diff --git a/hw/core/qdev.c b/hw/core/qdev.c
index fc3425a8fe..e48616b2c6 100644
--- a/hw/core/qdev.c
+++ b/hw/core/qdev.c
@@ -420,7 +420,7 @@ const char *qdev_get_printable_name(DeviceState *vdev)
      * names.
      */
     if (vdev->id) {
-        return vdev->id;
+        return g_strdup(vdev->id);
     }
     /*
      * Fall back to the canonical QOM device path (eg. ID for PCI
@@ -437,7 +437,7 @@ const char *qdev_get_printable_name(DeviceState *vdev)
      * Final fallback: if all else fails, return a placeholder string.
      * This ensures the error message always contains a valid string.
      */
-    return "<unknown device>";
+    return g_strdup("<unknown device>");
 }
 
 void qdev_add_unplug_blocker(DeviceState *dev, Error *reason)
diff --git a/hw/virtio/virtio.c b/hw/virtio/virtio.c
index 4c5a4479bf..0ba734d0bc 100644
--- a/hw/virtio/virtio.c
+++ b/hw/virtio/virtio.c
@@ -281,10 +281,12 @@ void virtio_init_region_cache(VirtIODevice *vdev, int n)
     len = address_space_cache_init(&new->desc, vdev->dma_as,
                                    addr, size, packed);
     if (len < size) {
+        g_autofree const char *devname = qdev_get_printable_name(DEVICE(vdev));
+
         virtio_error(vdev,
                 "Failed to map descriptor ring for device %s: "
                 "invalid guest physical address or corrupted queue setup",
-                qdev_get_printable_name(DEVICE(vdev)));
+                devname);
         goto err_desc;
     }
 
@@ -292,10 +294,12 @@ void virtio_init_region_cache(VirtIODevice *vdev, int n)
     len = address_space_cache_init(&new->used, vdev->dma_as,
                                    vq->vring.used, size, true);
     if (len < size) {
+        g_autofree const char *devname = qdev_get_printable_name(DEVICE(vdev));
+
         virtio_error(vdev,
                 "Failed to map used ring for device %s: "
                 "possible guest misconfiguration or insufficient memory",
-                qdev_get_printable_name(DEVICE(vdev)));
+                devname);
         goto err_used;
     }
 
@@ -303,10 +307,12 @@ void virtio_init_region_cache(VirtIODevice *vdev, int n)
     len = address_space_cache_init(&new->avail, vdev->dma_as,
                                    vq->vring.avail, size, false);
     if (len < size) {
+        g_autofree const char *devname = qdev_get_printable_name(DEVICE(vdev));
+
         virtio_error(vdev,
                 "Failed to map avalaible ring for device %s: "
                 "possible queue misconfiguration or overlapping memory region",
-                qdev_get_printable_name(DEVICE(vdev)));
+                devname);
         goto err_avail;
     }
 
diff --git a/include/hw/core/qdev.h b/include/hw/core/qdev.h
index 29083bc907..f99a8979cc 100644
--- a/include/hw/core/qdev.h
+++ b/include/hw/core/qdev.h
@@ -1084,6 +1084,22 @@ extern bool qdev_hot_removed;
  * If @dev is NULL or not on a bus, returns NULL.
  */
 char *qdev_get_dev_path(DeviceState *dev);
+
+/**
+ * qdev_get_printable_name: Return human readable name for device
+ * @dev: Device to get name of
+ *
+ * Returns: A newly allocated string containing some human
+ * readable name for the device, suitable for printing in
+ * user-facing error messages. The function will never return NULL,
+ * so the name can be used without further checking or fallbacks.
+ *
+ * If the device has an explicitly set ID (e.g. by the user on the
+ * command line via "-device thisdev,id=myid") this is preferred.
+ * Otherwise we try the canonical QOM device path (which will be
+ * the PCI ID for PCI devices, for example). If all else fails
+ * we will return the placeholder "<unknown device">.
+ */
 const char *qdev_get_printable_name(DeviceState *dev);
 
 void qbus_set_hotplug_handler(BusState *bus, Object *handler);