diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index a2de16f61e..89a3fec76b 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -182,6 +182,7 @@ test-*.trs
 /libnm/nm-settings-docs.xml
 /libnm/nm-settings-docs-overrides.xml
 /libnm/nm-settings-keyfile-docs.xml
+/libnm/tests/test-general
 /libnm/tests/test-nm-client
 /libnm/tests/test-remote-settings-client
 /libnm/tests/test-secret-agent
diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index 32b6ba65f8..1bf3e96d26 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -737,6 +737,7 @@ libnm_lib_h_pub_nointrospect = \
 libnm_lib_h_pub_mkenums = \
 	libnm/nm-enum-types.h
 libnm_lib_h_priv = \
+	libnm/nm-libnm-utils.h \
 	libnm/nm-dbus-helpers.h \
 	libnm/nm-device-private.h \
 	libnm/nm-dhcp4-config.h \
@@ -793,6 +794,14 @@ libnm_lib_c_real = \
 libnm_lib_c_mkenums = \
 	libnm/nm-enum-types.c
 
+libnm_lib_cppflags = \
+	$(dflt_cppflags_libnm_core) \
+	-I$(srcdir)/libnm \
+	-I$(builddir)/libnm \
+	-DG_LOG_DOMAIN=\""libnm"\" \
+	-DNETWORKMANAGER_COMPILATION=NM_NETWORKMANAGER_COMPILATION_LIB \
+	-DNMRUNDIR=\"$(nmrundir)\"
+
 libnminclude_HEADERS += \
 	$(libnm_lib_h_pub_real) \
 	$(libnm_lib_h_pub_nointrospect)
@@ -802,6 +811,23 @@ nodist_libnminclude_HEADERS += \
 
 ###############################################################################
 
+lib_LTLIBRARIES += libnm/libnm-utils.la
+
+libnm_libnm_utils_la_CPPFLAGS = \
+	$(libnm_lib_cppflags)
+
+libnm_libnm_utils_la_SOURCES = \
+	libnm/nm-libnm-utils.c
+
+libnm_libnm_utils_la_LIBADD = \
+	libnm-core/libnm-core.la \
+	introspection/libnmdbus.la \
+	$(GLIB_LIBS)
+
+$(libnm_libnm_utils_la_OBJECTS) : $(libnm_lib_h_pub_mkenums)
+
+###############################################################################
+
 lib_LTLIBRARIES += libnm/libnm.la
 
 GLIB_GENERATED += \
@@ -820,13 +846,8 @@ $(libnm_libnm_la_OBJECTS):                              $(libnm_lib_h_pub_mkenum
 $(libnm_tests_libnm_vpn_plugin_utils_test_la_OBJECTS):  $(libnm_core_lib_h_pub_mkenums)
 
 libnm_libnm_la_CPPFLAGS = \
-	$(dflt_cppflags_libnm_core) \
-	-I$(srcdir)/libnm \
-	-I$(builddir)/libnm \
-	$(LIBUDEV_CFLAGS) \
-	-DG_LOG_DOMAIN=\""libnm"\" \
-	-DNETWORKMANAGER_COMPILATION=NM_NETWORKMANAGER_COMPILATION_LIB \
-	-DNMRUNDIR=\"$(nmrundir)\"
+	$(libnm_lib_cppflags) \
+	$(LIBUDEV_CFLAGS)
 
 libnm_libnm_la_SOURCES = \
 	$(libnm_lib_h_pub_real) \
@@ -844,6 +865,7 @@ EXTRA_libnm_libnm_la_DEPENDENCIES = \
 libnm_libnm_la_LIBADD = \
 	libnm-core/libnm-core.la \
 	introspection/libnmdbus.la \
+	libnm/libnm-utils.la \
 	$(DL_LIBS) \
 	$(GLIB_LIBS) \
 	$(UUID_LIBS) \
@@ -950,6 +972,7 @@ EXTRA_DIST += \
 ###############################################################################
 
 libnm_tests_programs = \
+	libnm/tests/test-general \
 	libnm/tests/test-nm-client \
 	libnm/tests/test-remote-settings-client \
 	libnm/tests/test-secret-agent
@@ -967,10 +990,14 @@ libnm_tests_ldadd = \
 	libnm/libnm.la \
 	$(GLIB_LIBS)
 
+libnm_tests_test_general_CPPFLAGS = $(libnm_tests_cppflags)
 libnm_tests_test_nm_client_CPPFLAGS = $(libnm_tests_cppflags)
 libnm_tests_test_remote_settings_client_CPPFLAGS = $(libnm_tests_cppflags)
 libnm_tests_test_secret_agent_CPPFLAGS = $(libnm_tests_cppflags)
 
+libnm_tests_test_general_SOURCES = \
+	libnm/tests/test-general.c
+
 libnm_tests_test_nm_client_SOURCES = \
 	shared/nm-test-utils-impl.c \
 	shared/nm-test-libnm-utils.h \
@@ -986,10 +1013,14 @@ libnm_tests_test_secret_agent_SOURCES = \
 	shared/nm-test-libnm-utils.h \
 	libnm/tests/test-secret-agent.c
 
+libnm_tests_test_general_LDADD = \
+	libnm/libnm-utils.la \
+	$(libnm_tests_ldadd)
 libnm_tests_test_nm_client_LDADD = $(libnm_tests_ldadd)
 libnm_tests_test_remote_settings_client_LDADD = $(libnm_tests_ldadd)
 libnm_tests_test_secret_agent_LDADD = $(libnm_tests_ldadd)
 
+$(libnm_tests_test_general_OBJECTS): $(libnm_core_lib_h_pub_mkenums)
 $(libnm_tests_test_nm_client_OBJECTS): $(libnm_core_lib_h_pub_mkenums)
 $(libnm_tests_test_remote_settings_client_OBJECTS): $(libnm_core_lib_h_pub_mkenums)
 $(libnm_tests_test_secret_agent_OBJECTS): $(libnm_core_lib_h_pub_mkenums)
diff --git a/libnm/nm-device.c b/libnm/nm-device.c
index 7e8feb1cd5..969d08a620 100644
--- a/libnm/nm-device.c
+++ b/libnm/nm-device.c
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 #include <string.h>
 #include <libudev.h>
 
+#include "nm-libnm-utils.h"
 #include "nm-dbus-interface.h"
 #include "nm-active-connection.h"
 #include "nm-device-bt.h"
@@ -1431,138 +1432,6 @@ nm_device_get_vendor (NMDevice *device)
 	return priv->vendor;
 }
 
-static char *
-fixup_desc_string (const char *desc)
-{
-	static const char *const IGNORED_PHRASES[] = {
-		"Multiprotocol MAC/baseband processor",
-		"Wireless LAN Controller",
-		"Wireless LAN Adapter",
-		"Wireless Adapter",
-		"Network Connection",
-		"Wireless Cardbus Adapter",
-		"Wireless CardBus Adapter",
-		"54 Mbps Wireless PC Card",
-		"Wireless PC Card",
-		"Wireless PC",
-		"PC Card with XJACK(r) Antenna",
-		"Wireless cardbus",
-		"Wireless LAN PC Card",
-		"Technology Group Ltd.",
-		"Communication S.p.A.",
-		"Business Mobile Networks BV",
-		"Mobile Broadband Minicard Composite Device",
-		"Mobile Communications AB",
-		"(PC-Suite Mode)",
-	};
-	static const char *const IGNORED_WORDS[] = {
-		"Semiconductor",
-		"Components",
-		"Corporation",
-		"Communications",
-		"Company",
-		"Corp.",
-		"Corp",
-		"Co.",
-		"Inc.",
-		"Inc",
-		"Incorporated",
-		"Ltd.",
-		"Limited.",
-		"Intel?",
-		"chipset",
-		"adapter",
-		"[hex]",
-		"NDIS",
-		"Module",
-	};
-	char *desc_full;
-	char *p, *q;
-	int i;
-
-	if (!desc || !desc[0])
-		return NULL;
-
-	/* restore original non-UTF-8-safe text. */
-	desc_full = nm_utils_str_utf8safe_unescape_cp (desc);
-
-	/* replace all invalid UTF-8 bytes with space. */
-	p = desc_full;
-	while (!g_utf8_validate (p, -1, (const char **) &q)) {
-		/* the byte is invalid UTF-8. Replace it with space and proceed. */
-		*q = ' ';
-		p = q + 1;
-	}
-
-	/* replace '_', ',', and ASCII controll characters with space. */
-	for (p = desc_full; p[0]; p++) {
-		if (   NM_IN_SET (*p, '_', ',')
-		    || *p < ' ')
-			*p = ' ';
-	}
-
-	/* Attempt to shorten ID by ignoring certain phrases */
-	for (i = 0; i < G_N_ELEMENTS (IGNORED_PHRASES); i++) {
-		p = strstr (desc_full, IGNORED_PHRASES[i]);
-		if (p) {
-			const char *eow = &p[strlen (IGNORED_PHRASES[i])];
-
-			memmove (p, eow, strlen (eow) + 1); /* +1 for the \0 */
-		}
-	}
-
-	/* Attempt to shorten ID by ignoring certain individual words.
-	 * - word-split the description at spaces
-	 * - coalesce multiple spaces
-	 * - skip over IGNORED_WORDS */
-	p = desc_full;
-	q = desc_full;
-	for (;;) {
-		char *eow;
-		gsize l;
-
-		/* skip leading spaces. */
-		while (p[0] == ' ')
-			p++;
-
-		if (!p[0])
-			break;
-
-		/* split leading word on first space */
-		eow = strchr (p, ' ');
-		if (eow)
-			*eow = '\0';
-
-		if (nm_utils_strv_find_first ((char **) IGNORED_WORDS,
-		                              G_N_ELEMENTS (IGNORED_WORDS),
-		                              p) < 0)
-			goto next;
-
-		l = strlen (p);
-		if (q != p) {
-			if (q != desc_full)
-				*q++ = ' ';
-			memmove (q, p, l);
-		}
-		q += l;
-
-next:
-		if (!eow)
-			break;
-		p = eow + 1;
-	}
-
-	*q++ = '\0';
-
-	if (!desc_full[0]) {
-		g_free (desc_full);
-		return NULL;
-	}
-
-	nm_assert (g_utf8_validate (desc_full, -1, NULL));
-	return desc_full;
-}
-
 static void
 ensure_description (NMDevice *device)
 {
@@ -1570,7 +1439,7 @@ ensure_description (NMDevice *device)
 	GParamSpec *name_prop;
 	gs_free char *short_product = NULL;
 
-	priv->short_vendor = nm_str_realloc (fixup_desc_string (nm_device_get_vendor (device)));
+	priv->short_vendor = nm_str_realloc (nm_utils_fixup_desc_string (nm_device_get_vendor (device)));
 
 	/* Grab device's preferred name, if any */
 	name_prop = g_object_class_find_property (G_OBJECT_GET_CLASS (G_OBJECT (device)), "name");
@@ -1582,7 +1451,7 @@ ensure_description (NMDevice *device)
 	}
 
 	if (   !priv->short_vendor
-	    || !(short_product = fixup_desc_string (nm_device_get_product (device)))) {
+	    || !(short_product = nm_utils_fixup_desc_string (nm_device_get_product (device)))) {
 		priv->description = g_strdup (nm_device_get_iface (device) ?: "");
 		return;
 	}
diff --git a/libnm/nm-libnm-utils.c b/libnm/nm-libnm-utils.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fbbfe2c552
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libnm/nm-libnm-utils.c
@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+/* -*- Mode: C; tab-width: 4; indent-tabs-mode: t; c-basic-offset: 4 -*- */
+/*
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, write to the
+ * Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
+ * Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+ *
+ * Copyright 2007 - 2008 Novell, Inc.
+ * Copyright 2007 - 2017 Red Hat, Inc.
+ */
+
+#include "nm-default.h"
+
+#include "nm-libnm-utils.h"
+
+/*****************************************************************************/
+
+char *
+nm_utils_fixup_desc_string (const char *desc)
+{
+	static const char *const IGNORED_PHRASES[] = {
+		"Multiprotocol MAC/baseband processor",
+		"Wireless LAN Controller",
+		"Wireless LAN Adapter",
+		"Wireless Adapter",
+		"Network Connection",
+		"Wireless Cardbus Adapter",
+		"Wireless CardBus Adapter",
+		"54 Mbps Wireless PC Card",
+		"Wireless PC Card",
+		"Wireless PC",
+		"PC Card with XJACK(r) Antenna",
+		"Wireless cardbus",
+		"Wireless LAN PC Card",
+		"Technology Group Ltd.",
+		"Communication S.p.A.",
+		"Business Mobile Networks BV",
+		"Mobile Broadband Minicard Composite Device",
+		"Mobile Communications AB",
+		"(PC-Suite Mode)",
+	};
+	static const char *const IGNORED_WORDS[] = {
+		"Semiconductor",
+		"Components",
+		"Corporation",
+		"Communications",
+		"Company",
+		"Corp.",
+		"Corp",
+		"Co.",
+		"Inc.",
+		"Inc",
+		"Incorporated",
+		"Ltd.",
+		"Limited.",
+		"Intel?",
+		"chipset",
+		"adapter",
+		"[hex]",
+		"NDIS",
+		"Module",
+	};
+	char *desc_full;
+	char *p, *q;
+	int i;
+
+	if (!desc || !desc[0])
+		return NULL;
+
+	/* restore original non-UTF-8-safe text. */
+	desc_full = nm_utils_str_utf8safe_unescape_cp (desc);
+
+	/* replace all invalid UTF-8 bytes with space. */
+	p = desc_full;
+	while (!g_utf8_validate (p, -1, (const char **) &q)) {
+		/* the byte is invalid UTF-8. Replace it with space and proceed. */
+		*q = ' ';
+		p = q + 1;
+	}
+
+	/* replace '_', ',', and ASCII controll characters with space. */
+	for (p = desc_full; p[0]; p++) {
+		if (   NM_IN_SET (*p, '_', ',')
+		    || *p < ' ')
+			*p = ' ';
+	}
+
+	/* Attempt to shorten ID by ignoring certain phrases */
+	for (i = 0; i < G_N_ELEMENTS (IGNORED_PHRASES); i++) {
+		p = strstr (desc_full, IGNORED_PHRASES[i]);
+		if (p) {
+			const char *eow = &p[strlen (IGNORED_PHRASES[i])];
+
+			/* require that the phrase is delimited by space, or
+			 * at the beginning or end of the description. */
+			if (   (p == desc_full || p[-1] == ' ')
+			    && NM_IN_SET (eow[0], '\0', ' '))
+				memmove (p, eow, strlen (eow) + 1); /* +1 for the \0 */
+		}
+	}
+
+	/* Attempt to shorten ID by ignoring certain individual words.
+	 * - word-split the description at spaces
+	 * - coalesce multiple spaces
+	 * - skip over IGNORED_WORDS */
+	p = desc_full;
+	q = desc_full;
+	for (;;) {
+		char *eow;
+		gsize l;
+
+		/* skip leading spaces. */
+		while (p[0] == ' ')
+			p++;
+
+		if (!p[0])
+			break;
+
+		/* split leading word on first space */
+		eow = strchr (p, ' ');
+		if (eow)
+			*eow = '\0';
+
+		if (nm_utils_strv_find_first ((char **) IGNORED_WORDS,
+		                              G_N_ELEMENTS (IGNORED_WORDS),
+		                              p) >= 0)
+			goto next;
+
+		l = strlen (p);
+		if (q != p) {
+			if (q != desc_full)
+				*q++ = ' ';
+			memmove (q, p, l);
+		}
+		q += l;
+
+next:
+		if (!eow)
+			break;
+		p = eow + 1;
+	}
+
+	*q++ = '\0';
+
+	if (!desc_full[0]) {
+		g_free (desc_full);
+		return NULL;
+	}
+
+	nm_assert (g_utf8_validate (desc_full, -1, NULL));
+	return desc_full;
+}
diff --git a/libnm/nm-libnm-utils.h b/libnm/nm-libnm-utils.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4a5a361c51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libnm/nm-libnm-utils.h
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+/* -*- Mode: C; tab-width: 4; indent-tabs-mode: t; c-basic-offset: 4 -*- */
+/*
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, write to the
+ * Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
+ * Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+ *
+ * Copyright 2017 Red Hat, Inc.
+ */
+
+#ifndef __NM_LIBNM_UTILS_H__
+#define __NM_LIBNM_UTILS_H__
+
+char *nm_utils_fixup_desc_string (const char *desc);
+
+#endif /* __NM_LIBNM_UTILS_H__ */
diff --git a/libnm/tests/test-general.c b/libnm/tests/test-general.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7e0b7bb740
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libnm/tests/test-general.c
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+/* -*- Mode: C; tab-width: 4; indent-tabs-mode: t; c-basic-offset: 4 -*- */
+/*
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option)
+ * any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT SC WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
+ * with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
+ * 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+ *
+ * Copyright 2017 Red Hat, Inc.
+ */
+
+#include "nm-default.h"
+
+#include "nm-libnm-utils.h"
+
+#include "nm-utils/nm-test-utils.h"
+
+/*****************************************************************************/
+
+static void
+do_test_fixup_desc_string (const char *desc, const char *expected)
+{
+	gs_free char *result = NULL;
+
+	result = nm_utils_fixup_desc_string (desc);
+	g_assert_cmpstr (result, ==, expected);
+}
+
+#define do_test_fixup_desc_string_same(desc) (do_test_fixup_desc_string (""desc"", ""desc""))
+
+static void
+test_fixup_desc_string (void)
+{
+	do_test_fixup_desc_string (NULL, NULL);
+	do_test_fixup_desc_string ("", NULL);
+	do_test_fixup_desc_string_same ("a");
+	do_test_fixup_desc_string_same ("a b");
+	do_test_fixup_desc_string ("a b ", "a b");
+	do_test_fixup_desc_string ("  a   bbc ", "a bbc");
+	do_test_fixup_desc_string ("  a \xcc  bbc ", "a bbc");
+	do_test_fixup_desc_string ("  a\xcc  bbc ", "a bbc");
+	do_test_fixup_desc_string ("  a\xcc""bbc Wireless PC", "a bbc");
+	do_test_fixup_desc_string ("  a\xcc""bbc Wireless PC ", "a bbc");
+	do_test_fixup_desc_string ("  a\xcc""bbcWireless PC ", "a bbcWireless PC");
+	do_test_fixup_desc_string ("  a\xcc""bbc Wireless PCx", "a bbc Wireless PCx");
+	do_test_fixup_desc_string ("  a\xcc""bbc Inc Wireless PC ", "a bbc");
+}
+
+/*****************************************************************************/
+
+NMTST_DEFINE ();
+
+int main (int argc, char **argv)
+{
+	nmtst_init (&argc, &argv, TRUE);
+
+	g_test_add_func ("/libnm/general/fixup_desc_string", test_fixup_desc_string);
+
+	return g_test_run ();
+}