diff --git a/extmod/modujson.c b/extmod/modujson.c
index 5023d815132b06ce94958c2e5dfba322e5dec99d..a7b889676ae9753f355ddd65fa63316c272f75c8 100644
--- a/extmod/modujson.c
+++ b/extmod/modujson.c
@@ -39,9 +39,7 @@ STATIC mp_obj_t mod_ujson_dumps(mp_obj_t obj) {
     vstr_t vstr;
     vstr_init(&vstr, 8);
     mp_obj_print_helper((void (*)(void *env, const char *fmt, ...))vstr_printf, &vstr, obj, PRINT_JSON);
-    mp_obj_t ret = mp_obj_new_str(vstr.buf, vstr.len, false);
-    vstr_clear(&vstr);
-    return ret;
+    return mp_obj_new_str_from_vstr(&mp_type_str, &vstr);
 }
 STATIC MP_DEFINE_CONST_FUN_OBJ_1(mod_ujson_dumps_obj, mod_ujson_dumps);
 
diff --git a/lib/mp-readline/readline.c b/lib/mp-readline/readline.c
index 767d509c7eb32b7895aa9e5439ef4c318fef0da9..0303ff36d5ec8b1a497042421b6d0b6fd188f73e 100644
--- a/lib/mp-readline/readline.c
+++ b/lib/mp-readline/readline.c
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ int readline_process_char(int c) {
             if (rl.line->len > rl.orig_line_len && (MP_STATE_PORT(readline_hist)[0] == NULL || strcmp(MP_STATE_PORT(readline_hist)[0], rl.line->buf + rl.orig_line_len) != 0)) {
                 // a line which is not empty and different from the last one
                 // so update the history
+                vstr_null_terminate(rl.line);
                 char *most_recent_hist = str_dup_maybe(rl.line->buf + rl.orig_line_len);
                 if (most_recent_hist != NULL) {
                     for (int i = READLINE_HIST_SIZE - 1; i > 0; i--) {
diff --git a/py/builtinimport.c b/py/builtinimport.c
index 73bf0b4722a14689dab8b40d96a0441b289268af..1717c500d9d2409da4988c64eae3c90706c6c321 100644
--- a/py/builtinimport.c
+++ b/py/builtinimport.c
@@ -61,12 +61,14 @@ bool mp_obj_is_package(mp_obj_t module) {
 }
 
 STATIC mp_import_stat_t stat_dir_or_file(vstr_t *path) {
+    vstr_null_terminate(path);
     //printf("stat %s\n", vstr_str(path));
     mp_import_stat_t stat = mp_import_stat(vstr_str(path));
     if (stat == MP_IMPORT_STAT_DIR) {
         return stat;
     }
     vstr_add_str(path, ".py");
+    vstr_null_terminate(path);
     stat = mp_import_stat(vstr_str(path));
     if (stat == MP_IMPORT_STAT_FILE) {
         return stat;
@@ -134,6 +136,7 @@ STATIC void do_load_from_lexer(mp_obj_t module_obj, mp_lexer_t *lex, const char
 
 STATIC void do_load(mp_obj_t module_obj, vstr_t *file) {
     // create the lexer
+    vstr_null_terminate(file);
     mp_lexer_t *lex = mp_lexer_new_from_file(vstr_str(file));
     do_load_from_lexer(module_obj, lex, vstr_str(file));
 }
@@ -263,7 +266,7 @@ mp_obj_t mp_builtin___import__(mp_uint_t n_args, const mp_obj_t *args) {
             // create a qstr for the module name up to this depth
             qstr mod_name = qstr_from_strn(mod_str, i);
             DEBUG_printf("Processing module: %s\n", qstr_str(mod_name));
-            DEBUG_printf("Previous path: %s\n", vstr_str(&path));
+            DEBUG_printf("Previous path: %.*s\n", vstr_len(&path), vstr_str(&path));
 
             // find the file corresponding to the module name
             mp_import_stat_t stat;
@@ -276,7 +279,7 @@ mp_obj_t mp_builtin___import__(mp_uint_t n_args, const mp_obj_t *args) {
                 vstr_add_strn(&path, mod_str + last, i - last);
                 stat = stat_dir_or_file(&path);
             }
-            DEBUG_printf("Current path: %s\n", vstr_str(&path));
+            DEBUG_printf("Current path: %.*s\n", vstr_len(&path), vstr_str(&path));
 
             if (stat == MP_IMPORT_STAT_NO_EXIST) {
                 #if MICROPY_MODULE_WEAK_LINKS
@@ -320,12 +323,13 @@ mp_obj_t mp_builtin___import__(mp_uint_t n_args, const mp_obj_t *args) {
                 }
 
                 if (stat == MP_IMPORT_STAT_DIR) {
-                    DEBUG_printf("%s is dir\n", vstr_str(&path));
+                    DEBUG_printf("%.*s is dir\n", vstr_len(&path), vstr_str(&path));
                     // https://docs.python.org/3/reference/import.html
                     // "Specifically, any module that contains a __path__ attribute is considered a package."
                     mp_store_attr(module_obj, MP_QSTR___path__, mp_obj_new_str(vstr_str(&path), vstr_len(&path), false));
                     vstr_add_char(&path, PATH_SEP_CHAR);
                     vstr_add_str(&path, "__init__.py");
+                    vstr_null_terminate(&path);
                     if (mp_import_stat(vstr_str(&path)) != MP_IMPORT_STAT_FILE) {
                         vstr_cut_tail_bytes(&path, sizeof("/__init__.py") - 1); // cut off /__init__.py
                         mp_warning("%s is imported as namespace package", vstr_str(&path));
diff --git a/py/compile.c b/py/compile.c
index 85f5dab8357bf5785b8d3ae0511486e1e7197936..8e4723f230819e119ba47f1416743b67b99f84dc 100644
--- a/py/compile.c
+++ b/py/compile.c
@@ -555,7 +555,7 @@ STATIC void cpython_c_tuple(compiler_t *comp, mp_parse_node_t pn, mp_parse_node_
         } else {
             vstr_printf(vstr, ")");
         }
-        EMIT_ARG(load_const_verbatim_str, vstr_str(vstr));
+        EMIT_ARG(load_const_verbatim_strn, vstr_str(vstr), vstr_len(vstr));
         vstr_free(vstr);
     } else {
         if (!MP_PARSE_NODE_IS_NULL(pn)) {
@@ -1538,7 +1538,7 @@ STATIC void compile_import_from(compiler_t *comp, mp_parse_node_struct_t *pns) {
 
         // build the "fromlist" tuple
 #if MICROPY_EMIT_CPYTHON
-        EMIT_ARG(load_const_verbatim_str, "('*',)");
+        EMIT_ARG(load_const_verbatim_strn, "('*',)", 6);
 #else
         EMIT_ARG(load_const_str, MP_QSTR__star_, false);
         EMIT_ARG(build_tuple, 1);
@@ -1576,7 +1576,7 @@ STATIC void compile_import_from(compiler_t *comp, mp_parse_node_struct_t *pns) {
                 vstr_printf(vstr, ",");
             }
             vstr_printf(vstr, ")");
-            EMIT_ARG(load_const_verbatim_str, vstr_str(vstr));
+            EMIT_ARG(load_const_verbatim_strn, vstr_str(vstr), vstr_len(vstr));
             vstr_free(vstr);
         }
 #else
diff --git a/py/emit.h b/py/emit.h
index 2ca3d0420d6c73438a095e52400b45f13773fa24..772ee0473c4118c785c885341bbe6bf0302c0081 100644
--- a/py/emit.h
+++ b/py/emit.h
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ typedef struct _emit_method_table_t {
 
 #if MICROPY_EMIT_CPYTHON
     // these methods are only needed for emitcpy
-    void (*load_const_verbatim_str)(emit_t *emit, const char *str);
+    void (*load_const_verbatim_strn)(emit_t *emit, const char *str, mp_uint_t len);
     void (*load_closure)(emit_t *emit, qstr qst, mp_uint_t local_num);
     void (*setup_loop)(emit_t *emit, mp_uint_t label);
 #endif
diff --git a/py/emitcpy.c b/py/emitcpy.c
index 924a5566d9105d3346cc6f800547573a4f9ae1ce..09a0e006f2d7a0511844761335019d279888a148 100644
--- a/py/emitcpy.c
+++ b/py/emitcpy.c
@@ -800,10 +800,10 @@ STATIC void emit_cpy_end_except_handler(emit_t *emit) {
     emit_cpy_adjust_stack_size(emit, -5); // stack adjust
 }
 
-STATIC void emit_cpy_load_const_verbatim_str(emit_t *emit, const char *str) {
+STATIC void emit_cpy_load_const_verbatim_strn(emit_t *emit, const char *str, mp_uint_t len) {
     emit_pre(emit, 1, 3);
     if (emit->pass == MP_PASS_EMIT) {
-        printf("LOAD_CONST %s\n", str);
+        printf("LOAD_CONST %.*s\n", (int)len, str);
     }
 }
 
@@ -912,7 +912,7 @@ const emit_method_table_t emit_cpython_method_table = {
     emit_cpy_end_except_handler,
 
     // emitcpy specific functions
-    emit_cpy_load_const_verbatim_str,
+    emit_cpy_load_const_verbatim_strn,
     emit_cpy_load_closure,
     emit_cpy_setup_loop,
 };
diff --git a/py/misc.h b/py/misc.h
index b9ef68baddb27f537f890e19b4f28f2d77b9b4a9..202fad8d74a901328a3b0e5e663521f10947896b 100644
--- a/py/misc.h
+++ b/py/misc.h
@@ -145,6 +145,7 @@ size_t vstr_len(vstr_t *vstr);
 void vstr_hint_size(vstr_t *vstr, size_t size);
 char *vstr_extend(vstr_t *vstr, size_t size);
 char *vstr_add_len(vstr_t *vstr, size_t len);
+void vstr_null_terminate(vstr_t *vstr);
 void vstr_add_byte(vstr_t *vstr, byte v);
 void vstr_add_char(vstr_t *vstr, unichar chr);
 void vstr_add_str(vstr_t *vstr, const char *str);
diff --git a/py/objstr.c b/py/objstr.c
index 3b2ce8f358133a7ce0e45454b7cfe2e0165fc186..1540e622632a3689b8d4bcc79b63925e4a30acb6 100644
--- a/py/objstr.c
+++ b/py/objstr.c
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ STATIC mp_obj_t bytes_make_new(mp_obj_t type_in, mp_uint_t n_args, mp_uint_t n_k
         vstr_init(&vstr, 16);
     } else {
         mp_int_t len = MP_OBJ_SMALL_INT_VALUE(len_in);
-        vstr_init(&vstr, len + 1);
+        vstr_init(&vstr, len);
     }
 
     mp_obj_t iterable = mp_getiter(args[0]);
@@ -856,7 +856,7 @@ mp_obj_t mp_obj_str_format(mp_uint_t n_args, const mp_obj_t *args, mp_map_t *kwa
             while (str < top && *str != '}' && *str != '!' && *str != ':') {
                 vstr_add_char(field_name, *str++);
             }
-            vstr_add_char(field_name, '\0');
+            vstr_null_terminate(field_name);
         }
 
         // conversion ::=  "r" | "s"
@@ -887,7 +887,7 @@ mp_obj_t mp_obj_str_format(mp_uint_t n_args, const mp_obj_t *args, mp_map_t *kwa
                 while (str < top && *str != '}') {
                     vstr_add_char(format_spec, *str++);
                 }
-                vstr_add_char(format_spec, '\0');
+                vstr_null_terminate(format_spec);
             }
         }
         if (str >= top) {
@@ -1890,6 +1890,7 @@ mp_obj_t mp_obj_new_str_from_vstr(const mp_obj_type_t *type, vstr_t *vstr) {
     o->len = vstr->len;
     o->hash = qstr_compute_hash((byte*)vstr->buf, vstr->len);
     o->data = (byte*)m_renew(char, vstr->buf, vstr->alloc, vstr->len + 1);
+    ((byte*)o->data)[o->len] = '\0'; // add null byte
     vstr->buf = NULL;
     vstr->alloc = 0;
     return o;
diff --git a/py/stream.c b/py/stream.c
index b4ce1081b9e88225a6dacedfe9143e41f4db7feb..640659ec5ad626ddad72a8195a6597e1b62dbb07 100644
--- a/py/stream.c
+++ b/py/stream.c
@@ -177,7 +177,6 @@ STATIC mp_obj_t stream_read(mp_uint_t n_args, const mp_obj_t *args) {
         nlr_raise(mp_obj_new_exception_arg1(&mp_type_OSError, MP_OBJ_NEW_SMALL_INT(error)));
     } else {
         vstr.len = out_sz;
-        vstr.buf[vstr.len] = '\0';
         return mp_obj_new_str_from_vstr(STREAM_CONTENT_TYPE(o->type->stream_p), &vstr);
     }
 }
@@ -289,7 +288,6 @@ STATIC mp_obj_t stream_readall(mp_obj_t self_in) {
     }
 
     vstr.len = total_size;
-    vstr.buf[total_size] = '\0';
     return mp_obj_new_str_from_vstr(STREAM_CONTENT_TYPE(o->type->stream_p), &vstr);
 }
 
@@ -306,15 +304,15 @@ STATIC mp_obj_t stream_unbuffered_readline(mp_uint_t n_args, const mp_obj_t *arg
         max_size = MP_OBJ_SMALL_INT_VALUE(args[1]);
     }
 
-    vstr_t *vstr;
+    vstr_t vstr;
     if (max_size != -1) {
-        vstr = vstr_new_size(max_size);
+        vstr_init(&vstr, max_size);
     } else {
-        vstr = vstr_new();
+        vstr_init(&vstr, 16);
     }
 
     while (max_size == -1 || max_size-- != 0) {
-        char *p = vstr_add_len(vstr, 1);
+        char *p = vstr_add_len(&vstr, 1);
         if (p == NULL) {
             nlr_raise(mp_obj_new_exception_msg_varg(&mp_type_MemoryError, "out of memory"));
         }
@@ -323,14 +321,14 @@ STATIC mp_obj_t stream_unbuffered_readline(mp_uint_t n_args, const mp_obj_t *arg
         mp_uint_t out_sz = o->type->stream_p->read(o, p, 1, &error);
         if (out_sz == MP_STREAM_ERROR) {
             if (is_nonblocking_error(error)) {
-                if (vstr->len == 1) {
+                if (vstr.len == 1) {
                     // We just incremented it, but otherwise we read nothing
                     // and immediately got EAGAIN. This is case is not well
                     // specified in
                     // https://docs.python.org/3/library/io.html#io.IOBase.readline
                     // unlike similar case for read(). But we follow the latter's
                     // behavior - return None.
-                    vstr_free(vstr);
+                    vstr_clear(&vstr);
                     return mp_const_none;
                 } else {
                     goto done;
@@ -343,16 +341,15 @@ done:
             // Back out previously added byte
             // Consider, what's better - read a char and get OutOfMemory (so read
             // char is lost), or allocate first as we do.
-            vstr_cut_tail_bytes(vstr, 1);
+            vstr_cut_tail_bytes(&vstr, 1);
             break;
         }
         if (*p == '\n') {
             break;
         }
     }
-    mp_obj_t ret = mp_obj_new_str_from_vstr(STREAM_CONTENT_TYPE(o->type->stream_p), vstr);
-    vstr_free(vstr);
-    return ret;
+
+    return mp_obj_new_str_from_vstr(STREAM_CONTENT_TYPE(o->type->stream_p), &vstr);
 }
 
 // TODO take an optional extra argument (what does it do exactly?)
diff --git a/py/vstr.c b/py/vstr.c
index e71a6b7bc16e4c09409471cc433bc526a077f148..ccd54d5890d6727887f90e19364586c923d6e2c6 100644
--- a/py/vstr.c
+++ b/py/vstr.c
@@ -35,12 +35,10 @@
 // returned value is always at least 1 greater than argument
 #define ROUND_ALLOC(a) (((a) & ((~0) - 7)) + 8)
 
-// Init the vstr so it allocs exactly given number of bytes.
-// Length is set to zero, and null byte written in first position.
+// Init the vstr so it allocs exactly given number of bytes.  Set length to zero.
 void vstr_init(vstr_t *vstr, size_t alloc) {
-    if (alloc < 2) {
-        // need at least 1 byte for the null byte at the end
-        alloc = 2;
+    if (alloc < 1) {
+        alloc = 1;
     }
     vstr->alloc = alloc;
     vstr->len = 0;
@@ -49,24 +47,20 @@ void vstr_init(vstr_t *vstr, size_t alloc) {
         vstr->had_error = true;
         return;
     }
-    vstr->buf[0] = 0;
     vstr->had_error = false;
     vstr->fixed_buf = false;
 }
 
-// Init the vstr so it allocs exactly enough ram to hold given length (plus the
-// null terminating byte), set the length, and write the null byte at the end.
+// Init the vstr so it allocs exactly enough ram to hold given length, and set the length.
 void vstr_init_len(vstr_t *vstr, size_t len) {
-    vstr_init(vstr, len + 1);
-    vstr_add_len(vstr, len);
+    vstr_init(vstr, len);
+    vstr->len = len;
 }
 
 void vstr_init_fixed_buf(vstr_t *vstr, size_t alloc, char *buf) {
-    assert(alloc > 0); // need at least room for the null byte
     vstr->alloc = alloc;
     vstr->len = 0;
     vstr->buf = buf;
-    vstr->buf[0] = 0;
     vstr->had_error = false;
     vstr->fixed_buf = true;
 }
@@ -79,16 +73,16 @@ void vstr_clear(vstr_t *vstr) {
 }
 
 vstr_t *vstr_new(void) {
-    vstr_t *vstr = m_new(vstr_t, 1);
+    vstr_t *vstr = m_new_obj(vstr_t);
     if (vstr == NULL) {
         return NULL;
     }
-    vstr_init(vstr, 32);
+    vstr_init(vstr, 16);
     return vstr;
 }
 
 vstr_t *vstr_new_size(size_t alloc) {
-    vstr_t *vstr = m_new(vstr_t, 1);
+    vstr_t *vstr = m_new_obj(vstr_t);
     if (vstr == NULL) {
         return NULL;
     }
@@ -107,7 +101,6 @@ void vstr_free(vstr_t *vstr) {
 
 void vstr_reset(vstr_t *vstr) {
     vstr->len = 0;
-    vstr->buf[0] = 0;
     vstr->had_error = false;
 }
 
@@ -129,7 +122,7 @@ size_t vstr_len(vstr_t *vstr) {
     return vstr->len;
 }
 
-// Extend vstr strictly by requested size, return pointer to newly added chunk
+// Extend vstr strictly by requested size, return pointer to newly added chunk.
 char *vstr_extend(vstr_t *vstr, size_t size) {
     if (vstr->fixed_buf) {
         return NULL;
@@ -146,11 +139,11 @@ char *vstr_extend(vstr_t *vstr, size_t size) {
 }
 
 STATIC bool vstr_ensure_extra(vstr_t *vstr, size_t size) {
-    if (vstr->len + size + 1 > vstr->alloc) {
+    if (vstr->len + size > vstr->alloc) {
         if (vstr->fixed_buf) {
             return false;
         }
-        size_t new_alloc = ROUND_ALLOC((vstr->len + size + 1) * 2);
+        size_t new_alloc = ROUND_ALLOC((vstr->len + size) * 2);
         char *new_buf = m_renew(char, vstr->buf, vstr->alloc, new_alloc);
         if (new_buf == NULL) {
             vstr->had_error = true;
@@ -175,10 +168,17 @@ char *vstr_add_len(vstr_t *vstr, size_t len) {
     }
     char *buf = vstr->buf + vstr->len;
     vstr->len += len;
-    vstr->buf[vstr->len] = 0;
     return buf;
 }
 
+// Doesn't increase len, just makes sure there is a null byte at the end
+void vstr_null_terminate(vstr_t *vstr) {
+    if (vstr->had_error || !vstr_ensure_extra(vstr, 1)) {
+        return;
+    }
+    vstr->buf[vstr->len] = '\0';
+}
+
 void vstr_add_byte(vstr_t *vstr, byte b) {
     byte *buf = (byte*)vstr_add_len(vstr, 1);
     if (buf == NULL) {
@@ -224,11 +224,7 @@ void vstr_add_char(vstr_t *vstr, unichar c) {
         buf[3] = (c & 0x3F) | 0x80;
     }
 #else
-    byte *buf = (byte*)vstr_add_len(vstr, 1);
-    if (buf == NULL) {
-        return;
-    }
-    buf[0] = c;
+    vstr_add_byte(vstr, c);
 #endif
 }
 
@@ -239,7 +235,7 @@ void vstr_add_str(vstr_t *vstr, const char *str) {
 void vstr_add_strn(vstr_t *vstr, const char *str, size_t len) {
     if (vstr->had_error || !vstr_ensure_extra(vstr, len)) {
         // if buf is fixed, we got here because there isn't enough room left
-        // so just try to copy as much as we can, with room for null byte
+        // so just try to copy as much as we can, with room for a possible null byte
         if (vstr->fixed_buf && vstr->len + 1 < vstr->alloc) {
             len = vstr->alloc - vstr->len - 1;
             goto copy;
@@ -249,7 +245,6 @@ void vstr_add_strn(vstr_t *vstr, const char *str, size_t len) {
 copy:
     memmove(vstr->buf + vstr->len, str, len);
     vstr->len += len;
-    vstr->buf[vstr->len] = 0;
 }
 
 STATIC char *vstr_ins_blank_bytes(vstr_t *vstr, size_t byte_pos, size_t byte_len) {
@@ -265,8 +260,8 @@ STATIC char *vstr_ins_blank_bytes(vstr_t *vstr, size_t byte_pos, size_t byte_len
         if (!vstr_ensure_extra(vstr, byte_len)) {
             return NULL;
         }
-        // copy up the string to make room for the new bytes; +1 for the null byte
-        memmove(vstr->buf + byte_pos + byte_len, vstr->buf + byte_pos, l - byte_pos + 1);
+        // copy up the string to make room for the new bytes
+        memmove(vstr->buf + byte_pos + byte_len, vstr->buf + byte_pos, l - byte_pos);
         // increase the length
         vstr->len += byte_len;
     }
@@ -301,7 +296,6 @@ void vstr_cut_tail_bytes(vstr_t *vstr, size_t len) {
     } else {
         vstr->len -= len;
     }
-    vstr->buf[vstr->len] = 0;
 }
 
 void vstr_cut_out_bytes(vstr_t *vstr, size_t byte_pos, size_t bytes_to_cut) {
@@ -309,10 +303,8 @@ void vstr_cut_out_bytes(vstr_t *vstr, size_t byte_pos, size_t bytes_to_cut) {
         return;
     } else if (byte_pos + bytes_to_cut >= vstr->len) {
         vstr->len = byte_pos;
-        vstr->buf[vstr->len] = 0;
     } else {
-        // move includes +1 for null byte at the end
-        memmove(vstr->buf + byte_pos, vstr->buf + byte_pos + bytes_to_cut, vstr->len - byte_pos - bytes_to_cut + 1);
+        memmove(vstr->buf + byte_pos, vstr->buf + byte_pos + bytes_to_cut, vstr->len - byte_pos - bytes_to_cut);
         vstr->len -= bytes_to_cut;
     }
 }
diff --git a/stmhal/input.c b/stmhal/input.c
index b735ca24924cfa085ca8ec0192ec093fdbd3c5f4..b1c8c1f78f5ced5983e633f82adce9aeb5535e58 100644
--- a/stmhal/input.c
+++ b/stmhal/input.c
@@ -39,9 +39,7 @@ STATIC mp_obj_t mp_builtin_input(uint n_args, const mp_obj_t *args) {
     if (line.len == 0 && ret == CHAR_CTRL_D) {
         nlr_raise(mp_obj_new_exception(&mp_type_EOFError));
     }
-    mp_obj_t o = mp_obj_new_str(line.buf, line.len, false);
-    vstr_clear(&line);
-    return o;
+    return mp_obj_new_str_from_vstr(&mp_type_str, &line);
 }
 
 MP_DEFINE_CONST_FUN_OBJ_VAR_BETWEEN(mp_builtin_input_obj, 0, 1, mp_builtin_input);
diff --git a/stmhal/modusocket.c b/stmhal/modusocket.c
index b52a9c8e88a290a09f1fb01fcc74b5b4e4730d97..a2ec08f59e2d8ac9e6adb7e796a5b829856365f8 100644
--- a/stmhal/modusocket.c
+++ b/stmhal/modusocket.c
@@ -217,7 +217,6 @@ STATIC mp_obj_t socket_recv(mp_obj_t self_in, mp_obj_t len_in) {
         return mp_const_empty_bytes;
     }
     vstr.len = ret;
-    vstr.buf[vstr.len] = '\0';
     return mp_obj_new_str_from_vstr(&mp_type_bytes, &vstr);
 }
 STATIC MP_DEFINE_CONST_FUN_OBJ_2(socket_recv_obj, socket_recv);
@@ -269,7 +268,6 @@ STATIC mp_obj_t socket_recvfrom(mp_obj_t self_in, mp_obj_t len_in) {
         tuple[0] = mp_const_empty_bytes;
     } else {
         vstr.len = ret;
-        vstr.buf[vstr.len] = '\0';
         tuple[0] = mp_obj_new_str_from_vstr(&mp_type_bytes, &vstr);
     }
     tuple[1] = mod_network_format_inet_addr(ip, port);
diff --git a/stmhal/pyexec.c b/stmhal/pyexec.c
index 1563dc8e4a0ee410e479c4bc2641634388efd0cb..930c1c0191f0de1c4a8f28db7c0de51386d821ed 100644
--- a/stmhal/pyexec.c
+++ b/stmhal/pyexec.c
@@ -248,11 +248,12 @@ int pyexec_friendly_repl_process_char(int c) {
             return 0;
         }
 
+        vstr_null_terminate(&repl.line);
         if (!mp_repl_continue_with_input(vstr_str(&repl.line))) {
             goto exec;
         }
 
-        vstr_add_char(&repl.line, '\n');
+        vstr_add_byte(&repl.line, '\n');
         repl.cont_line = true;
         stdout_tx_str("... ");
         readline_note_newline();
@@ -274,8 +275,9 @@ int pyexec_friendly_repl_process_char(int c) {
             return 0;
         }
 
+        vstr_null_terminate(&repl.line);
         if (mp_repl_continue_with_input(vstr_str(&repl.line))) {
-            vstr_add_char(&repl.line, '\n');
+            vstr_add_byte(&repl.line, '\n');
             stdout_tx_str("... ");
             readline_note_newline();
             return 0;
@@ -362,8 +364,12 @@ friendly_repl_reset:
             continue;
         }
 
-        while (mp_repl_continue_with_input(vstr_str(&line))) {
-            vstr_add_char(&line, '\n');
+        for (;;) {
+            vstr_null_terminate(&line);
+            if (!mp_repl_continue_with_input(vstr_str(&line))) {
+                break;
+            }
+            vstr_add_byte(&line, '\n');
             ret = readline(&line, "... ");
             if (ret == CHAR_CTRL_C) {
                 // cancel everything
diff --git a/teensy/main.c b/teensy/main.c
index 082f6f1ca9114479b57f0b8c4319a7a333727a86..34a804c60a5165a453e4a4b04c194114fa13b803 100644
--- a/teensy/main.c
+++ b/teensy/main.c
@@ -319,6 +319,7 @@ soft_reset:
         } else {
             vstr_add_str(vstr, mp_obj_str_get_str(pyb_config_main));
         }
+        vstr_null_terminate(vstr);
         if (!pyexec_file(vstr_str(vstr))) {
             flash_error(3);
         }