_get_display(uid_t uid, char **session) {
 }
 
 _public_ int sd_uid_is_on_seat(uid_t uid, int require_active, const char *seat) {
-        char *w, *state;
         _cleanup_free_ char *t = NULL, *s = NULL, *p = NULL;
         size_t l;
         int r;
-        const char *variable;
+        const char *word, *variable, *state;
 
         assert_return(seat, -EINVAL);
 
@@ -251,8 +250,8 @@ _public_ int sd_uid_is_on_seat(uid_t uid, int require_active, const char *seat)
         if (asprintf(&t, UID_FMT, uid) < 0)
                 return -ENOMEM;
 
-        FOREACH_WORD(w, l, s, state) {
-                if (strneq(t, w, l))
+        FOREACH_WORD(word, l, s, state) {
+                if (strneq(t, word, l))
                         return 1;
         }
 
@@ -587,10 +586,10 @@ _public_ int sd_seat_get_sessions(const char *seat, char ***sessions, uid_t **ui
         }
 
         if (uids && t) {
-                char *w, *state;
+                const char *word, *state;
                 size_t l;
 
-                FOREACH_WORD(w, l, t, state)
+                FOREACH_WORD(word, l, t, state)
                         n++;
 
                 if (n > 0) {
@@ -600,10 +599,10 @@ _public_ int sd_seat_get_sessions(const char *seat, char ***sessions, uid_t **ui
                         if (!b)
                                 return -ENOMEM;
 
-                        FOREACH_WORD(w, l, t, state) {
+                        FOREACH_WORD(word, l, t, state) {
                                 _cleanup_free_ char *k = NULL;
 
-                                k = strndup(w, l);
+                                k = strndup(word, l);
                                 if (!k)
                                         return -ENOMEM;
 
@@ -789,9 +788,8 @@ _public_ int sd_machine_get_class(const char *machine, char **class) {
 _public_ int sd_machine_get_ifindices(const char *machine, int **ifindices) {
         _cleanup_free_ char *netif = NULL;
         size_t l, allocated = 0, nr = 0;
-        char *w, *state;
         int *ni = NULL;
-        const char *p;
+        const char *p, *word, *state;
         int r;
 
         assert_return(machine_name_is_valid(machine), -EINVAL);
@@ -806,11 +804,11 @@ _public_ int sd_machine_get_ifindices(const char *machine, int **ifindices) {
                 return 0;
         }
 
-        FOREACH_WORD(w, l, netif, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD(word, l, netif, state) {
                 char buf[l+1];
                 int ifi;
 
-                *(char*) (mempcpy(buf, w, l)) = 0;
+                *(char*) (mempcpy(buf, word, l)) = 0;
 
                 if (safe_atoi(buf, &ifi) < 0)
                         continue;
diff --git a/src/login/logind-inhibit.c b/src/login/logind-inhibit.c
index 64a62ffeae..a9e14af8db 100644
--- a/src/login/logind-inhibit.c
+++ b/src/login/logind-inhibit.c
@@ -439,23 +439,23 @@ const char *inhibit_what_to_string(InhibitWhat w) {
 
 InhibitWhat inhibit_what_from_string(const char *s) {
         InhibitWhat what = 0;
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(w, l, s, ":", state) {
-                if (l == 8 && strneq(w, "shutdown", l))
+        FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, l, s, ":", state) {
+                if (l == 8 && strneq(word, "shutdown", l))
                         what |= INHIBIT_SHUTDOWN;
-                else if (l == 5 && strneq(w, "sleep", l))
+                else if (l == 5 && strneq(word, "sleep", l))
                         what |= INHIBIT_SLEEP;
-                else if (l == 4 && strneq(w, "idle", l))
+                else if (l == 4 && strneq(word, "idle", l))
                         what |= INHIBIT_IDLE;
-                else if (l == 16 && strneq(w, "handle-power-key", l))
+                else if (l == 16 && strneq(word, "handle-power-key", l))
                         what |= INHIBIT_HANDLE_POWER_KEY;
-                else if (l == 18 && strneq(w, "handle-suspend-key", l))
+                else if (l == 18 && strneq(word, "handle-suspend-key", l))
                         what |= INHIBIT_HANDLE_SUSPEND_KEY;
-                else if (l == 20 && strneq(w, "handle-hibernate-key", l))
+                else if (l == 20 && strneq(word, "handle-hibernate-key", l))
                         what |= INHIBIT_HANDLE_HIBERNATE_KEY;
-                else if (l == 17 && strneq(w, "handle-lid-switch", l))
+                else if (l == 17 && strneq(word, "handle-lid-switch", l))
                         what |= INHIBIT_HANDLE_LID_SWITCH;
                 else
                         return _INHIBIT_WHAT_INVALID;
diff --git a/src/machine/machine.c b/src/machine/machine.c
index 0ed18d74ec..1c9177e1c3 100644
--- a/src/machine/machine.c
+++ b/src/machine/machine.c
@@ -291,14 +291,14 @@ int machine_load(Machine *m) {
 
         if (netif) {
                 size_t l, allocated = 0, nr = 0;
-                char *w, *state;
+                const char *word, *state;
                 int *ni = NULL;
 
-                FOREACH_WORD(w, l, netif, state) {
+                FOREACH_WORD(word, l, netif, state) {
                         char buf[l+1];
                         int ifi;
 
-                        *(char*) (mempcpy(buf, w, l)) = 0;
+                        *(char*) (mempcpy(buf, word, l)) = 0;
 
                         if (safe_atoi(buf, &ifi) < 0)
                                 continue;
diff --git a/src/nspawn/nspawn.c b/src/nspawn/nspawn.c
index 7c47f6ecd2..ddf1c371a0 100644
--- a/src/nspawn/nspawn.c
+++ b/src/nspawn/nspawn.c
@@ -395,7 +395,7 @@ static int parse_argv(int argc, char *argv[]) {
 
                 case ARG_CAPABILITY:
                 case ARG_DROP_CAPABILITY: {
-                        char *state, *word;
+                        const char *state, *word;
                         size_t length;
 
                         FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, length, optarg, ",", state) {
@@ -2602,7 +2602,8 @@ static int spawn_getent(const char *database, const char *key, pid_t *rpid) {
 }
 
 static int change_uid_gid(char **_home) {
-        char line[LINE_MAX], *w, *x, *state, *u, *g, *h;
+        char line[LINE_MAX], *x, *u, *g, *h;
+        const char *word, *state;
         _cleanup_free_ uid_t *uids = NULL;
         _cleanup_free_ char *home = NULL;
         _cleanup_fclose_ FILE *f = NULL;
@@ -2752,10 +2753,10 @@ static int change_uid_gid(char **_home) {
         x += strcspn(x, WHITESPACE);
         x += strspn(x, WHITESPACE);
 
-        FOREACH_WORD(w, l, x, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD(word, l, x, state) {
                 char c[l+1];
 
-                memcpy(c, w, l);
+                memcpy(c, word, l);
                 c[l] = 0;
 
                 if (!GREEDY_REALLOC(uids, sz, n_uids+1))
diff --git a/src/resolve/resolved-manager.c b/src/resolve/resolved-manager.c
index 319baf7887..995621c915 100644
--- a/src/resolve/resolved-manager.c
+++ b/src/resolve/resolved-manager.c
@@ -304,7 +304,7 @@ static int manager_network_monitor_listen(Manager *m) {
 }
 
 static int parse_dns_server_string(Manager *m, const char *string) {
-        char *word, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t length;
         int r;
 
diff --git a/src/shared/cgroup-util.c b/src/shared/cgroup-util.c
index c1c4d409ae..f683ae990e 100644
--- a/src/shared/cgroup-util.c
+++ b/src/shared/cgroup-util.c
@@ -753,9 +753,9 @@ int cg_pid_get_path(const char *controller, pid_t pid, char **path) {
         cs = strlen(controller);
 
         FOREACH_LINE(line, f, return -errno) {
-                char *l, *p, *w, *e;
+                char *l, *p, *e;
                 size_t k;
-                char *state;
+                const char *word, *state;
                 bool found = false;
 
                 truncate_nl(line);
@@ -771,16 +771,16 @@ int cg_pid_get_path(const char *controller, pid_t pid, char **path) {
 
                 *e = 0;
 
-                FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(w, k, l, ",", state) {
+                FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, k, l, ",", state) {
 
-                        if (k == cs && memcmp(w, controller, cs) == 0) {
+                        if (k == cs && memcmp(word, controller, cs) == 0) {
                                 found = true;
                                 break;
                         }
 
                         if (k == 5 + cs &&
-                            memcmp(w, "name=", 5) == 0 &&
-                            memcmp(w+5, controller, cs) == 0) {
+                            memcmp(word, "name=", 5) == 0 &&
+                            memcmp(word+5, controller, cs) == 0) {
                                 found = true;
                                 break;
                         }
diff --git a/src/shared/condition-util.c b/src/shared/condition-util.c
index 928edeeb9d..f88ddc19e2 100644
--- a/src/shared/condition-util.c
+++ b/src/shared/condition-util.c
@@ -74,7 +74,8 @@ void condition_free_list(Condition *first) {
 }
 
 bool condition_test_kernel_command_line(Condition *c) {
-        char *line, *w, *state, *word = NULL;
+        char *line, *word = NULL;
+        const char *w, *state;
         bool equal;
         int r;
         size_t l, pl;
diff --git a/src/shared/conf-parser.c b/src/shared/conf-parser.c
index 0be7226871..cd189adfc3 100644
--- a/src/shared/conf-parser.c
+++ b/src/shared/conf-parser.c
@@ -675,7 +675,8 @@ int config_parse_strv(const char *unit,
                       void *data,
                       void *userdata) {
 
-        char *** sv = data, *w, *state;
+        char ***sv = data;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         int r;
 
@@ -700,10 +701,10 @@ int config_parse_strv(const char *unit,
                 return 0;
         }
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
                 char *n;
 
-                n = strndup(w, l);
+                n = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!n)
                         return log_oom();
 
diff --git a/src/shared/conf-parser.h b/src/shared/conf-parser.h
index ea7b710dec..a17dde9069 100644
--- a/src/shared/conf-parser.h
+++ b/src/shared/conf-parser.h
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ int log_syntax_internal(const char *unit, int level,
                      void *userdata) {                                         \
                                                                                \
                 type **enums = data, *xs, x, *ys;                              \
-                char *w, *state;                                               \
+                const char *word, *state;                                      \
                 size_t l, i = 0;                                               \
                                                                                \
                 assert(filename);                                              \
@@ -181,10 +181,10 @@ int log_syntax_internal(const char *unit, int level,
                 xs = new0(type, 1);                                            \
                 *xs = invalid;                                                 \
                                                                                \
-                FOREACH_WORD(w, l, rvalue, state) {                            \
+                FOREACH_WORD(word, l, rvalue, state) {                         \
                         _cleanup_free_ char *en = NULL;                        \
                                                                                \
-                        en = strndup(w, l);                                    \
+                        en = strndup(word, l);                                 \
                         if (!en)                                               \
                                 return -ENOMEM;                                \
                                                                                \
diff --git a/src/shared/install.c b/src/shared/install.c
index cc61c01e20..c32d6599a6 100644
--- a/src/shared/install.c
+++ b/src/shared/install.c
@@ -946,20 +946,19 @@ static int config_parse_also(
                 void *data,
                 void *userdata) {
 
-        char *w;
         size_t l;
-        char *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         InstallContext *c = data;
 
         assert(filename);
         assert(lvalue);
         assert(rvalue);
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, rvalue, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, rvalue, state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *n;
                 int r;
 
-                n = strndup(w, l);
+                n = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!n)
                         return -ENOMEM;
 
diff --git a/src/shared/log.c b/src/shared/log.c
index 3941e3e1c2..a7c3195f39 100644
--- a/src/shared/log.c
+++ b/src/shared/log.c
@@ -871,11 +871,11 @@ void log_parse_environment(void) {
         if (r < 0)
                 log_warning("Failed to read /proc/cmdline. Ignoring: %s", strerror(-r));
         else if (r > 0) {
-                char *w, *state;
+                const char *word, *state;
                 size_t l;
 
-                FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, line, state) {
-                        if (l == 5 && startswith(w, "debug")) {
+                FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, line, state) {
+                        if (l == 5 && startswith(word, "debug")) {
                                 log_set_max_level(LOG_DEBUG);
                                 break;
                         }
diff --git a/src/shared/path-util.c b/src/shared/path-util.c
index 5bc5012fe8..57554cd294 100644
--- a/src/shared/path-util.c
+++ b/src/shared/path-util.c
@@ -574,7 +574,7 @@ int find_binary(const char *name, char **filename) {
                 return 0;
         } else {
                 const char *path;
-                char *state, *w;
+                const char *word, *state;
                 size_t l;
 
                 /**
@@ -585,10 +585,10 @@ int find_binary(const char *name, char **filename) {
                 if (!path)
                         path = DEFAULT_PATH;
 
-                FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(w, l, path, ":", state) {
+                FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, l, path, ":", state) {
                         _cleanup_free_ char *p = NULL;
 
-                        if (asprintf(&p, "%.*s/%s", (int) l, w, name) < 0)
+                        if (asprintf(&p, "%.*s/%s", (int) l, word, name) < 0)
                                 return -ENOMEM;
 
                         if (access(p, X_OK) < 0)
diff --git a/src/shared/sleep-config.c b/src/shared/sleep-config.c
index 16a488d56b..d8de644a92 100644
--- a/src/shared/sleep-config.c
+++ b/src/shared/sleep-config.c
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ int parse_sleep_config(const char *verb, char ***_modes, char ***_states) {
 }
 
 int can_sleep_state(char **types) {
-        char *w, *state, **type;
+        char **type;
         int r;
         _cleanup_free_ char *p = NULL;
 
@@ -114,11 +114,12 @@ int can_sleep_state(char **types) {
                 return false;
 
         STRV_FOREACH(type, types) {
+                const char *word, *state;
                 size_t l, k;
 
                 k = strlen(*type);
-                FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(w, l, p, WHITESPACE, state)
-                        if (l == k && memcmp(w, *type, l) == 0)
+                FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, l, p, WHITESPACE, state)
+                        if (l == k && memcmp(word, *type, l) == 0)
                                 return true;
         }
 
@@ -126,7 +127,7 @@ int can_sleep_state(char **types) {
 }
 
 int can_sleep_disk(char **types) {
-        char *w, *state, **type;
+        char **type;
         int r;
         _cleanup_free_ char *p = NULL;
 
@@ -142,14 +143,18 @@ int can_sleep_disk(char **types) {
                 return false;
 
         STRV_FOREACH(type, types) {
+                const char *word, *state;
                 size_t l, k;
 
                 k = strlen(*type);
-                FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(w, l, p, WHITESPACE, state) {
-                        if (l == k && memcmp(w, *type, l) == 0)
+                FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, l, p, WHITESPACE, state) {
+                        if (l == k && memcmp(word, *type, l) == 0)
                                 return true;
 
-                        if (l == k + 2 && w[0] == '[' && memcmp(w + 1, *type, l - 2) == 0 && w[l-1] == ']')
+                        if (l == k + 2 &&
+                            word[0] == '[' &&
+                            memcmp(word + 1, *type, l - 2) == 0 &&
+                            word[l-1] == ']')
                                 return true;
                 }
         }
diff --git a/src/shared/strv.c b/src/shared/strv.c
index b4c476eff2..0ac66b927c 100644
--- a/src/shared/strv.c
+++ b/src/shared/strv.c
@@ -201,8 +201,7 @@ int strv_extend_strv_concat(char ***a, char **b, const char *suffix) {
 }
 
 char **strv_split(const char *s, const char *separator) {
-        char *state;
-        char *w;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         unsigned n, i;
         char **r;
@@ -210,7 +209,7 @@ char **strv_split(const char *s, const char *separator) {
         assert(s);
 
         n = 0;
-        FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(w, l, s, separator, state)
+        FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, l, s, separator, state)
                 n++;
 
         r = new(char*, n+1);
@@ -218,8 +217,8 @@ char **strv_split(const char *s, const char *separator) {
                 return NULL;
 
         i = 0;
-        FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(w, l, s, separator, state) {
-                r[i] = strndup(w, l);
+        FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, l, s, separator, state) {
+                r[i] = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!r[i]) {
                         strv_free(r);
                         return NULL;
@@ -233,8 +232,7 @@ char **strv_split(const char *s, const char *separator) {
 }
 
 char **strv_split_quoted(const char *s) {
-        char *state;
-        char *w;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         unsigned n, i;
         char **r;
@@ -242,16 +240,19 @@ char **strv_split_quoted(const char *s) {
         assert(s);
 
         n = 0;
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, s, state)
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, s, state)
                 n++;
+        if (*state)
+                /* bad syntax */
+                return NULL;
 
         r = new(char*, n+1);
         if (!r)
                 return NULL;
 
         i = 0;
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, s, state) {
-                r[i] = cunescape_length(w, l);
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, s, state) {
+                r[i] = cunescape_length(word, l);
                 if (!r[i]) {
                         strv_free(r);
                         return NULL;
diff --git a/src/shared/util.c b/src/shared/util.c
index d8a75bdc6a..cb9687cb02 100644
--- a/src/shared/util.c
+++ b/src/shared/util.c
@@ -415,37 +415,50 @@ static size_t strcspn_escaped(const char *s, const char *reject) {
                 else if (s[n] == '\\')
                         escaped = true;
                 else if (strchr(reject, s[n]))
-                        return n;
+                        break;
         }
-        return n;
+        /* if s ends in \, return index of previous char */
+        return n - escaped;
 }
 
 /* Split a string into words. */
-char *split(const char *c, size_t *l, const char *separator, bool quoted, char **state) {
-        char *current;
+const char* split(const char **state, size_t *l, const char *separator, bool quoted) {
+        const char *current;
 
-        current = *state ? *state : (char*) c;
+        current = *state;
 
-        if (!*current || *c == 0)
+        if (!*current) {
+                assert(**state == '\0');
                 return NULL;
-
-        current += strspn(current, separator);
-        if (!*current)
-                return NULL;
-
-        if (quoted && strchr("\'\"", *current)) {
-                char quotechar = *(current++);
-                *l = strcspn_escaped(current, (char[]){quotechar, '\0'});
-                *state = current+*l+1;
-        } else if (quoted) {
-                *l = strcspn_escaped(current, separator);
-                *state = current+*l;
-        } else {
-                *l = strcspn(current, separator);
-                *state = current+*l;
         }
 
-        return (char*) current;
+        current += strspn(current, separator);
+        if (!*current) {
+                *state = current;
+                return NULL;
+        }
+
+        if (quoted && strchr("\'\"", *current)) {
+                char quotechars[2] = {*current, '\0'};
+
+                *l = strcspn_escaped(current + 1, quotechars);
+                if (current[*l + 1] == '\0' ||
+                    (current[*l + 2] && !strchr(separator, current[*l + 2]))) {
+                        /* right quote missing or garbage at the end*/
+                        *state = current;
+                        return NULL;
+                }
+                assert(current[*l + 1] == quotechars[0]);
+                *state = current++ + *l + 2;
+        } else if (quoted) {
+                *l = strcspn_escaped(current, separator);
+                *state = current + *l;
+        } else {
+                *l = strcspn(current, separator);
+                *state = current + *l;
+        }
+
+        return current;
 }
 
 int get_parent_of_pid(pid_t pid, pid_t *_ppid) {
@@ -6059,7 +6072,7 @@ int split_pair(const char *s, const char *sep, char **l, char **r) {
 
 int shall_restore_state(void) {
         _cleanup_free_ char *line = NULL;
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         int r;
 
@@ -6071,12 +6084,12 @@ int shall_restore_state(void) {
 
         r = 1;
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, line, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, line, state) {
                 const char *e;
                 char n[l+1];
                 int k;
 
-                memcpy(n, w, l);
+                memcpy(n, word, l);
                 n[l] = 0;
 
                 e = startswith(n, "systemd.restore_state=");
@@ -6120,7 +6133,7 @@ int proc_cmdline(char **ret) {
 
 int parse_proc_cmdline(int (*parse_item)(const char *key, const char *value)) {
         _cleanup_free_ char *line = NULL;
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *w, *state;
         size_t l;
         int r;
 
diff --git a/src/shared/util.h b/src/shared/util.h
index 81da59b20c..45294800e4 100644
--- a/src/shared/util.h
+++ b/src/shared/util.h
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ static inline int safe_atoi64(const char *s, int64_t *ret_i) {
         return safe_atolli(s, (long long int*) ret_i);
 }
 
-char *split(const char *c, size_t *l, const char *separator, bool quoted, char **state);
+const char* split(const char **state, size_t *l, const char *separator, bool quoted);
 
 #define FOREACH_WORD(word, length, s, state)                            \
         _FOREACH_WORD(word, length, s, WHITESPACE, false, state)
@@ -249,7 +249,7 @@ char *split(const char *c, size_t *l, const char *separator, bool quoted, char *
         _FOREACH_WORD(word, length, s, separator, true, state)
 
 #define _FOREACH_WORD(word, length, s, separator, quoted, state)        \
-        for ((state) = NULL, (word) = split((s), &(length), (separator), (quoted), &(state)); (word); (word) = split((s), &(length), (separator), (quoted), &(state)))
+        for ((state) = (s), (word) = split(&(state), &(length), (separator), (quoted)); (word); (word) = split(&(state), &(length), (separator), (quoted)))
 
 pid_t get_parent_of_pid(pid_t pid, pid_t *ppid);
 int get_starttime_of_pid(pid_t pid, unsigned long long *st);
diff --git a/src/systemctl/systemctl.c b/src/systemctl/systemctl.c
index 4699a670f7..21e33d5bfc 100644
--- a/src/systemctl/systemctl.c
+++ b/src/systemctl/systemctl.c
@@ -5733,7 +5733,7 @@ static int systemctl_parse_argv(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                         return 0;
 
                 case 't': {
-                        char *word, *state;
+                        const char *word, *state;
                         size_t size;
 
                         FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, size, optarg, ",", state) {
@@ -5782,7 +5782,7 @@ static int systemctl_parse_argv(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                                 if (!arg_properties)
                                         return log_oom();
                         } else {
-                                char *word, *state;
+                                const char *word, *state;
                                 size_t size;
 
                                 FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, size, optarg, ",", state) {
@@ -5952,7 +5952,7 @@ static int systemctl_parse_argv(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                         break;
 
                 case ARG_STATE: {
-                        char *word, *state;
+                        const char *word, *state;
                         size_t size;
 
                         FOREACH_WORD_SEPARATOR(word, size, optarg, ",", state) {
diff --git a/src/sysv-generator/sysv-generator.c b/src/sysv-generator/sysv-generator.c
index 9a869badca..cfae1d75b3 100644
--- a/src/sysv-generator/sysv-generator.c
+++ b/src/sysv-generator/sysv-generator.c
@@ -442,15 +442,15 @@ static int load_sysv(SysvStub *s) {
                 } else if (state == LSB || state == LSB_DESCRIPTION) {
 
                         if (startswith_no_case(t, "Provides:")) {
-                                char *i, *w;
+                                const char *word, *state_;
                                 size_t z;
 
                                 state = LSB;
 
-                                FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, z, t+9, i) {
+                                FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, z, t+9, state_) {
                                         _cleanup_free_ char *n = NULL, *m = NULL;
 
-                                        n = strndup(w, z);
+                                        n = strndup(word, z);
                                         if (!n)
                                                 return -ENOMEM;
 
@@ -499,16 +499,16 @@ static int load_sysv(SysvStub *s) {
                                    startswith_no_case(t, "Should-Start:") ||
                                    startswith_no_case(t, "X-Start-Before:") ||
                                    startswith_no_case(t, "X-Start-After:")) {
-                                char *i, *w;
+                                const char *word, *state_;
                                 size_t z;
 
                                 state = LSB;
 
-                                FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, z, strchr(t, ':')+1, i) {
+                                FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, z, strchr(t, ':')+1, state_) {
                                         _cleanup_free_ char *n = NULL, *m = NULL;
                                         bool is_before;
 
-                                        n = strndup(w, z);
+                                        n = strndup(word, z);
                                         if (!n)
                                                 return -ENOMEM;
 
diff --git a/src/test/test-strv.c b/src/test/test-strv.c
index 370219121b..cdd2a539af 100644
--- a/src/test/test-strv.c
+++ b/src/test/test-strv.c
@@ -159,12 +159,15 @@ static void test_strv_quote_unquote(const char* const *split, const char *quoted
 
 static void test_strv_unquote(const char *quoted, const char **list) {
         _cleanup_strv_free_ char **s;
+        _cleanup_free_ char *j;
         unsigned i = 0;
         char **t;
 
         s = strv_split_quoted(quoted);
         assert_se(s);
-        strv_print(s);
+        j = strv_join(s, " | ");
+        assert(j);
+        puts(j);
 
         STRV_FOREACH(t, s)
                 assert_se(streq(list[i++], *t));
@@ -172,6 +175,13 @@ static void test_strv_unquote(const char *quoted, const char **list) {
         assert_se(list[i] == NULL);
 }
 
+static void test_invalid_unquote(const char *quoted) {
+        char **s;
+
+        s = strv_split_quoted(quoted);
+        assert(s == NULL);
+}
+
 static void test_strv_split(void) {
         char **s;
         unsigned i = 0;
@@ -428,7 +438,9 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
         test_strv_unquote("  \"x'\"   ", (const char*[]) { "x'", NULL });
         test_strv_unquote("a  '--b=c \"d e\"'", (const char*[]) { "a", "--b=c \"d e\"", NULL });
 
-        test_strv_unquote("a  --b='c \"d e\"'", (const char*[]) { "a", "--b='c", "\"d", "e\"'", NULL });
+        test_invalid_unquote("a  --b='c \"d e\"'");
+        test_invalid_unquote("a  --b='c \"d e\" '");
+        test_invalid_unquote("a  --b='c \"d e\"garbage");
 
         test_strv_split();
         test_strv_split_newlines();
diff --git a/src/test/test-util.c b/src/test/test-util.c
index 9a28ef9eec..a56b355672 100644
--- a/src/test/test-util.c
+++ b/src/test/test-util.c
@@ -311,7 +311,7 @@ static void test_cunescape(void) {
 }
 
 static void test_foreach_word(void) {
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         int i = 0;
         const char test[] = "test abc d\te   f   ";
@@ -325,13 +325,12 @@ static void test_foreach_word(void) {
                 NULL
         };
 
-        FOREACH_WORD(w, l, test, state) {
-                assert_se(strneq(expected[i++], w, l));
-        }
+        FOREACH_WORD(word, l, test, state)
+                assert_se(strneq(expected[i++], word, l));
 }
 
 static void test_foreach_word_quoted(void) {
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         int i = 0;
         const char test[] = "test a b c 'd' e '' '' hhh '' '' \"a b c\"";
@@ -352,11 +351,11 @@ static void test_foreach_word_quoted(void) {
         };
 
         printf("<%s>\n", test);
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, test, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, test, state) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *t = NULL;
 
-                assert_se(t = strndup(w, l));
-                assert_se(strneq(expected[i++], w, l));
+                assert_se(t = strndup(word, l));
+                assert_se(strneq(expected[i++], word, l));
                 printf("<%s>\n", t);
         }
 }
diff --git a/src/timesync/timesyncd.c b/src/timesync/timesyncd.c
index b80e03b349..8bb79fb5ee 100644
--- a/src/timesync/timesyncd.c
+++ b/src/timesync/timesyncd.c
@@ -984,17 +984,17 @@ static int manager_add_server(Manager *m, const char *server) {
 }
 
 static int manager_add_server_string(Manager *m, const char *string) {
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         int r;
 
         assert(m);
         assert(string);
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, string, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, string, state) {
                 char t[l+1];
 
-                memcpy(t, w, l);
+                memcpy(t, word, l);
                 t[l] = 0;
 
                 r = manager_add_server(m, t);
diff --git a/src/udev/net/link-config.c b/src/udev/net/link-config.c
index 512885f9c8..946715ce5a 100644
--- a/src/udev/net/link-config.c
+++ b/src/udev/net/link-config.c
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ static int load_link(link_config_ctx *ctx, const char *filename) {
 
 static bool enable_name_policy(void) {
         _cleanup_free_ char *line = NULL;
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         int r;
         size_t l;
 
@@ -203,8 +203,8 @@ static bool enable_name_policy(void) {
         if (r <= 0)
                 return true;
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, line, state)
-                if (strneq(w, "net.ifnames=0", l))
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, line, state)
+                if (strneq(word, "net.ifnames=0", l))
                         return false;
 
         return true;
diff --git a/src/udev/udevd.c b/src/udev/udevd.c
index b75145eebf..f882cfb3ad 100644
--- a/src/udev/udevd.c
+++ b/src/udev/udevd.c
@@ -956,7 +956,7 @@ static int systemd_fds(struct udev *udev, int *rctrl, int *rnetlink) {
  */
 static void kernel_cmdline_options(struct udev *udev) {
         _cleanup_free_ char *line = NULL;
-        char *w, *state;
+        const char *word, *state;
         size_t l;
         int r;
 
@@ -966,10 +966,10 @@ static void kernel_cmdline_options(struct udev *udev) {
         if (r <= 0)
                 return;
 
-        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(w, l, line, state) {
+        FOREACH_WORD_QUOTED(word, l, line, state) {
                 char *s, *opt;
 
-                s = strndup(w, l);
+                s = strndup(word, l);
                 if (!s)
                         break;