diff --git a/refs.c b/refs.c
index e06e0cb072..739bf9fefc 100644
--- a/refs.c
+++ b/refs.c
@@ -320,6 +320,27 @@ int check_refname_format(const char *refname, int flags)
 	return check_or_sanitize_refname(refname, flags, NULL);
 }
 
+int refs_fsck_symref(struct ref_store *refs UNUSED, struct fsck_options *o,
+		     struct fsck_ref_report *report,
+		     const char *refname UNUSED, const char *target)
+{
+	if (is_root_ref(target))
+		return 0;
+
+	if (check_refname_format(target, 0) &&
+	    fsck_report_ref(o, report, FSCK_MSG_BAD_REFERENT_NAME,
+			    "points to invalid refname '%s'", target))
+		return -1;
+
+	if (!starts_with(target, "refs/") &&
+	    !starts_with(target, "worktrees/") &&
+	    fsck_report_ref(o, report, FSCK_MSG_SYMREF_TARGET_IS_NOT_A_REF,
+			    "points to non-ref target '%s'", target))
+		return -1;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
 int refs_fsck(struct ref_store *refs, struct fsck_options *o,
 	      struct worktree *wt)
 {
diff --git a/refs.h b/refs.h
index d9051bbb04..d91fcb2d2f 100644
--- a/refs.h
+++ b/refs.h
@@ -653,6 +653,16 @@ int refs_for_each_reflog(struct ref_store *refs, each_reflog_fn fn, void *cb_dat
  */
 int check_refname_format(const char *refname, int flags);
 
+struct fsck_ref_report;
+
+/*
+ * Perform generic checks for a specific symref target. This function is
+ * expected to be called by the ref backends for every symbolic ref.
+ */
+int refs_fsck_symref(struct ref_store *refs, struct fsck_options *o,
+		     struct fsck_ref_report *report,
+		     const char *refname, const char *target);
+
 /*
  * Check the reference database for consistency. Return 0 if refs and
  * reflogs are consistent, and non-zero otherwise. The errors will be
diff --git a/refs/files-backend.c b/refs/files-backend.c
index 0ff047d0df..72c1db849e 100644
--- a/refs/files-backend.c
+++ b/refs/files-backend.c
@@ -3718,53 +3718,39 @@ typedef int (*files_fsck_refs_fn)(struct ref_store *ref_store,
 				  const char *path,
 				  int mode);
 
-static int files_fsck_symref_target(struct fsck_options *o,
+static int files_fsck_symref_target(struct ref_store *ref_store,
+				    struct fsck_options *o,
 				    struct fsck_ref_report *report,
+				    const char *refname,
 				    struct strbuf *referent,
 				    unsigned int symbolic_link)
 {
-	int is_referent_root;
 	char orig_last_byte;
 	size_t orig_len;
 	int ret = 0;
 
 	orig_len = referent->len;
 	orig_last_byte = referent->buf[orig_len - 1];
-	if (!symbolic_link)
+
+	if (!symbolic_link) {
 		strbuf_rtrim(referent);
 
-	is_referent_root = is_root_ref(referent->buf);
-	if (!is_referent_root &&
-	    !starts_with(referent->buf, "refs/") &&
-	    !starts_with(referent->buf, "worktrees/")) {
-		ret |= fsck_report_ref(o, report,
-				       FSCK_MSG_SYMREF_TARGET_IS_NOT_A_REF,
-				       "points to non-ref target '%s'", referent->buf);
+		if (referent->len == orig_len ||
+		    (referent->len < orig_len && orig_last_byte != '\n')) {
+			ret |= fsck_report_ref(o, report,
+					       FSCK_MSG_REF_MISSING_NEWLINE,
+					       "misses LF at the end");
+		}
+
+		if (referent->len != orig_len && referent->len != orig_len - 1) {
+			ret |= fsck_report_ref(o, report,
+					       FSCK_MSG_TRAILING_REF_CONTENT,
+					       "has trailing whitespaces or newlines");
+		}
 	}
 
-	if (!is_referent_root && check_refname_format(referent->buf, 0)) {
-		ret |= fsck_report_ref(o, report,
-				       FSCK_MSG_BAD_REFERENT_NAME,
-				       "points to invalid refname '%s'", referent->buf);
-	}
+	ret |= refs_fsck_symref(ref_store, o, report, refname, referent->buf);
 
-	if (symbolic_link)
-		goto out;
-
-	if (referent->len == orig_len ||
-	    (referent->len < orig_len && orig_last_byte != '\n')) {
-		ret |= fsck_report_ref(o, report,
-				       FSCK_MSG_REF_MISSING_NEWLINE,
-				       "misses LF at the end");
-	}
-
-	if (referent->len != orig_len && referent->len != orig_len - 1) {
-		ret |= fsck_report_ref(o, report,
-				       FSCK_MSG_TRAILING_REF_CONTENT,
-				       "has trailing whitespaces or newlines");
-	}
-
-out:
 	return ret ? -1 : 0;
 }
 
@@ -3807,7 +3793,8 @@ static int files_fsck_refs_content(struct ref_store *ref_store,
 		else
 			strbuf_addbuf(&referent, &ref_content);
 
-		ret |= files_fsck_symref_target(o, &report, &referent, 1);
+		ret |= files_fsck_symref_target(ref_store, o, &report,
+						target_name, &referent, 1);
 		goto cleanup;
 	}
 
@@ -3847,7 +3834,8 @@ static int files_fsck_refs_content(struct ref_store *ref_store,
 			goto cleanup;
 		}
 	} else {
-		ret = files_fsck_symref_target(o, &report, &referent, 0);
+		ret = files_fsck_symref_target(ref_store, o, &report,
+					       target_name, &referent, 0);
 		goto cleanup;
 	}