diff --git a/builtin/for-each-repo.c b/builtin/for-each-repo.c
index fd86e5a8619..b01721762ef 100644
--- a/builtin/for-each-repo.c
+++ b/builtin/for-each-repo.c
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ int cmd_for_each_repo(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 {
 	static const char *config_key = NULL;
 	int i, result = 0;
-	const struct string_list *values;
+	const struct string_list *values = NULL;
 
 	const struct option options[] = {
 		OPT_STRING(0, "config", &config_key, N_("config"),
@@ -42,8 +42,7 @@ int cmd_for_each_repo(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	if (!config_key)
 		die(_("missing --config=<config>"));
 
-	values = repo_config_get_value_multi(the_repository,
-					     config_key);
+	repo_config_get_value_multi(the_repository, config_key, &values);
 
 	/*
 	 * Do nothing on an empty list, which is equivalent to the case
diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index 243ee85d283..04c48638ef4 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -1485,8 +1485,7 @@ static int maintenance_register(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	else
 		git_config_set("maintenance.strategy", "incremental");
 
-	list = git_config_get_value_multi(key);
-	if (list) {
+	if (!git_config_get_knownkey_value_multi(key, &list)) {
 		for_each_string_list_item(item, list) {
 			if (!strcmp(maintpath, item->string)) {
 				found = 1;
@@ -1542,8 +1541,7 @@ static int maintenance_unregister(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefi
 		usage_with_options(builtin_maintenance_unregister_usage,
 				   options);
 
-	list = git_config_get_value_multi(key);
-	if (list) {
+	if (!git_config_get_knownkey_value_multi(key, &list)) {
 		for_each_string_list_item(item, list) {
 			if (!strcmp(maintpath, item->string)) {
 				found = 1;
diff --git a/builtin/log.c b/builtin/log.c
index ee19dc5d450..75464c96ccf 100644
--- a/builtin/log.c
+++ b/builtin/log.c
@@ -182,10 +182,10 @@ static void set_default_decoration_filter(struct decoration_filter *decoration_f
 	int i;
 	char *value = NULL;
 	struct string_list *include = decoration_filter->include_ref_pattern;
-	const struct string_list *config_exclude =
-			git_config_get_value_multi("log.excludeDecoration");
+	const struct string_list *config_exclude;
 
-	if (config_exclude) {
+	if (!git_config_get_knownkey_value_multi("log.excludeDecoration",
+					      &config_exclude)) {
 		struct string_list_item *item;
 		for_each_string_list_item(item, config_exclude)
 			string_list_append(decoration_filter->exclude_ref_config_pattern,
diff --git a/builtin/submodule--helper.c b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
index 0b4acb442b2..1f8fe6a8e0d 100644
--- a/builtin/submodule--helper.c
+++ b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
@@ -541,6 +541,7 @@ static int module_init(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		NULL
 	};
 	int ret = 1;
+	const struct string_list *values;
 
 	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, prefix, module_init_options,
 			     git_submodule_helper_usage, 0);
@@ -552,7 +553,7 @@ static int module_init(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	 * If there are no path args and submodule.active is set then,
 	 * by default, only initialize 'active' modules.
 	 */
-	if (!argc && git_config_get_value_multi("submodule.active"))
+	if (!argc && !git_config_get_value_multi("submodule.active", &values))
 		module_list_active(&list);
 
 	info.prefix = prefix;
@@ -2708,6 +2709,7 @@ static int module_update(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	if (opt.init) {
 		struct module_list list = MODULE_LIST_INIT;
 		struct init_cb info = INIT_CB_INIT;
+		const struct string_list *values;
 
 		if (module_list_compute(argc, argv, opt.prefix,
 					&pathspec2, &list) < 0) {
@@ -2720,7 +2722,7 @@ static int module_update(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		 * If there are no path args and submodule.active is set then,
 		 * by default, only initialize 'active' modules.
 		 */
-		if (!argc && git_config_get_value_multi("submodule.active"))
+		if (!argc && !git_config_get_value_multi("submodule.active", &values))
 			module_list_active(&list);
 
 		info.prefix = opt.prefix;
diff --git a/config.c b/config.c
index cbb5a3bab74..2100b29b689 100644
--- a/config.c
+++ b/config.c
@@ -2275,23 +2275,28 @@ void read_very_early_config(config_fn_t cb, void *data)
 	config_with_options(cb, data, NULL, &opts);
 }
 
-static struct config_set_element *configset_find_element(struct config_set *cs, const char *key)
+static int configset_find_element(struct config_set *cs, const char *key,
+				  struct config_set_element **dest)
 {
 	struct config_set_element k;
 	struct config_set_element *found_entry;
 	char *normalized_key;
+	int ret;
+
 	/*
 	 * `key` may come from the user, so normalize it before using it
 	 * for querying entries from the hashmap.
 	 */
-	if (git_config_parse_key(key, &normalized_key, NULL))
-		return NULL;
+	ret = git_config_parse_key(key, &normalized_key, NULL);
+	if (ret < 0)
+		return ret;
 
 	hashmap_entry_init(&k.ent, strhash(normalized_key));
 	k.key = normalized_key;
 	found_entry = hashmap_get_entry(&cs->config_hash, &k, ent, NULL);
 	free(normalized_key);
-	return found_entry;
+	*dest = found_entry;
+	return 0;
 }
 
 static int configset_add_value(struct config_set *cs, const char *key, const char *value)
@@ -2300,8 +2305,11 @@ static int configset_add_value(struct config_set *cs, const char *key, const cha
 	struct string_list_item *si;
 	struct configset_list_item *l_item;
 	struct key_value_info *kv_info = xmalloc(sizeof(*kv_info));
+	int ret;
 
-	e = configset_find_element(cs, key);
+	ret = configset_find_element(cs, key, &e);
+	if (ret < 0)
+		return ret;
 	/*
 	 * Since the keys are being fed by git_config*() callback mechanism, they
 	 * are already normalized. So simply add them without any further munging.
@@ -2400,24 +2408,54 @@ int git_configset_add_parameters(struct config_set *cs)
 int git_configset_get_value(struct config_set *cs, const char *key, const char **value)
 {
 	const struct string_list *values = NULL;
+	int ret;
+
 	/*
 	 * Follows "last one wins" semantic, i.e., if there are multiple matches for the
 	 * queried key in the files of the configset, the value returned will be the last
 	 * value in the value list for that key.
 	 */
-	values = git_configset_get_value_multi(cs, key);
+	ret = git_configset_get_value_multi(cs, key, &values);
 
-	if (!values)
+	if (ret < 0)
+		return ret;
+	else if (!values)
 		return 1;
 	assert(values->nr > 0);
 	*value = values->items[values->nr - 1].string;
 	return 0;
 }
 
-const struct string_list *git_configset_get_value_multi(struct config_set *cs, const char *key)
+static int git_configset_get_value_multi_1(struct config_set *cs, const char *key,
+					   const struct string_list **dest,
+					   int knownkey)
 {
-	struct config_set_element *e = configset_find_element(cs, key);
-	return e ? &e->value_list : NULL;
+	struct config_set_element *e;
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = configset_find_element(cs, key, &e);
+	if (ret < 0 && knownkey)
+		BUG("*_get_knownkey_*() only accepts known-good (hardcoded) keys, but '%s' is bad!", key);
+	else if (ret < 0)
+		return ret;
+	else if (!e)
+		return 1;
+	*dest = &e->value_list;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int git_configset_get_value_multi(struct config_set *cs, const char *key,
+				  const struct string_list **dest)
+{
+	return git_configset_get_value_multi_1(cs, key, dest, 0);
+}
+
+int git_configset_get_knownkey_value_multi(struct config_set *cs,
+					   const char *const key,
+					   const struct string_list **dest)
+{
+	return git_configset_get_value_multi_1(cs, key, dest, 1);
 }
 
 int git_configset_get_string(struct config_set *cs, const char *key, char **dest)
@@ -2563,11 +2601,20 @@ int repo_config_get_value(struct repository *repo,
 	return git_configset_get_value(repo->config, key, value);
 }
 
-const struct string_list *repo_config_get_value_multi(struct repository *repo,
-						      const char *key)
+int repo_config_get_value_multi(struct repository *repo,
+				const char *key,
+				const struct string_list **dest)
 {
 	git_config_check_init(repo);
-	return git_configset_get_value_multi(repo->config, key);
+	return git_configset_get_value_multi(repo->config, key, dest);
+}
+
+int repo_config_get_knownkey_value_multi(struct repository *repo,
+					 const char *const key,
+					 const struct string_list **dest)
+{
+	git_config_check_init(repo);
+	return git_configset_get_knownkey_value_multi(repo->config, key, dest);
 }
 
 int repo_config_get_string(struct repository *repo,
@@ -2684,9 +2731,15 @@ int git_config_get_value(const char *key, const char **value)
 	return repo_config_get_value(the_repository, key, value);
 }
 
-const struct string_list *git_config_get_value_multi(const char *key)
+int git_config_get_value_multi(const char *key, const struct string_list **dest)
+{
+	return repo_config_get_value_multi(the_repository, key, dest);
+}
+
+int git_config_get_knownkey_value_multi(const char *const key,
+					const struct string_list **dest)
 {
-	return repo_config_get_value_multi(the_repository, key);
+	return repo_config_get_knownkey_value_multi(the_repository, key, dest);
 }
 
 int git_config_get_string(const char *key, char **dest)
@@ -2833,7 +2886,16 @@ void git_die_config(const char *key, const char *err, ...)
 		error_fn(err, params);
 		va_end(params);
 	}
-	values = git_config_get_value_multi(key);
+
+	/*
+	 * We don't have a "const" key here, but we should definitely
+	 * have one that's passed git_config_parse_key() already, if
+	 * we're at the point of complaining about its value. So let's
+	 * use *_knownkey_value_multi() here to get that BUG(...).
+	 */
+	if (git_config_get_knownkey_value_multi(key, &values))
+		BUG("key '%s' does not exist, should not be given to git_die_config()",
+		    key);
 	kv_info = values->items[values->nr - 1].util;
 	git_die_config_linenr(key, kv_info->filename, kv_info->linenr);
 }
diff --git a/config.h b/config.h
index ca994d77147..c88619b7dcf 100644
--- a/config.h
+++ b/config.h
@@ -457,11 +457,30 @@ int git_configset_add_parameters(struct config_set *cs);
 
 /**
  * Finds and returns the value list, sorted in order of increasing priority
- * for the configuration variable `key` and config set `cs`. When the
- * configuration variable `key` is not found, returns NULL. The caller
- * should not free or modify the returned pointer, as it is owned by the cache.
+ * for the configuration variable `key` and config set `cs`.
+ *
+ * When the configuration variable `key` is not found, returns 1
+ * without touching `value`.
+ *
+ * The key will be parsed for validity with git_config_parse_key(), on
+ * error a negative value will be returned. See
+ * git_configset_get_knownkey_value_multi() for a version of this which
+ * BUG()s out on negative return values.
+ *
+ * The caller should not free or modify the returned pointer, as it is
+ * owned by the cache.
+ */
+int git_configset_get_value_multi(struct config_set *cs, const char *key,
+				  const struct string_list **dest);
+
+/**
+ * Like git_configset_get_value_multi(), but BUG()s out if the return
+ * value is < 0. Use it for keys known to pass git_config_parse_key(),
+ * i.e. those hardcoded in the code, and never user-provided keys.
  */
-const struct string_list *git_configset_get_value_multi(struct config_set *cs, const char *key);
+int git_configset_get_knownkey_value_multi(struct config_set *cs,
+					   const char *const key,
+					   const struct string_list **dest);
 
 /**
  * Clears `config_set` structure, removes all saved variable-value pairs.
@@ -495,8 +514,12 @@ struct repository;
 void repo_config(struct repository *repo, config_fn_t fn, void *data);
 int repo_config_get_value(struct repository *repo,
 			  const char *key, const char **value);
-const struct string_list *repo_config_get_value_multi(struct repository *repo,
-						      const char *key);
+int repo_config_get_value_multi(struct repository *repo,
+				const char *key,
+				const struct string_list **dest);
+int repo_config_get_knownkey_value_multi(struct repository *repo,
+					 const char *const key,
+					 const struct string_list **dest);
 int repo_config_get_string(struct repository *repo,
 			   const char *key, char **dest);
 int repo_config_get_string_tmp(struct repository *repo,
@@ -543,10 +566,21 @@ int git_config_get_value(const char *key, const char **value);
 /**
  * Finds and returns the value list, sorted in order of increasing priority
  * for the configuration variable `key`. When the configuration variable
- * `key` is not found, returns NULL. The caller should not free or modify
- * the returned pointer, as it is owned by the cache.
+ * `key` is not found, returns 1 without touching `value`.
+ *
+ * The caller should not free or modify the returned pointer, as it is
+ * owned by the cache.
+ */
+int git_config_get_value_multi(const char *key,
+			       const struct string_list **dest);
+
+/**
+ * A wrapper for git_config_get_value_multi() which does for it what
+ * git_configset_get_knownkey_value_multi() does for
+ * git_configset_get_value_multi().
  */
-const struct string_list *git_config_get_value_multi(const char *key);
+int git_config_get_knownkey_value_multi(const char *const key,
+					const struct string_list **dest);
 
 /**
  * Resets and invalidates the config cache.
diff --git a/pack-bitmap.c b/pack-bitmap.c
index 440407f1be7..0b4e73abbfa 100644
--- a/pack-bitmap.c
+++ b/pack-bitmap.c
@@ -2301,7 +2301,12 @@ int bitmap_is_midx(struct bitmap_index *bitmap_git)
 
 const struct string_list *bitmap_preferred_tips(struct repository *r)
 {
-	return repo_config_get_value_multi(r, "pack.preferbitmaptips");
+	const struct string_list *dest;
+
+	if (!repo_config_get_knownkey_value_multi(r, "pack.preferbitmaptips",
+					       &dest))
+		return dest;
+	return NULL;
 }
 
 int bitmap_is_preferred_refname(struct repository *r, const char *refname)
diff --git a/submodule.c b/submodule.c
index bf7a2c79183..e8c4362743d 100644
--- a/submodule.c
+++ b/submodule.c
@@ -274,8 +274,7 @@ int is_tree_submodule_active(struct repository *repo,
 	free(key);
 
 	/* submodule.active is set */
-	sl = repo_config_get_value_multi(repo, "submodule.active");
-	if (sl) {
+	if (!repo_config_get_knownkey_value_multi(repo, "submodule.active", &sl)) {
 		struct pathspec ps;
 		struct strvec args = STRVEC_INIT;
 		const struct string_list_item *item;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-config.c b/t/helper/test-config.c
index 4ba9eb65606..f0d476d2376 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-config.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-config.c
@@ -95,8 +95,7 @@ int cmd__config(int argc, const char **argv)
 			goto exit1;
 		}
 	} else if (argc == 3 && !strcmp(argv[1], "get_value_multi")) {
-		strptr = git_config_get_value_multi(argv[2]);
-		if (strptr) {
+		if (!git_config_get_knownkey_value_multi(argv[2], &strptr)) {
 			for (i = 0; i < strptr->nr; i++) {
 				v = strptr->items[i].string;
 				if (!v)
@@ -159,8 +158,7 @@ int cmd__config(int argc, const char **argv)
 				goto exit2;
 			}
 		}
-		strptr = git_configset_get_value_multi(&cs, argv[2]);
-		if (strptr) {
+		if (!git_configset_get_knownkey_value_multi(&cs, argv[2], &strptr)) {
 			for (i = 0; i < strptr->nr; i++) {
 				v = strptr->items[i].string;
 				if (!v)
diff --git a/versioncmp.c b/versioncmp.c
index 069ee94a4d7..9064478dc4a 100644
--- a/versioncmp.c
+++ b/versioncmp.c
@@ -160,10 +160,14 @@ int versioncmp(const char *s1, const char *s2)
 	}
 
 	if (!initialized) {
-		const struct string_list *deprecated_prereleases;
+		const struct string_list *deprecated_prereleases = NULL;
+
 		initialized = 1;
-		prereleases = git_config_get_value_multi("versionsort.suffix");
-		deprecated_prereleases = git_config_get_value_multi("versionsort.prereleasesuffix");
+		git_config_get_knownkey_value_multi("versionsort.suffix",
+						 &prereleases);
+		git_config_get_value_multi("versionsort.prereleasesuffix",
+					   &deprecated_prereleases);
+
 		if (prereleases) {
 			if (deprecated_prereleases)
 				warning("ignoring versionsort.prereleasesuffix because versionsort.suffix is set");
