diff --git a/src/basic/proc-cmdline.c b/src/basic/proc-cmdline.c
index 16700013641..7dca9e60b61 100644
--- a/src/basic/proc-cmdline.c
+++ b/src/basic/proc-cmdline.c
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ int proc_cmdline(char **ret) {
         }
 
         if (detect_container() > 0)
-                return get_process_cmdline(1, 0, false, ret);
+                return get_process_cmdline(1, SIZE_MAX, false, ret);
         else
                 return read_one_line_file("/proc/cmdline", ret);
 }
diff --git a/src/basic/process-util.c b/src/basic/process-util.c
index 21af88f5f88..4c05f16db52 100644
--- a/src/basic/process-util.c
+++ b/src/basic/process-util.c
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@
 #include "string-util.h"
 #include "terminal-util.h"
 #include "user-util.h"
+#include "utf8.h"
 
 static int get_process_state(pid_t pid) {
         const char *p;
@@ -100,22 +101,24 @@ int get_process_comm(pid_t pid, char **ret) {
         return 0;
 }
 
-int get_process_cmdline(pid_t pid, size_t max_length, bool comm_fallback, char **line) {
+int get_process_cmdline(pid_t pid, size_t max_columns, bool comm_fallback, char **line) {
         _cleanup_fclose_ FILE *f = NULL;
-        bool space = false;
-        char *k;
-        _cleanup_free_ char *ans = NULL;
+        _cleanup_free_ char *t = NULL, *ans = NULL;
         const char *p;
-        int c, r;
+        int r;
+        size_t k;
+
+        /* This is supposed to be a safety guard against runaway command lines. */
+        size_t max_length = sc_arg_max();
 
         assert(line);
         assert(pid >= 0);
 
-        /* Retrieves a process' command line. Replaces unprintable characters while doing so by whitespace (coalescing
-         * multiple sequential ones into one). If max_length is != 0 will return a string of the specified size at most
-         * (the trailing NUL byte does count towards the length here!), abbreviated with a "..." ellipsis. If
-         * comm_fallback is true and the process has no command line set (the case for kernel threads), or has a
-         * command line that resolves to the empty string will return the "comm" name of the process instead.
+        /* Retrieves a process' command line. Replaces non-utf8 bytes by replacement character (�). If
+         * max_columns is != -1 will return a string of the specified console width at most, abbreviated with
+         * an ellipsis. If comm_fallback is true and the process has no command line set (the case for kernel
+         * threads), or has a command line that resolves to the empty string will return the "comm" name of
+         * the process instead. This will use at most _SC_ARG_MAX bytes of input data.
          *
          * Returns -ESRCH if the process doesn't exist, and -ENOENT if the process has no command line (and
          * comm_fallback is false). Returns 0 and sets *line otherwise. */
@@ -127,127 +130,54 @@ int get_process_cmdline(pid_t pid, size_t max_length, bool comm_fallback, char *
         if (r < 0)
                 return r;
 
-        if (max_length == 0)
-                /* This is supposed to be a safety guard against runaway command lines. */
-                max_length = sc_arg_max();
+        /* We assume that each four-byte character uses one or two columns. If we ever check for combining
+         * characters, this assumption will need to be adjusted. */
+        if ((size_t) 4 * max_columns + 1 < max_columns)
+                max_length = MIN(max_length, (size_t) 4 * max_columns + 1);
 
-        if (max_length == 1) {
+        t = new(char, max_length);
+        if (!t)
+                return -ENOMEM;
 
-                /* If there's only room for one byte, return the empty string */
-                ans = new0(char, 1);
-                if (!ans)
-                        return -ENOMEM;
-
-                *line = TAKE_PTR(ans);
-                return 0;
+        k = fread(t, 1, max_length, f);
+        if (k > 0) {
+                /* Arguments are separated by NULs. Let's replace those with spaces. */
+                for (size_t i = 0; i < k - 1; i++)
+                        if (t[i] == '\0')
+                                t[i] = ' ';
 
+                t[k] = '\0'; /* Normally, t[k] is already NUL, so this is just a guard in case of short read */
         } else {
-                bool dotdotdot = false;
-                size_t left;
-
-                ans = new(char, max_length);
-                if (!ans)
-                        return -ENOMEM;
-
-                k = ans;
-                left = max_length;
-                while ((c = getc(f)) != EOF) {
-
-                        if (isprint(c)) {
-
-                                if (space) {
-                                        if (left <= 2) {
-                                                dotdotdot = true;
-                                                break;
-                                        }
-
-                                        *(k++) = ' ';
-                                        left--;
-                                        space = false;
-                                }
-
-                                if (left <= 1) {
-                                        dotdotdot = true;
-                                        break;
-                                }
-
-                                *(k++) = (char) c;
-                                left--;
-                        } else if (k > ans)
-                                space = true;
-                }
-
-                if (dotdotdot) {
-                        if (max_length <= 4) {
-                                k = ans;
-                                left = max_length;
-                        } else {
-                                k = ans + max_length - 4;
-                                left = 4;
-
-                                /* Eat up final spaces */
-                                while (k > ans && isspace(k[-1])) {
-                                        k--;
-                                        left++;
-                                }
-                        }
-
-                        strncpy(k, "...", left-1);
-                        k[left-1] = 0;
-                } else
-                        *k = 0;
-        }
-
-        /* Kernel threads have no argv[] */
-        if (isempty(ans)) {
-                _cleanup_free_ char *t = NULL;
-                int h;
-
-                ans = mfree(ans);
+                /* We only treat getting nothing as an error. We *could* also get an error after reading some
+                 * data, but we ignore that case, as such an error is rather unlikely and we prefer to get
+                 * some data rather than none. */
+                if (ferror(f))
+                        return -errno;
 
                 if (!comm_fallback)
                         return -ENOENT;
 
-                h = get_process_comm(pid, &t);
-                if (h < 0)
-                        return h;
+                /* Kernel threads have no argv[] */
+                _cleanup_free_ char *t2 = NULL;
 
-                size_t l = strlen(t);
+                r = get_process_comm(pid, &t2);
+                if (r < 0)
+                        return r;
 
-                if (l + 3 <= max_length) {
-                        ans = strjoin("[", t, "]");
-                        if (!ans)
-                                return -ENOMEM;
-
-                } else if (max_length <= 6) {
-                        ans = new(char, max_length);
-                        if (!ans)
-                                return -ENOMEM;
-
-                        memcpy(ans, "[...]", max_length-1);
-                        ans[max_length-1] = 0;
-                } else {
-                        t[max_length - 6] = 0;
-
-                        /* Chop off final spaces */
-                        delete_trailing_chars(t, WHITESPACE);
-
-                        ans = strjoin("[", t, "...]");
-                        if (!ans)
-                                return -ENOMEM;
-                }
-
-                *line = TAKE_PTR(ans);
-                return 0;
+                mfree(t);
+                t = strjoin("[", t2, "]");
+                if (!t)
+                        return -ENOMEM;
         }
 
-        k = realloc(ans, strlen(ans) + 1);
-        if (!k)
+        delete_trailing_chars(t, WHITESPACE);
+
+        ans = utf8_escape_non_printable_full(t, max_columns);
+        if (!ans)
                 return -ENOMEM;
 
-        ans = NULL;
-        *line = k;
-
+        (void) str_realloc(&ans);
+        *line = TAKE_PTR(ans);
         return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/basic/process-util.h b/src/basic/process-util.h
index 83ba93d0d74..dec584606b6 100644
--- a/src/basic/process-util.h
+++ b/src/basic/process-util.h
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
         })
 
 int get_process_comm(pid_t pid, char **name);
-int get_process_cmdline(pid_t pid, size_t max_length, bool comm_fallback, char **line);
+int get_process_cmdline(pid_t pid, size_t max_columns, bool comm_fallback, char **line);
 int get_process_exe(pid_t pid, char **name);
 int get_process_uid(pid_t pid, uid_t *uid);
 int get_process_gid(pid_t pid, gid_t *gid);
diff --git a/src/basic/string-util.h b/src/basic/string-util.h
index a630856236a..47b17c9d3e7 100644
--- a/src/basic/string-util.h
+++ b/src/basic/string-util.h
@@ -257,3 +257,16 @@ static inline void *memory_startswith_no_case(const void *p, size_t sz, const ch
 
         return (uint8_t*) p + n;
 }
+
+static inline char* str_realloc(char **p) {
+        /* Reallocate *p to actual size */
+
+        if (!*p)
+                return NULL;
+
+        char *t = realloc(*p, strlen(*p) + 1);
+        if (!t)
+                return NULL;
+
+        return (*p = t);
+}
diff --git a/src/core/dbus-unit.c b/src/core/dbus-unit.c
index 16b4a6b1332..1e996a2f1b0 100644
--- a/src/core/dbus-unit.c
+++ b/src/core/dbus-unit.c
@@ -901,7 +901,7 @@ static int append_process(sd_bus_message *reply, const char *p, pid_t pid, Set *
                 p = buf;
         }
 
-        (void) get_process_cmdline(pid, 0, true, &cmdline);
+        (void) get_process_cmdline(pid, SIZE_MAX, true, &cmdline);
 
         return sd_bus_message_append(reply,
                                      "(sus)",
diff --git a/src/coredump/coredump.c b/src/coredump/coredump.c
index 9ab704e2076..c0bd03762f1 100644
--- a/src/coredump/coredump.c
+++ b/src/coredump/coredump.c
@@ -661,7 +661,7 @@ static int get_process_container_parent_cmdline(pid_t pid, char** cmdline) {
         if (r < 0)
                 return r;
 
-        r = get_process_cmdline(container_pid, 0, false, cmdline);
+        r = get_process_cmdline(container_pid, SIZE_MAX, false, cmdline);
         if (r < 0)
                 return r;
 
@@ -1154,7 +1154,7 @@ static int gather_pid_metadata(
         if (sd_pid_get_slice(pid, &t) >= 0)
                 set_iovec_field_free(iovec, n_iovec, "COREDUMP_SLICE=", t);
 
-        if (get_process_cmdline(pid, 0, false, &t) >= 0)
+        if (get_process_cmdline(pid, SIZE_MAX, false, &t) >= 0)
                 set_iovec_field_free(iovec, n_iovec, "COREDUMP_CMDLINE=", t);
 
         if (cg_pid_get_path_shifted(pid, NULL, &t) >= 0)
diff --git a/src/journal/journald-context.c b/src/journal/journald-context.c
index e41e4fc5a72..684ae9aaae0 100644
--- a/src/journal/journald-context.c
+++ b/src/journal/journald-context.c
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ static void client_context_read_basic(ClientContext *c) {
         if (get_process_exe(c->pid, &t) >= 0)
                 free_and_replace(c->exe, t);
 
-        if (get_process_cmdline(c->pid, 0, false, &t) >= 0)
+        if (get_process_cmdline(c->pid, SIZE_MAX, false, &t) >= 0)
                 free_and_replace(c->cmdline, t);
 
         if (get_process_capeff(c->pid, &t) >= 0)
diff --git a/src/shared/cgroup-show.c b/src/shared/cgroup-show.c
index cac7922ec0e..2bd0e09caee 100644
--- a/src/shared/cgroup-show.c
+++ b/src/shared/cgroup-show.c
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ static void show_pid_array(
                 pid_t pids[],
                 unsigned n_pids,
                 const char *prefix,
-                unsigned n_columns,
+                size_t n_columns,
                 bool extra,
                 bool more,
                 OutputFlags flags) {
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ static void show_pid_array(
         pid_width = DECIMAL_STR_WIDTH(pids[j]);
 
         if (flags & OUTPUT_FULL_WIDTH)
-                n_columns = 0;
+                n_columns = SIZE_MAX;
         else {
                 if (n_columns > pid_width + 3) /* something like "├─1114784 " */
                         n_columns -= pid_width + 3;
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ static void show_pid_array(
 static int show_cgroup_one_by_path(
                 const char *path,
                 const char *prefix,
-                unsigned n_columns,
+                size_t n_columns,
                 bool more,
                 OutputFlags flags) {
 
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ static int show_cgroup_one_by_path(
 int show_cgroup_by_path(
                 const char *path,
                 const char *prefix,
-                unsigned n_columns,
+                size_t n_columns,
                 OutputFlags flags) {
 
         _cleanup_free_ char *fn = NULL, *p1 = NULL, *last = NULL, *p2 = NULL;
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ int show_cgroup_by_path(
 int show_cgroup(const char *controller,
                 const char *path,
                 const char *prefix,
-                unsigned n_columns,
+                size_t n_columns,
                 OutputFlags flags) {
         _cleanup_free_ char *p = NULL;
         int r;
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ static int show_extra_pids(
                 const char *controller,
                 const char *path,
                 const char *prefix,
-                unsigned n_columns,
+                size_t n_columns,
                 const pid_t pids[],
                 unsigned n_pids,
                 OutputFlags flags) {
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ int show_cgroup_and_extra(
                 const char *controller,
                 const char *path,
                 const char *prefix,
-                unsigned n_columns,
+                size_t n_columns,
                 const pid_t extra_pids[],
                 unsigned n_extra_pids,
                 OutputFlags flags) {
diff --git a/src/shared/cgroup-show.h b/src/shared/cgroup-show.h
index 3593e9dcf43..dfb26f82910 100644
--- a/src/shared/cgroup-show.h
+++ b/src/shared/cgroup-show.h
@@ -9,10 +9,10 @@
 #include "logs-show.h"
 #include "output-mode.h"
 
-int show_cgroup_by_path(const char *path, const char *prefix, unsigned columns, OutputFlags flags);
-int show_cgroup(const char *controller, const char *path, const char *prefix, unsigned columns, OutputFlags flags);
+int show_cgroup_by_path(const char *path, const char *prefix, size_t n_columns, OutputFlags flags);
+int show_cgroup(const char *controller, const char *path, const char *prefix, size_t n_columns, OutputFlags flags);
 
-int show_cgroup_and_extra(const char *controller, const char *path, const char *prefix, unsigned n_columns, const pid_t extra_pids[], unsigned n_extra_pids, OutputFlags flags);
+int show_cgroup_and_extra(const char *controller, const char *path, const char *prefix, size_t n_columns, const pid_t extra_pids[], unsigned n_extra_pids, OutputFlags flags);
 
 int show_cgroup_get_unit_path_and_warn(
                 sd_bus *bus,
diff --git a/src/test/test-process-util.c b/src/test/test-process-util.c
index 89f6618e2e8..aaa8041ec35 100644
--- a/src/test/test-process-util.c
+++ b/src/test/test-process-util.c
@@ -237,117 +237,116 @@ static void test_get_process_cmdline_harder(void) {
 
         assert_se(prctl(PR_SET_NAME, "testa") >= 0);
 
-        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 0, false, &line) == -ENOENT);
+        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), SIZE_MAX, false, &line) == -ENOENT);
 
-        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 0, true, &line) >= 0);
+        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), SIZE_MAX, true, &line) >= 0);
         assert_se(streq(line, "[testa]"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
-        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 1, true, &line) >= 0);
+        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 0, true, &line) >= 0);
+        log_info("'%s'", line);
         assert_se(streq(line, ""));
         line = mfree(line);
 
+        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 1, true, &line) >= 0);
+        assert_se(streq(line, "…"));
+        line = mfree(line);
+
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 2, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "["));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "[…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 3, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "[."));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "[t…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 4, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "[.."));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "[te…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 5, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "[..."));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "[tes…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 6, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "[...]"));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "[test…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 7, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "[t...]"));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "[testa]"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 8, true, &line) >= 0);
         assert_se(streq(line, "[testa]"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
-        assert_se(write(fd, "\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0", 10) == 10);
+        assert_se(write(fd, "foo\0bar", 8) == 8);
 
-        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 0, false, &line) == -ENOENT);
-
-        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 0, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "[testa]"));
-        line = mfree(line);
-
-        assert_se(write(fd, "foo\0bar\0\0\0\0\0", 10) == 10);
-
-        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 0, false, &line) >= 0);
+        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), SIZE_MAX, false, &line) >= 0);
+        log_info("'%s'", line);
         assert_se(streq(line, "foo bar"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
-        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 0, true, &line) >= 0);
+        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), SIZE_MAX, true, &line) >= 0);
         assert_se(streq(line, "foo bar"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(write(fd, "quux", 4) == 4);
-        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 0, false, &line) >= 0);
+        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), SIZE_MAX, false, &line) >= 0);
+        log_info("'%s'", line);
         assert_se(streq(line, "foo bar quux"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
-        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 0, true, &line) >= 0);
+        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), SIZE_MAX, true, &line) >= 0);
         assert_se(streq(line, "foo bar quux"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 1, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, ""));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 2, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "."));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "f…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 3, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, ".."));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "fo…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 4, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "..."));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "foo…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 5, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "f..."));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "foo …"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 6, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "fo..."));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "foo b…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 7, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "foo..."));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "foo ba…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 8, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "foo..."));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "foo bar…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 9, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "foo b..."));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "foo bar …"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 10, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "foo ba..."));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "foo bar q…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 11, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "foo bar..."));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "foo bar qu…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 12, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "foo bar..."));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "foo bar quux"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 13, true, &line) >= 0);
@@ -365,22 +364,22 @@ static void test_get_process_cmdline_harder(void) {
         assert_se(ftruncate(fd, 0) >= 0);
         assert_se(prctl(PR_SET_NAME, "aaaa bbbb cccc") >= 0);
 
-        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 0, false, &line) == -ENOENT);
+        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), SIZE_MAX, false, &line) == -ENOENT);
 
-        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 0, true, &line) >= 0);
+        assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), SIZE_MAX, true, &line) >= 0);
         assert_se(streq(line, "[aaaa bbbb cccc]"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 10, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "[aaaa...]"));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "[aaaa bbb…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 11, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "[aaaa...]"));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "[aaaa bbbb…"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         assert_se(get_process_cmdline(getpid_cached(), 12, true, &line) >= 0);
-        assert_se(streq(line, "[aaaa b...]"));
+        assert_se(streq(line, "[aaaa bbbb …"));
         line = mfree(line);
 
         safe_close(fd);
@@ -409,7 +408,7 @@ static void test_rename_process_now(const char *p, int ret) {
         log_info("comm = <%s>", comm);
         assert_se(strneq(comm, p, TASK_COMM_LEN-1));
 
-        r = get_process_cmdline(0, 0, false, &cmdline);
+        r = get_process_cmdline(0, SIZE_MAX, false, &cmdline);
         assert_se(r >= 0);
         /* we cannot expect cmdline to be renamed properly without privileges */
         if (geteuid() == 0) {