diff --git a/apply.c b/apply.c
index 7a9f4c8e0b47437cae25a51b56b08374c55d7255..f8bf0bd9323d1155e9b382eacc8bdae18eb0d2b2 100644
--- a/apply.c
+++ b/apply.c
@@ -972,13 +972,12 @@ static int gitdiff_verify_name(struct apply_state *state,
 	}
 
 	if (*name) {
-		int len = strlen(*name);
 		char *another;
 		if (isnull)
 			return error(_("git apply: bad git-diff - expected /dev/null, got %s on line %d"),
 				     *name, state->linenr);
 		another = find_name(state, line, NULL, state->p_value, TERM_TAB);
-		if (!another || memcmp(another, *name, len + 1)) {
+		if (!another || strcmp(another, *name)) {
 			free(another);
 			return error((side == DIFF_NEW_NAME) ?
 			    _("git apply: bad git-diff - inconsistent new filename on line %d") :
@@ -986,8 +985,7 @@ static int gitdiff_verify_name(struct apply_state *state,
 		}
 		free(another);
 	} else {
-		/* expect "/dev/null" */
-		if (memcmp("/dev/null", line, 9) || line[9] != '\n')
+		if (!starts_with(line, "/dev/null\n"))
 			return error(_("git apply: bad git-diff - expected /dev/null on line %d"), state->linenr);
 	}