diff --git a/libnativeloader/library_namespaces.cpp b/libnativeloader/library_namespaces.cpp
index c22ce8a..a9eea8c 100644
--- a/libnativeloader/library_namespaces.cpp
+++ b/libnativeloader/library_namespaces.cpp
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@
 #include "public_libraries.h"
 #include "utils.h"
 
+using android::base::Error;
+
 namespace android::nativeloader {
 
 namespace {
@@ -128,11 +130,11 @@
   }
 }
 
-NativeLoaderNamespace* LibraryNamespaces::Create(JNIEnv* env, uint32_t target_sdk_version,
-                                                 jobject class_loader, bool is_shared,
-                                                 jstring dex_path, jstring java_library_path,
-                                                 jstring java_permitted_path,
-                                                 std::string* error_msg) {
+Result<NativeLoaderNamespace*> LibraryNamespaces::Create(JNIEnv* env, uint32_t target_sdk_version,
+                                                         jobject class_loader, bool is_shared,
+                                                         jstring dex_path,
+                                                         jstring java_library_path,
+                                                         jstring java_permitted_path) {
   std::string library_path;  // empty string by default.
 
   if (java_library_path != nullptr) {
@@ -158,14 +160,14 @@
   }
 
   // Initialize the anonymous namespace with the first non-empty library path.
+  Result<void> ret;
   if (!library_path.empty() && !initialized_ &&
-      !InitPublicNamespace(library_path.c_str(), error_msg)) {
-    return nullptr;
+      !(ret = InitPublicNamespace(library_path.c_str()))) {
+    return ret.error();
   }
 
-  bool found = FindNamespaceByClassLoader(env, class_loader);
-
-  LOG_ALWAYS_FATAL_IF(found, "There is already a namespace associated with this classloader");
+  LOG_ALWAYS_FATAL_IF(FindNamespaceByClassLoader(env, class_loader) != nullptr,
+                      "There is already a namespace associated with this classloader");
 
   std::string system_exposed_libraries = default_public_libraries();
   const char* namespace_name = kClassloaderNamespaceName;
@@ -216,58 +218,66 @@
   auto app_ns =
       NativeLoaderNamespace::Create(namespace_name, library_path, permitted_path, parent_ns,
                                     is_shared, target_sdk_version < 24 /* is_greylist_enabled */);
-  if (app_ns.IsNil()) {
-    *error_msg = app_ns.GetError();
-    return nullptr;
+  if (!app_ns) {
+    return app_ns.error();
   }
 
   // ... and link to other namespaces to allow access to some public libraries
-  bool is_bridged = app_ns.IsBridged();
+  bool is_bridged = app_ns->IsBridged();
 
   auto platform_ns = NativeLoaderNamespace::GetPlatformNamespace(is_bridged);
-  if (!app_ns.Link(platform_ns, system_exposed_libraries)) {
-    *error_msg = app_ns.GetError();
-    return nullptr;
+  if (!platform_ns) {
+    return platform_ns.error();
+  }
+
+  auto linked = app_ns->Link(*platform_ns, system_exposed_libraries);
+  if (!linked) {
+    return linked.error();
   }
 
   auto runtime_ns = NativeLoaderNamespace::GetExportedNamespace(kRuntimeNamespaceName, is_bridged);
   // Runtime apex does not exist in host, and under certain build conditions.
-  if (!runtime_ns.IsNil()) {
-    if (!app_ns.Link(runtime_ns, runtime_public_libraries())) {
-      *error_msg = app_ns.GetError();
-      return nullptr;
+  if (runtime_ns) {
+    linked = app_ns->Link(*runtime_ns, runtime_public_libraries());
+    if (!linked) {
+      return linked.error();
     }
   }
 
   // Give access to NNAPI libraries (apex-updated LLNDK library).
   auto nnapi_ns =
       NativeLoaderNamespace::GetExportedNamespace(kNeuralNetworksNamespaceName, is_bridged);
-  if (!app_ns.Link(nnapi_ns, neuralnetworks_public_libraries())) {
-    *error_msg = app_ns.GetError();
-    return nullptr;
+  if (nnapi_ns) {
+    linked = app_ns->Link(*nnapi_ns, neuralnetworks_public_libraries());
+    if (!linked) {
+      return linked.error();
+    }
   }
 
   // Give access to VNDK-SP libraries from the 'vndk' namespace.
   if (unbundled_vendor_or_product_app && !vndksp_libraries().empty()) {
     auto vndk_ns = NativeLoaderNamespace::GetExportedNamespace(kVndkNamespaceName, is_bridged);
-    if (!vndk_ns.IsNil() && !app_ns.Link(vndk_ns, vndksp_libraries())) {
-      *error_msg = app_ns.GetError();
-      return nullptr;
+    if (vndk_ns) {
+      linked = app_ns->Link(*vndk_ns, vndksp_libraries());
+      if (!linked) {
+        return linked.error();
+      }
     }
   }
 
-  // Note that when vendor_ns is not configured, vendor_ns.IsNil() will be true
-  // and it will result in linking to the default namespace which is expected
-  // behavior in this case.
   if (!vendor_public_libraries().empty()) {
     auto vendor_ns = NativeLoaderNamespace::GetExportedNamespace(kVendorNamespaceName, is_bridged);
-    if (!app_ns.Link(vendor_ns, vendor_public_libraries())) {
-      *error_msg = dlerror();
-      return nullptr;
+    // when vendor_ns is not configured, link to the platform namespace
+    auto target_ns = vendor_ns ? vendor_ns : platform_ns;
+    if (target_ns) {
+      linked = app_ns->Link(*target_ns, vendor_public_libraries());
+      if (!linked) {
+        return linked.error();
+      }
     }
   }
 
-  namespaces_.push_back(std::make_pair(env->NewWeakGlobalRef(class_loader), app_ns));
+  namespaces_.push_back(std::make_pair(env->NewWeakGlobalRef(class_loader), *app_ns));
 
   return &(namespaces_.back().second);
 }
@@ -285,7 +295,7 @@
   return nullptr;
 }
 
-bool LibraryNamespaces::InitPublicNamespace(const char* library_path, std::string* error_msg) {
+Result<void> LibraryNamespaces::InitPublicNamespace(const char* library_path) {
   // Ask native bride if this apps library path should be handled by it
   bool is_native_bridge = NativeBridgeIsPathSupported(library_path);
 
@@ -296,8 +306,7 @@
   initialized_ = android_init_anonymous_namespace(default_public_libraries().c_str(),
                                                   is_native_bridge ? nullptr : library_path);
   if (!initialized_) {
-    *error_msg = dlerror();
-    return false;
+    return Error() << dlerror();
   }
 
   // and now initialize native bridge namespaces if necessary.
@@ -305,11 +314,11 @@
     initialized_ = NativeBridgeInitAnonymousNamespace(default_public_libraries().c_str(),
                                                       is_native_bridge ? library_path : nullptr);
     if (!initialized_) {
-      *error_msg = NativeBridgeGetError();
+      return Error() << NativeBridgeGetError();
     }
   }
 
-  return initialized_;
+  return {};
 }
 
 NativeLoaderNamespace* LibraryNamespaces::FindParentNamespaceByClassLoader(JNIEnv* env,
diff --git a/libnativeloader/library_namespaces.h b/libnativeloader/library_namespaces.h
index 6e9a190..e54bc0a 100644
--- a/libnativeloader/library_namespaces.h
+++ b/libnativeloader/library_namespaces.h
@@ -25,10 +25,13 @@
 #include <list>
 #include <string>
 
+#include <android-base/result.h>
 #include <jni.h>
 
 namespace android::nativeloader {
 
+using android::base::Result;
+
 // LibraryNamespaces is a singleton object that manages NativeLoaderNamespace
 // objects for an app process. Its main job is to create (and configure) a new
 // NativeLoaderNamespace object for a Java ClassLoader, and to find an existing
@@ -46,13 +49,13 @@
     namespaces_.clear();
     initialized_ = false;
   }
-  NativeLoaderNamespace* Create(JNIEnv* env, uint32_t target_sdk_version, jobject class_loader,
-                                bool is_shared, jstring dex_path, jstring java_library_path,
-                                jstring java_permitted_path, std::string* error_msg);
+  Result<NativeLoaderNamespace*> Create(JNIEnv* env, uint32_t target_sdk_version,
+                                        jobject class_loader, bool is_shared, jstring dex_path,
+                                        jstring java_library_path, jstring java_permitted_path);
   NativeLoaderNamespace* FindNamespaceByClassLoader(JNIEnv* env, jobject class_loader);
 
  private:
-  bool InitPublicNamespace(const char* library_path, std::string* error_msg);
+  Result<void> InitPublicNamespace(const char* library_path);
   NativeLoaderNamespace* FindParentNamespaceByClassLoader(JNIEnv* env, jobject class_loader);
 
   bool initialized_;
diff --git a/libnativeloader/native_loader.cpp b/libnativeloader/native_loader.cpp
index 0c29324..6d3c057 100644
--- a/libnativeloader/native_loader.cpp
+++ b/libnativeloader/native_loader.cpp
@@ -92,12 +92,10 @@
                                    jstring permitted_path) {
 #if defined(__ANDROID__)
   std::lock_guard<std::mutex> guard(g_namespaces_mutex);
-
-  std::string error_msg;
-  bool success = g_namespaces->Create(env, target_sdk_version, class_loader, is_shared, dex_path,
-                                      library_path, permitted_path, &error_msg) != nullptr;
-  if (!success) {
-    return env->NewStringUTF(error_msg.c_str());
+  auto ns = g_namespaces->Create(env, target_sdk_version, class_loader, is_shared, dex_path,
+                                 library_path, permitted_path);
+  if (!ns) {
+    return env->NewStringUTF(ns.error().message().c_str());
   }
 #else
   UNUSED(env, target_sdk_version, class_loader, is_shared, dex_path, library_path, permitted_path);
@@ -139,11 +137,14 @@
   if ((ns = g_namespaces->FindNamespaceByClassLoader(env, class_loader)) == nullptr) {
     // This is the case where the classloader was not created by ApplicationLoaders
     // In this case we create an isolated not-shared namespace for it.
-    std::string create_error_msg;
-    if ((ns = g_namespaces->Create(env, target_sdk_version, class_loader, false /* is_shared */,
-                                   nullptr, library_path, nullptr, &create_error_msg)) == nullptr) {
-      *error_msg = strdup(create_error_msg.c_str());
+    Result<NativeLoaderNamespace*> isolated_ns =
+        g_namespaces->Create(env, target_sdk_version, class_loader, false /* is_shared */, nullptr,
+                             library_path, nullptr);
+    if (!isolated_ns) {
+      *error_msg = strdup(isolated_ns.error().message().c_str());
       return nullptr;
+    } else {
+      ns = *isolated_ns;
     }
   }
 
@@ -222,12 +223,14 @@
 #if defined(__ANDROID__)
 void* OpenNativeLibraryInNamespace(NativeLoaderNamespace* ns, const char* path,
                                    bool* needs_native_bridge, char** error_msg) {
-  void* handle = ns->Load(path);
-  if (handle == nullptr) {
-    *error_msg = ns->GetError();
+  auto handle = ns->Load(path);
+  if (!handle && error_msg != nullptr) {
+    *error_msg = strdup(handle.error().message().c_str());
   }
-  *needs_native_bridge = ns->IsBridged();
-  return handle;
+  if (needs_native_bridge != nullptr) {
+    *needs_native_bridge = ns->IsBridged();
+  }
+  return handle ? *handle : nullptr;
 }
 
 // native_bridge_namespaces are not supported for callers of this function.
diff --git a/libnativeloader/native_loader_namespace.cpp b/libnativeloader/native_loader_namespace.cpp
index 58ac686..4b02116 100644
--- a/libnativeloader/native_loader_namespace.cpp
+++ b/libnativeloader/native_loader_namespace.cpp
@@ -28,6 +28,9 @@
 
 #include "nativeloader/dlext_namespaces.h"
 
+using android::base::Error;
+using android::base::Errorf;
+
 namespace android {
 
 namespace {
@@ -35,41 +38,46 @@
 constexpr const char* kDefaultNamespaceName = "default";
 constexpr const char* kPlatformNamespaceName = "platform";
 
-}  // namespace
-
-NativeLoaderNamespace NativeLoaderNamespace::GetExportedNamespace(const std::string& name,
-                                                                  bool is_bridged) {
-  if (!is_bridged) {
-    return NativeLoaderNamespace(name, android_get_exported_namespace(name.c_str()));
-  } else {
-    return NativeLoaderNamespace(name, NativeBridgeGetExportedNamespace(name.c_str()));
+std::string GetLinkerError(bool is_bridged) {
+  const char* msg = is_bridged ? NativeBridgeGetError() : dlerror();
+  if (msg == nullptr) {
+    return "no error";
   }
+  return std::string(msg);
 }
 
-char* NativeLoaderNamespace::GetError() const {
-  if (!IsBridged()) {
-    return strdup(dlerror());
+}  // namespace
+
+Result<NativeLoaderNamespace> NativeLoaderNamespace::GetExportedNamespace(const std::string& name,
+                                                                          bool is_bridged) {
+  if (!is_bridged) {
+    auto raw = android_get_exported_namespace(name.c_str());
+    if (raw != nullptr) {
+      return NativeLoaderNamespace(name, raw);
+    }
   } else {
-    return strdup(NativeBridgeGetError());
+    auto raw = NativeBridgeGetExportedNamespace(name.c_str());
+    if (raw != nullptr) {
+      return NativeLoaderNamespace(name, raw);
+    }
   }
+  return Errorf("namespace {} does not exist or exported", name);
 }
 
 // The platform namespace is called "default" for binaries in /system and
 // "platform" for those in the Runtime APEX. Try "platform" first since
 // "default" always exists.
-NativeLoaderNamespace NativeLoaderNamespace::GetPlatformNamespace(bool is_bridged) {
-  NativeLoaderNamespace ns = GetExportedNamespace(kPlatformNamespaceName, is_bridged);
-  if (ns.IsNil()) {
+Result<NativeLoaderNamespace> NativeLoaderNamespace::GetPlatformNamespace(bool is_bridged) {
+  auto ns = GetExportedNamespace(kPlatformNamespaceName, is_bridged);
+  if (!ns) {
     ns = GetExportedNamespace(kDefaultNamespaceName, is_bridged);
   }
   return ns;
 }
 
-NativeLoaderNamespace NativeLoaderNamespace::Create(const std::string& name,
-                                                    const std::string& search_paths,
-                                                    const std::string& permitted_paths,
-                                                    const NativeLoaderNamespace* parent,
-                                                    bool is_shared, bool is_greylist_enabled) {
+Result<NativeLoaderNamespace> NativeLoaderNamespace::Create(
+    const std::string& name, const std::string& search_paths, const std::string& permitted_paths,
+    const NativeLoaderNamespace* parent, bool is_shared, bool is_greylist_enabled) {
   bool is_bridged = false;
   if (parent != nullptr) {
     is_bridged = parent->IsBridged();
@@ -78,8 +86,11 @@
   }
 
   // Fall back to the platform namespace if no parent is set.
-  const NativeLoaderNamespace& effective_parent =
-      parent != nullptr ? *parent : GetPlatformNamespace(is_bridged);
+  auto platform_ns = GetPlatformNamespace(is_bridged);
+  if (!platform_ns) {
+    return platform_ns.error();
+  }
+  const NativeLoaderNamespace& effective_parent = parent != nullptr ? *parent : *platform_ns;
 
   uint64_t type = ANDROID_NAMESPACE_TYPE_ISOLATED;
   if (is_shared) {
@@ -93,37 +104,56 @@
     android_namespace_t* raw =
         android_create_namespace(name.c_str(), nullptr, search_paths.c_str(), type,
                                  permitted_paths.c_str(), effective_parent.ToRawAndroidNamespace());
-    return NativeLoaderNamespace(name, raw);
+    if (raw != nullptr) {
+      return NativeLoaderNamespace(name, raw);
+    }
   } else {
     native_bridge_namespace_t* raw = NativeBridgeCreateNamespace(
         name.c_str(), nullptr, search_paths.c_str(), type, permitted_paths.c_str(),
         effective_parent.ToRawNativeBridgeNamespace());
-    return NativeLoaderNamespace(name, raw);
+    if (raw != nullptr) {
+      return NativeLoaderNamespace(name, raw);
+    }
   }
+  return Errorf("failed to create {} namespace name:{}, search_paths:{}, permitted_paths:{}",
+                is_bridged ? "bridged" : "native", name, search_paths, permitted_paths);
 }
 
-bool NativeLoaderNamespace::Link(const NativeLoaderNamespace& target,
-                                 const std::string& shared_libs) const {
+Result<void> NativeLoaderNamespace::Link(const NativeLoaderNamespace& target,
+                                         const std::string& shared_libs) const {
   LOG_ALWAYS_FATAL_IF(shared_libs.empty(), "empty share lib when linking %s to %s",
                       this->name().c_str(), target.name().c_str());
   if (!IsBridged()) {
-    return android_link_namespaces(this->ToRawAndroidNamespace(), target.ToRawAndroidNamespace(),
-                                   shared_libs.c_str());
+    if (android_link_namespaces(this->ToRawAndroidNamespace(), target.ToRawAndroidNamespace(),
+                                shared_libs.c_str())) {
+      return {};
+    }
   } else {
-    return NativeBridgeLinkNamespaces(this->ToRawNativeBridgeNamespace(),
-                                      target.ToRawNativeBridgeNamespace(), shared_libs.c_str());
+    if (NativeBridgeLinkNamespaces(this->ToRawNativeBridgeNamespace(),
+                                   target.ToRawNativeBridgeNamespace(), shared_libs.c_str())) {
+      return {};
+    }
   }
+  return Error() << GetLinkerError(IsBridged());
 }
 
-void* NativeLoaderNamespace::Load(const char* lib_name) const {
+Result<void*> NativeLoaderNamespace::Load(const char* lib_name) const {
   if (!IsBridged()) {
     android_dlextinfo extinfo;
     extinfo.flags = ANDROID_DLEXT_USE_NAMESPACE;
     extinfo.library_namespace = this->ToRawAndroidNamespace();
-    return android_dlopen_ext(lib_name, RTLD_NOW, &extinfo);
+    void* handle = android_dlopen_ext(lib_name, RTLD_NOW, &extinfo);
+    if (handle != nullptr) {
+      return handle;
+    }
   } else {
-    return NativeBridgeLoadLibraryExt(lib_name, RTLD_NOW, this->ToRawNativeBridgeNamespace());
+    void* handle =
+        NativeBridgeLoadLibraryExt(lib_name, RTLD_NOW, this->ToRawNativeBridgeNamespace());
+    if (handle != nullptr) {
+      return handle;
+    }
   }
+  return Error() << GetLinkerError(IsBridged());
 }
 
 }  // namespace android
diff --git a/libnativeloader/native_loader_namespace.h b/libnativeloader/native_loader_namespace.h
index 71e4247..29b759c 100644
--- a/libnativeloader/native_loader_namespace.h
+++ b/libnativeloader/native_loader_namespace.h
@@ -21,22 +21,25 @@
 #include <vector>
 
 #include <android-base/logging.h>
+#include <android-base/result.h>
 #include <android/dlext.h>
 #include <log/log.h>
 #include <nativebridge/native_bridge.h>
 
 namespace android {
 
+using android::base::Result;
+
 // NativeLoaderNamespace abstracts a linker namespace for the native
 // architecture (ex: arm on arm) or the translated architecture (ex: arm on
 // x86). Instances of this class are managed by LibraryNamespaces object.
 struct NativeLoaderNamespace {
  public:
-  // TODO(return with errors)
-  static NativeLoaderNamespace Create(const std::string& name, const std::string& search_paths,
-                                      const std::string& permitted_paths,
-                                      const NativeLoaderNamespace* parent, bool is_shared,
-                                      bool is_greylist_enabled);
+  static Result<NativeLoaderNamespace> Create(const std::string& name,
+                                              const std::string& search_paths,
+                                              const std::string& permitted_paths,
+                                              const NativeLoaderNamespace* parent, bool is_shared,
+                                              bool is_greylist_enabled);
 
   NativeLoaderNamespace(NativeLoaderNamespace&&) = default;
   NativeLoaderNamespace(const NativeLoaderNamespace&) = default;
@@ -47,16 +50,13 @@
 
   std::string name() const { return name_; }
   bool IsBridged() const { return raw_.index() == 1; }
-  bool IsNil() const {
-    return IsBridged() ? std::get<1>(raw_) == nullptr : std::get<0>(raw_) == nullptr;
-  }
 
-  bool Link(const NativeLoaderNamespace& target, const std::string& shared_libs) const;
-  void* Load(const char* lib_name) const;
-  char* GetError() const;
+  Result<void> Link(const NativeLoaderNamespace& target, const std::string& shared_libs) const;
+  Result<void*> Load(const char* lib_name) const;
 
-  static NativeLoaderNamespace GetExportedNamespace(const std::string& name, bool is_bridged);
-  static NativeLoaderNamespace GetPlatformNamespace(bool is_bridged);
+  static Result<NativeLoaderNamespace> GetExportedNamespace(const std::string& name,
+                                                            bool is_bridged);
+  static Result<NativeLoaderNamespace> GetPlatformNamespace(bool is_bridged);
 
  private:
   explicit NativeLoaderNamespace(const std::string& name, android_namespace_t* ns)
diff --git a/libnativeloader/public_libraries.cpp b/libnativeloader/public_libraries.cpp
index 10e23fd..6cee668 100644
--- a/libnativeloader/public_libraries.cpp
+++ b/libnativeloader/public_libraries.cpp
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 #include <android-base/file.h>
 #include <android-base/logging.h>
 #include <android-base/properties.h>
+#include <android-base/result.h>
 #include <android-base/strings.h>
 #include <log/log.h>
 
@@ -34,6 +35,9 @@
 namespace android::nativeloader {
 
 using namespace std::string_literals;
+using android::base::ErrnoError;
+using android::base::Errorf;
+using android::base::Result;
 
 namespace {
 
@@ -91,22 +95,21 @@
   file_name->insert(insert_pos, vndk_version_str());
 }
 
-const std::function<bool(const std::string&, std::string*)> always_true =
-    [](const std::string&, std::string*) { return true; };
+const std::function<Result<void>(const std::string&)> always_true =
+    [](const std::string&) -> Result<void> { return {}; };
 
-bool ReadConfig(const std::string& configFile, std::vector<std::string>* sonames,
-                const std::function<bool(const std::string& /* soname */,
-                                         std::string* /* error_msg */)>& check_soname,
-                std::string* error_msg = nullptr) {
+Result<std::vector<std::string>> ReadConfig(
+    const std::string& configFile,
+    const std::function<Result<void>(const std::string& /* soname */)>& check_soname) {
   // Read list of public native libraries from the config file.
   std::string file_content;
   if (!base::ReadFileToString(configFile, &file_content)) {
-    if (error_msg) *error_msg = strerror(errno);
-    return false;
+    return ErrnoError();
   }
 
   std::vector<std::string> lines = base::Split(file_content, "\n");
 
+  std::vector<std::string> sonames;
   for (auto& line : lines) {
     auto trimmed_line = base::Trim(line);
     if (trimmed_line[0] == '#' || trimmed_line.empty()) {
@@ -116,8 +119,7 @@
     if (space_pos != std::string::npos) {
       std::string type = trimmed_line.substr(space_pos + 1);
       if (type != "32" && type != "64") {
-        if (error_msg) *error_msg = "Malformed line: " + line;
-        return false;
+        return Errorf("Malformed line: {}", line);
       }
 #if defined(__LP64__)
       // Skip 32 bit public library.
@@ -133,13 +135,13 @@
       trimmed_line.resize(space_pos);
     }
 
-    if (check_soname(trimmed_line, error_msg)) {
-      sonames->push_back(trimmed_line);
-    } else {
-      return false;
+    auto ret = check_soname(trimmed_line);
+    if (!ret) {
+      return ret.error();
     }
+    sonames.push_back(trimmed_line);
   }
-  return true;
+  return sonames;
 }
 
 void ReadExtensionLibraries(const char* dirname, std::vector<std::string>* sonames) {
@@ -162,24 +164,22 @@
             "Error extracting company name from public native library list file path \"%s\"",
             config_file_path.c_str());
 
-        std::string error_msg;
-
-        LOG_ALWAYS_FATAL_IF(
-            !ReadConfig(config_file_path, sonames,
-                        [&company_name](const std::string& soname, std::string* error_msg) {
-                          if (android::base::StartsWith(soname, "lib") &&
-                              android::base::EndsWith(soname, "." + company_name + ".so")) {
-                            return true;
-                          } else {
-                            *error_msg = "Library name \"" + soname +
-                                         "\" does not end with the company name: " + company_name +
-                                         ".";
-                            return false;
-                          }
-                        },
-                        &error_msg),
-            "Error reading public native library list from \"%s\": %s", config_file_path.c_str(),
-            error_msg.c_str());
+        auto ret = ReadConfig(
+            config_file_path, [&company_name](const std::string& soname) -> Result<void> {
+              if (android::base::StartsWith(soname, "lib") &&
+                  android::base::EndsWith(soname, "." + company_name + ".so")) {
+                return {};
+              } else {
+                return Errorf("Library name \"{}\" does not end with the company name {}.", soname,
+                              company_name);
+              }
+            });
+        if (ret) {
+          sonames->insert(sonames->end(), ret->begin(), ret->end());
+        } else {
+          LOG_ALWAYS_FATAL("Error reading public native library list from \"%s\": %s",
+                           config_file_path.c_str(), ret.error().message().c_str());
+        }
       }
     }
   }
@@ -187,16 +187,17 @@
 
 static std::string InitDefaultPublicLibraries() {
   std::string config_file = root_dir() + kDefaultPublicLibrariesFile;
-  std::vector<std::string> sonames;
-  std::string error_msg;
-  LOG_ALWAYS_FATAL_IF(!ReadConfig(config_file, &sonames, always_true, &error_msg),
-                      "Error reading public native library list from \"%s\": %s",
-                      config_file.c_str(), error_msg.c_str());
+  auto sonames = ReadConfig(config_file, always_true);
+  if (!sonames) {
+    LOG_ALWAYS_FATAL("Error reading public native library list from \"%s\": %s",
+                     config_file.c_str(), sonames.error().message().c_str());
+    return "";
+  }
 
   std::string additional_libs = additional_public_libraries();
   if (!additional_libs.empty()) {
     auto vec = base::Split(additional_libs, ":");
-    std::copy(vec.begin(), vec.end(), std::back_inserter(sonames));
+    std::copy(vec.begin(), vec.end(), std::back_inserter(*sonames));
   }
 
   // Remove the public libs in the runtime namespace.
@@ -216,18 +217,18 @@
       continue;
     }
 
-    auto it = std::find(sonames.begin(), sonames.end(), lib_name);
-    if (it != sonames.end()) {
-      sonames.erase(it);
+    auto it = std::find(sonames->begin(), sonames->end(), lib_name);
+    if (it != sonames->end()) {
+      sonames->erase(it);
     }
   }
 
   // Remove the public libs in the nnapi namespace.
-  auto it = std::find(sonames.begin(), sonames.end(), kNeuralNetworksApexPublicLibrary);
-  if (it != sonames.end()) {
-    sonames.erase(it);
+  auto it = std::find(sonames->begin(), sonames->end(), kNeuralNetworksApexPublicLibrary);
+  if (it != sonames->end()) {
+    sonames->erase(it);
   }
-  return android::base::Join(sonames, ':');
+  return android::base::Join(*sonames, ':');
 }
 
 static std::string InitRuntimePublicLibraries() {
@@ -243,9 +244,11 @@
 
 static std::string InitVendorPublicLibraries() {
   // This file is optional, quietly ignore if the file does not exist.
-  std::vector<std::string> sonames;
-  ReadConfig(kVendorPublicLibrariesFile, &sonames, always_true, nullptr);
-  return android::base::Join(sonames, ':');
+  auto sonames = ReadConfig(kVendorPublicLibrariesFile, always_true);
+  if (!sonames) {
+    return "";
+  }
+  return android::base::Join(*sonames, ':');
 }
 
 // read /system/etc/public.libraries-<companyname>.txt and
@@ -262,17 +265,23 @@
 static std::string InitLlndkLibraries() {
   std::string config_file = kLlndkLibrariesFile;
   InsertVndkVersionStr(&config_file);
-  std::vector<std::string> sonames;
-  ReadConfig(config_file, &sonames, always_true, nullptr);
-  return android::base::Join(sonames, ':');
+  auto sonames = ReadConfig(config_file, always_true);
+  if (!sonames) {
+    LOG_ALWAYS_FATAL("%s", sonames.error().message().c_str());
+    return "";
+  }
+  return android::base::Join(*sonames, ':');
 }
 
 static std::string InitVndkspLibraries() {
   std::string config_file = kVndkLibrariesFile;
   InsertVndkVersionStr(&config_file);
-  std::vector<std::string> sonames;
-  ReadConfig(config_file, &sonames, always_true, nullptr);
-  return android::base::Join(sonames, ':');
+  auto sonames = ReadConfig(config_file, always_true);
+  if (!sonames) {
+    LOG_ALWAYS_FATAL("%s", sonames.error().message().c_str());
+    return "";
+  }
+  return android::base::Join(*sonames, ':');
 }
 
 static std::string InitNeuralNetworksPublicLibraries() {