diff --git a/nss/Makefile b/nss/Makefile
index c9a5200f96..ecf3530188 100644
--- a/nss/Makefile
+++ b/nss/Makefile
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ xtests			= bug-erange
 # Tests which need libdl
 ifeq (yes,$(build-shared))
 tests += tst-nss-files-hosts-erange
+tests += tst-nss-files-hosts-multi
 endif
 
 # If we have a thread library then we can test cancellation against
@@ -163,3 +164,4 @@ $(objpfx)tst-cancel-getpwuid_r: $(shared-thread-library)
 endif
 
 $(objpfx)tst-nss-files-hosts-erange: $(libdl)
+$(objpfx)tst-nss-files-hosts-multi: $(libdl)
diff --git a/nss/nss_files/files-hosts.c b/nss/nss_files/files-hosts.c
index c2cd07584c..f40673056b 100644
--- a/nss/nss_files/files-hosts.c
+++ b/nss/nss_files/files-hosts.c
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 #include <netdb.h>
 #include <resolv/resolv-internal.h>
 #include <scratch_buffer.h>
+#include <alloc_buffer.h>
 
 
 /* Get implementation for some internal functions.  */
@@ -116,24 +117,46 @@ DB_LOOKUP (hostbyaddr, ,,,
 	   }, const void *addr, socklen_t len, int af)
 #undef EXTRA_ARGS_VALUE
 
+/* Type of the address and alias arrays.  */
+#define DYNARRAY_STRUCT array
+#define DYNARRAY_ELEMENT char *
+#define DYNARRAY_PREFIX array_
+#include <malloc/dynarray-skeleton.c>
+
 static enum nss_status
 gethostbyname3_multi (FILE * stream, const char *name, int af,
 		      struct hostent *result, char *buffer, size_t buflen,
 		      int *errnop, int *herrnop, int flags)
 {
+  assert (af == AF_INET || af == AF_INET6);
+
   /* We have to get all host entries from the file.  */
   struct scratch_buffer tmp_buffer;
   scratch_buffer_init (&tmp_buffer);
   struct hostent tmp_result_buf;
-  int naddrs = 1;
-  int naliases = 0;
-  char *bufferend;
+  struct array addresses;
+  array_init (&addresses);
+  struct array aliases;
+  array_init (&aliases);
   enum nss_status status;
+  bool new_data = false;
 
-  while (result->h_aliases[naliases] != NULL)
-    ++naliases;
+  /* The output buffer uses the unused space after the first
+     result.  */
+    struct alloc_buffer outbuf;
+  {
+    /* Preserve the aliases encountered so far.  */
+    size_t i;
+    for (i = 0; result->h_aliases[i] != NULL; ++i)
+      array_add (&aliases, result->h_aliases[i]);
 
-  bufferend = (char *) &result->h_aliases[naliases + 1];
+    char *bufferend = (char *) &result->h_aliases[i + 1];
+    outbuf = alloc_buffer_create (bufferend, buffer + buflen - bufferend);
+  }
+
+  /* Preserve the addresses.  */
+  for (size_t i = 0; result->h_addr_list[i] != NULL; ++i)
+    array_add (&addresses, result->h_addr_list[i]);
 
  again:
   while ((status = internal_getent (stream, &tmp_result_buf, tmp_buffer.data,
@@ -154,110 +177,72 @@ gethostbyname3_multi (FILE * stream, const char *name, int af,
 	}
       while ((matches = 0));
 
+      /* If the line matches, we need to copy the addresses and
+	 aliases, so that we can reuse tmp_buffer for the next
+	 line.  */
       if (matches)
 	{
-	  /* We could be very clever and try to recycle a few bytes
-	     in the buffer instead of generating new arrays.  But
-	     we are not doing this here since it's more work than
-	     it's worth.  Simply let the user provide a bit bigger
-	     buffer.  */
-	  char **new_h_addr_list;
-	  char **new_h_aliases;
-	  int newaliases = 0;
-	  size_t newstrlen = 0;
-	  int cnt;
+	  new_data = true;
 
-	  /* Count the new aliases and the length of the strings.  */
-	  while (tmp_result_buf.h_aliases[newaliases] != NULL)
+	  /* Record the addresses.  */
+	  for (int i = 0; tmp_result_buf.h_addr_list[i] != NULL; ++i)
 	    {
-	      char *cp = tmp_result_buf.h_aliases[newaliases];
-	      ++newaliases;
-	      newstrlen += strlen (cp) + 1;
+	      /* Allocate the target space in the output buffer,
+		 depending on the address family.  */
+	      void *target;
+	      if (af == AF_INET)
+		{
+		  assert (tmp_result_buf.h_length == 4);
+		  target = alloc_buffer_alloc (&outbuf, struct in_addr);
+		}
+	      else if (af == AF_INET6)
+		{
+		  assert (tmp_result_buf.h_length == 16);
+		  target = alloc_buffer_alloc (&outbuf, struct in6_addr);
+		}
+	      else
+		__builtin_unreachable ();
+
+	      if (target == NULL)
+		{
+		  /* Request a larger output buffer.  */
+		  *errnop = ERANGE;
+		  *herrnop = NETDB_INTERNAL;
+		  status = NSS_STATUS_TRYAGAIN;
+		  goto out;
+		}
+	      memcpy (target, tmp_result_buf.h_addr_list[i],
+		      tmp_result_buf.h_length);
+	      array_add (&addresses, target);
 	    }
-	  /* If the real name is different add it also to the
-	     aliases.  This means that there is a duplication
-	     in the alias list but this is really the user's
-	     problem.  */
-	  if (strcmp (old_result->h_name,
-		      tmp_result_buf.h_name) != 0)
+
+	  /* Record the aliases.  */
+	  for (int i = 0; tmp_result_buf.h_aliases[i] != NULL; ++i)
 	    {
-	      ++newaliases;
-	      newstrlen += strlen (tmp_result_buf.h_name) + 1;
+	      char *alias = tmp_result_buf.h_aliases[i];
+	      array_add (&aliases, alloc_buffer_copy_string (&outbuf, alias));
 	    }
 
-	  /* Make sure bufferend is aligned.  */
-	  assert ((bufferend - (char *) 0) % sizeof (char *) == 0);
+	  /* If the real name is different add it also to the aliases.
+	     This means that there is a duplication in the alias list
+	     but this is really the user's problem.  */
+	  {
+	    char *new_name = tmp_result_buf.h_name;
+	    if (strcmp (old_result->h_name, new_name) != 0)
+	      array_add (&aliases,
+			 alloc_buffer_copy_string (&outbuf, new_name));
+	  }
 
-	  /* Now we can check whether the buffer is large enough.
-	     16 is the maximal size of the IP address.  */
-	  if (bufferend + 16 + (naddrs + 2) * sizeof (char *)
-	      + roundup (newstrlen, sizeof (char *))
-	      + (naliases + newaliases + 1) * sizeof (char *)
-	      >= buffer + buflen)
+	  /* Memory allocation failures during the expansion of the
+	     temporary arrays.  */
+	  if (array_has_failed (&addresses) || array_has_failed (&aliases))
 	    {
-	      *errnop = ERANGE;
+	      *errnop = errno;
 	      *herrnop = NETDB_INTERNAL;
-	      status = NSS_STATUS_TRYAGAIN;
+	      status = NSS_STATUS_UNAVAIL;
 	      goto out;
 	    }
 
-	  new_h_addr_list =
-	    (char **) (bufferend
-		       + roundup (newstrlen, sizeof (char *))
-		       + 16);
-	  new_h_aliases =
-	    (char **) ((char *) new_h_addr_list
-		       + (naddrs + 2) * sizeof (char *));
-
-	  /* Copy the old data in the new arrays.  */
-	  for (cnt = 0; cnt < naddrs; ++cnt)
-	    new_h_addr_list[cnt] = old_result->h_addr_list[cnt];
-
-	  for (cnt = 0; cnt < naliases; ++cnt)
-	    new_h_aliases[cnt] = old_result->h_aliases[cnt];
-
-	  /* Store the new strings.  */
-	  cnt = 0;
-	  while (tmp_result_buf.h_aliases[cnt] != NULL)
-	    {
-	      new_h_aliases[naliases++] = bufferend;
-	      bufferend = (__stpcpy (bufferend,
-				     tmp_result_buf.h_aliases[cnt])
-			   + 1);
-	      ++cnt;
-	    }
-
-	  if (cnt < newaliases)
-	    {
-	      new_h_aliases[naliases++] = bufferend;
-	      bufferend = __stpcpy (bufferend,
-				    tmp_result_buf.h_name) + 1;
-	    }
-
-	  /* Final NULL pointer.  */
-	  new_h_aliases[naliases] = NULL;
-
-	  /* Round up the buffer end address.  */
-	  bufferend += (sizeof (char *)
-			- ((bufferend - (char *) 0)
-			   % sizeof (char *))) % sizeof (char *);
-
-	  /* Now the new address.  */
-	  new_h_addr_list[naddrs++] =
-	    memcpy (bufferend, tmp_result_buf.h_addr,
-		    tmp_result_buf.h_length);
-
-	  /* Also here a final NULL pointer.  */
-	  new_h_addr_list[naddrs] = NULL;
-
-	  /* Store the new array pointers.  */
-	  old_result->h_aliases = new_h_aliases;
-	  old_result->h_addr_list = new_h_addr_list;
-
-	  /* Compute the new buffer end.  */
-	  bufferend = (char *) &new_h_aliases[naliases + 1];
-	  assert (bufferend <= buffer + buflen);
-
 	  result = old_result;
 	}
     }
@@ -266,16 +251,52 @@ gethostbyname3_multi (FILE * stream, const char *name, int af,
     {
       if (!scratch_buffer_grow (&tmp_buffer))
 	{
+	  *errnop = errno;
 	  *herrnop = NETDB_INTERNAL;
-	  status = NSS_STATUS_TRYAGAIN;
+	  status = NSS_STATUS_UNAVAIL;
 	}
       else
 	goto again;
     }
   else
-    status = NSS_STATUS_SUCCESS;
+    {
+      /* Copy the address and alias arrays into the output buffer and
+	 add NULL terminators.  The pointed-to elements were directly
+	 written into the output buffer above and do not need to be
+	 copied again.  */
+      if (new_data)
+	{
+	  size_t addresses_count = array_size (&addresses);
+	  size_t aliases_count = array_size (&aliases);
+	  char **out_addresses = alloc_buffer_alloc_array
+	    (&outbuf, char *, addresses_count + 1);
+	  char **out_aliases = alloc_buffer_alloc_array
+	    (&outbuf, char *, aliases_count + 1);
+	  if (out_addresses == NULL || out_aliases == NULL)
+	    {
+	      /* The output buffer is not large enough.  */
+	      *errnop = ERANGE;
+	      *herrnop = NETDB_INTERNAL;
+	      status = NSS_STATUS_TRYAGAIN;
+	      goto out;
+	    }
+	  memcpy (out_addresses, array_begin (&addresses),
+		  addresses_count * sizeof (char *));
+	  out_addresses[addresses_count] = NULL;
+	  memcpy (out_aliases, array_begin (&aliases),
+		  aliases_count * sizeof (char *));
+	  out_aliases[aliases_count] = NULL;
+
+	  result->h_addr_list = out_addresses;
+	  result->h_aliases = out_aliases;
+	}
+
+      status = NSS_STATUS_SUCCESS;
+    }
  out:
   scratch_buffer_free (&tmp_buffer);
+  array_free (&addresses);
+  array_free (&aliases);
   return status;
 }
 
diff --git a/nss/tst-nss-files-hosts-multi.c b/nss/tst-nss-files-hosts-multi.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c86a4e05d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nss/tst-nss-files-hosts-multi.c
@@ -0,0 +1,327 @@
+/* Parse /etc/hosts in multi mode with many addresses/aliases.
+   Copyright (C) 2017 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+   This file is part of the GNU C Library.
+
+   The GNU C 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 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+
+   The GNU C 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 the GNU C Library; if not, see
+   <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.  */
+
+#include <dlfcn.h>
+#include <errno.h>
+#include <gnu/lib-names.h>
+#include <netdb.h>
+#include <nss.h>
+#include <stdbool.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <support/check.h>
+#include <support/check_nss.h>
+#include <support/namespace.h>
+#include <support/support.h>
+#include <support/test-driver.h>
+#include <support/test-driver.h>
+#include <support/xmemstream.h>
+#include <support/xstdio.h>
+#include <support/xunistd.h>
+#include <sys/resource.h>
+
+struct support_chroot *chroot_env;
+
+static void
+prepare (int argc, char **argv)
+{
+  chroot_env = support_chroot_create
+    ((struct support_chroot_configuration)
+     {
+       .resolv_conf = "",
+       .hosts = "",             /* See write_hosts below.  */
+       .host_conf = "multi on\n",
+     });
+}
+
+/* Create the /etc/hosts file from outside the chroot.  */
+static void
+write_hosts (int count)
+{
+  TEST_VERIFY (count > 0 && count <= 65535);
+  FILE *fp = xfopen (chroot_env->path_hosts, "w");
+  fputs ("127.0.0.1   localhost localhost.localdomain\n"
+         "::1         localhost localhost.localdomain\n",
+         fp);
+  for (int i = 0; i < count; ++i)
+    {
+      fprintf (fp, "10.4.%d.%d www4.example.com\n",
+               (i / 256) & 0xff, i & 0xff);
+      fprintf (fp, "10.46.%d.%d www.example.com\n",
+               (i / 256) & 0xff, i & 0xff);
+      fprintf (fp, "192.0.2.1 alias.example.com v4-%d.example.com\n", i);
+      fprintf (fp, "2001:db8::6:%x www6.example.com\n", i);
+      fprintf (fp, "2001:db8::46:%x www.example.com\n", i);
+      fprintf (fp, "2001:db8::1 alias.example.com v6-%d.example.com\n", i);
+    }
+  xfclose (fp);
+}
+
+/* Parameters of a single test.  */
+struct test_params
+{
+  const char *name;             /* Name to query.  */
+  const char *marker;           /* Address marker for the name.  */
+  int count;                    /* Number of addresses/aliases.  */
+  int family;                   /* AF_INET, AF_INET_6 or AF_UNSPEC.  */
+  bool canonname;               /* True if AI_CANONNAME should be enabled.  */
+};
+
+/* Expected result of gethostbyname/gethostbyname2.  */
+static char *
+expected_ghbn (const struct test_params *params)
+{
+  TEST_VERIFY (params->family == AF_INET || params->family == AF_INET6);
+
+  struct xmemstream expected;
+  xopen_memstream (&expected);
+  if (strcmp (params->name, "alias.example.com") == 0)
+    {
+      fprintf (expected.out, "name: %s\n", params->name);
+      char af;
+      if (params->family == AF_INET)
+        af = '4';
+      else
+        af = '6';
+      for (int i = 0; i < params->count; ++i)
+        fprintf (expected.out, "alias: v%c-%d.example.com\n", af, i);
+
+      for (int i = 0; i < params->count; ++i)
+        if (params->family == AF_INET)
+          fputs ("address: 192.0.2.1\n", expected.out);
+        else
+          fputs ("address: 2001:db8::1\n", expected.out);
+    }
+  else /* www/www4/www6 name.  */
+    {
+      bool do_ipv4 = params->family == AF_INET
+        && strncmp (params->name, "www6", 4) != 0;
+      bool do_ipv6 = params->family == AF_INET6
+        && strncmp (params->name, "www4", 4) != 0;
+      if (do_ipv4 || do_ipv6)
+        {
+          fprintf (expected.out, "name: %s\n", params->name);
+          if (do_ipv4)
+            for (int i = 0; i < params->count; ++i)
+              fprintf (expected.out, "address: 10.%s.%d.%d\n",
+                       params->marker, i / 256, i % 256);
+          if (do_ipv6)
+            for (int i = 0; i < params->count; ++i)
+              fprintf (expected.out, "address: 2001:db8::%s:%x\n",
+                       params->marker, i);
+        }
+      else
+        fputs ("error: HOST_NOT_FOUND\n", expected.out);
+    }
+  xfclose_memstream (&expected);
+  return expected.buffer;
+}
+
+/* Expected result of getaddrinfo.  */
+static char *
+expected_gai (const struct test_params *params)
+{
+  bool do_ipv4 = false;
+  bool do_ipv6 = false;
+  if (params->family == AF_UNSPEC)
+    do_ipv4 = do_ipv6 = true;
+  else if (params->family == AF_INET)
+    do_ipv4 = true;
+  else if (params->family == AF_INET6)
+    do_ipv6 = true;
+
+  struct xmemstream expected;
+  xopen_memstream (&expected);
+  if (strcmp (params->name, "alias.example.com") == 0)
+    {
+      if (params->canonname)
+        fprintf (expected.out,
+                 "flags: AI_CANONNAME\n"
+                 "canonname: %s\n",
+                 params->name);
+
+      if (do_ipv4)
+        for (int i = 0; i < params->count; ++i)
+          fputs ("address: STREAM/TCP 192.0.2.1 80\n", expected.out);
+      if (do_ipv6)
+        for (int i = 0; i < params->count; ++i)
+          fputs ("address: STREAM/TCP 2001:db8::1 80\n", expected.out);
+    }
+  else /* www/www4/www6 name.  */
+    {
+      if (strncmp (params->name, "www4", 4) == 0)
+        do_ipv6 = false;
+      else if (strncmp (params->name, "www6", 4) == 0)
+        do_ipv4 = false;
+      /* Otherwise, we have www as the name, so we do both.  */
+
+      if (do_ipv4 || do_ipv6)
+        {
+          if (params->canonname)
+            fprintf (expected.out,
+                     "flags: AI_CANONNAME\n"
+                     "canonname: %s\n",
+                     params->name);
+
+          if (do_ipv4)
+            for (int i = 0; i < params->count; ++i)
+              fprintf (expected.out, "address: STREAM/TCP 10.%s.%d.%d 80\n",
+                       params->marker, i / 256, i % 256);
+          if (do_ipv6)
+            for (int i = 0; i < params->count; ++i)
+              fprintf (expected.out,
+                       "address: STREAM/TCP 2001:db8::%s:%x 80\n",
+                       params->marker, i);
+        }
+      else
+        fputs ("error: Name or service not known\n", expected.out);
+    }
+  xfclose_memstream (&expected);
+  return expected.buffer;
+}
+
+static void
+run_gbhn_gai (struct test_params *params)
+{
+  char *ctx = xasprintf ("name=%s marker=%s count=%d family=%d",
+                         params->name, params->marker, params->count,
+                         params->family);
+  if (test_verbose > 0)
+    printf ("info: %s\n", ctx);
+
+  /* Check gethostbyname, gethostbyname2.  */
+  if (params->family == AF_INET)
+    {
+      char *expected = expected_ghbn (params);
+      check_hostent (ctx, gethostbyname (params->name), expected);
+      free (expected);
+    }
+  if (params->family != AF_UNSPEC)
+    {
+      char *expected = expected_ghbn (params);
+      check_hostent (ctx, gethostbyname2 (params->name, params->family),
+                     expected);
+      free (expected);
+    }
+
+  /* Check getaddrinfo.  */
+  for (int do_canonical = 0; do_canonical < 2; ++do_canonical)
+    {
+      params->canonname = do_canonical;
+      char *expected = expected_gai (params);
+      struct addrinfo hints =
+        {
+          .ai_family = params->family,
+          .ai_socktype = SOCK_STREAM,
+          .ai_protocol = IPPROTO_TCP,
+        };
+      if (do_canonical)
+        hints.ai_flags |= AI_CANONNAME;
+      struct addrinfo *ai;
+      int ret = getaddrinfo (params->name, "80", &hints, &ai);
+      check_addrinfo (ctx, ai, ret, expected);
+      if (ret == 0)
+        freeaddrinfo (ai);
+      free (expected);
+    }
+
+  free (ctx);
+}
+
+/* Callback for the subprocess which runs the test in a chroot.  */
+static void
+subprocess (void *closure)
+{
+  struct test_params *params = closure;
+
+  xchroot (chroot_env->path_chroot);
+
+  static const int families[] = { AF_INET, AF_INET6, AF_UNSPEC, -1 };
+  static const char *const names[] =
+    {
+      "www.example.com", "www4.example.com", "www6.example.com",
+      "alias.example.com",
+      NULL
+    };
+  static const char *const names_marker[] = { "46", "4", "6", "" };
+
+  for (int family_idx = 0; families[family_idx] >= 0; ++family_idx)
+    {
+      params->family = families[family_idx];
+      for (int names_idx = 0; names[names_idx] != NULL; ++names_idx)
+        {
+          params->name = names[names_idx];
+          params->marker = names_marker[names_idx];
+          run_gbhn_gai (params);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/* Run the test for a specific number of addresses/aliases.  */
+static void
+run_test (int count)
+{
+  write_hosts (count);
+
+  struct test_params params =
+    {
+      .count = count,
+    };
+
+  support_isolate_in_subprocess (subprocess, &params);
+}
+
+static int
+do_test (void)
+{
+  /* This test should not use gigabytes of memory.   */
+  {
+    struct rlimit limit;
+    if (getrlimit (RLIMIT_AS, &limit) != 0)
+      {
+        printf ("getrlimit (RLIMIT_AS) failed: %m\n");
+        return 1;
+      }
+    long target = 200 * 1024 * 1024;
+    if (limit.rlim_cur == RLIM_INFINITY || limit.rlim_cur > target)
+      {
+        limit.rlim_cur = target;
+        if (setrlimit (RLIMIT_AS, &limit) != 0)
+          {
+            printf ("setrlimit (RLIMIT_AS) failed: %m\n");
+            return 1;
+          }
+      }
+  }
+
+  __nss_configure_lookup ("hosts", "files");
+  if (dlopen (LIBNSS_FILES_SO, RTLD_LAZY) == NULL)
+    FAIL_EXIT1 ("could not load " LIBNSS_DNS_SO ": %s", dlerror ());
+
+  /* Run the tests with a few different address/alias counts.  */
+  for (int count = 1; count <= 111; ++count)
+    run_test (count);
+  run_test (1111);
+  run_test (22222);
+
+  support_chroot_free (chroot_env);
+  return 0;
+}
+
+#define PREPARE prepare
+#include <support/test-driver.c>
