diff --git a/modutils/depmod.c b/modutils/depmod.c
index aa228ec..37a8482 100644
--- a/modutils/depmod.c
+++ b/modutils/depmod.c
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ typedef struct module_info {
 static int FAST_FUNC parse_module(const char *fname, struct stat *sb UNUSED_PARAM,
 				void *data, int depth UNUSED_PARAM)
 {
-	char modname[MODULE_NAME_LEN];
 	module_info **first = (module_info **) data;
 	char *image, *ptr;
 	module_info *info;
@@ -51,7 +50,10 @@ static int FAST_FUNC parse_module(const char *fname, struct stat *sb UNUSED_PARA
 
 	info->dnext = info->dprev = info;
 	info->name = xstrdup(fname + 2); /* skip "./" */
-	info->modname = xstrdup(filename2modname(fname, modname));
+	info->modname = filename2modname(
+			bb_get_last_path_component_nostrip(fname),
+			NULL
+	);
 	for (ptr = image; ptr < image + len - 10; ptr++) {
 		if (strncmp(ptr, "depends=", 8) == 0) {
 			char *u;
@@ -242,17 +244,19 @@ int depmod_main(int argc UNUSED_PARAM, char **argv)
 	if (!(option_mask32 & OPT_n))
 		xfreopen_write("modules.alias", stdout);
 	for (m = modules; m != NULL; m = m->next) {
+		char modname[MODULE_NAME_LEN];
 		const char *fname = bb_basename(m->name);
-		int fnlen = strchrnul(fname, '.') - fname;
+		filename2modname(fname, modname);
 		while (m->aliases) {
-			/* Last word can well be m->modname instead,
-			 * but depmod from module-init-tools 3.4
-			 * uses module basename, i.e., no s/-/_/g.
-			 * (pathname and .ko.* are still stripped)
-			 * Mimicking that... */
-			printf("alias %s %.*s\n",
+			/*
+			 * Last word used to be a basename
+			 * (filename with path and .ko.* stripped)
+			 * at the time of module-init-tools 3.4.
+			 * kmod v.12 uses module name, i.e., s/-/_/g.
+			 */
+			printf("alias %s %s\n",
 				(char*)llist_pop(&m->aliases),
-				fnlen, fname);
+				modname);
 		}
 	}
 #endif
@@ -260,12 +264,13 @@ int depmod_main(int argc UNUSED_PARAM, char **argv)
 	if (!(option_mask32 & OPT_n))
 		xfreopen_write("modules.symbols", stdout);
 	for (m = modules; m != NULL; m = m->next) {
+		char modname[MODULE_NAME_LEN];
 		const char *fname = bb_basename(m->name);
-		int fnlen = strchrnul(fname, '.') - fname;
+		filename2modname(fname, modname);
 		while (m->symbols) {
-			printf("alias symbol:%s %.*s\n",
+			printf("alias symbol:%s %s\n",
 				(char*)llist_pop(&m->symbols),
-				fnlen, fname);
+				modname);
 		}
 	}
 #endif
diff --git a/modutils/modinfo.c b/modutils/modinfo.c
index 7c978d1..ee37930 100644
--- a/modutils/modinfo.c
+++ b/modutils/modinfo.c
@@ -34,14 +34,14 @@ struct modinfo_env {
 	int tags;
 };
 
-static int display(const char *data, const char *pattern, int flag)
+static void display(const char *data, const char *pattern, int flag)
 {
 	if (flag) {
 		int n = printf("%s:", pattern);
 		while (n++ < 16)
 			bb_putchar(' ');
 	}
-	return printf("%s%c", data, (option_mask32 & OPT_0) ? '\0' : '\n');
+	printf("%s%c", data, (option_mask32 & OPT_0) ? '\0' : '\n');
 }
 
 static void modinfo(const char *path, const char *version,
@@ -104,7 +104,8 @@ static void modinfo(const char *path, const char *version,
 				/* field prefixes are 0x80 or 0x00 */
 				if ((ptr[-1] & 0x7F) == '\0') {
 					ptr += length + 1;
-					ptr += display(ptr, pattern, (1<<j) != tags);
+					display(ptr, pattern, (1<<j) != tags);
+					ptr += strlen(ptr);
 				}
 			}
 			++ptr;
@@ -153,7 +154,7 @@ int modinfo_main(int argc UNUSED_PARAM, char **argv)
 		if (colon == NULL)
 			continue;
 		*colon = '\0';
-		filename2modname(tokens[0], name);
+		filename2modname(bb_basename(tokens[0]), name);
 		for (i = 0; argv[i]; i++) {
 			if (fnmatch(argv[i], name, 0) == 0) {
 				modinfo(tokens[0], uts.release, &env);
diff --git a/modutils/modprobe.c b/modutils/modprobe.c
index 7f7446d..0e8aa9e 100644
--- a/modutils/modprobe.c
+++ b/modutils/modprobe.c
@@ -229,9 +232,14 @@ static ALWAYS_INLINE struct module_entry *get_or_add_modentry(const char *module
 {
 	return helper_get_module(module, 1);
 }
-static ALWAYS_INLINE struct module_entry *get_modentry(const char *module)
+/* So far this function always gets a module pathname, never an alias name.
+ * The crucial difference is that pathname needs dirname stripping,
+ * while alias name must NOT do it!
+ * Testcase where dirname stripping is likely to go wrong: "modprobe devname:snd/timer"
+ */
+static ALWAYS_INLINE struct module_entry *get_modentry(const char *pathname)
 {
-	return helper_get_module(module, 0);
+	return helper_get_module(bb_get_last_path_component_nostrip(pathname), 0);
 }
 
 static void add_probe(const char *name)
@@ -417,7 +425,7 @@ static int do_modprobe(struct module_entry *m)
 
 		rc = 0;
 		fn = llist_pop(&m->deps); /* we leak it */
-		m2 = get_or_add_modentry(fn);
+		m2 = get_or_add_modentry(bb_get_last_path_component_nostrip(fn));
 
 		if (option_mask32 & OPT_REMOVE) {
 			/* modprobe -r */
@@ -499,7 +507,7 @@ static void load_modules_dep(void)
 		colon = last_char_is(tokens[0], ':');
 		if (colon == NULL)
 			continue;
-		*colon = 0;
+		*colon = '\0';
 
 		m = get_modentry(tokens[0]);
 		if (m == NULL)
@@ -546,7 +554,6 @@ int modprobe_main(int argc UNUSED_PARAM, char **argv)
 
 	if (opt & OPT_LIST_ONLY) {
 		int i;
-		char name[MODULE_NAME_LEN];
 		char *colon, *tokens[2];
 		parser_t *p = config_open2(CONFIG_DEFAULT_DEPMOD_FILE, xfopen_for_read);
 
@@ -558,10 +565,14 @@ int modprobe_main(int argc UNUSED_PARAM, char **argv)
 			if (!colon)
 				continue;
 			*colon = '\0';
-			filename2modname(tokens[0], name);
 			if (!argv[0])
 				puts(tokens[0]);
 			else {
+				char name[MODULE_NAME_LEN];
+				filename2modname(
+					bb_get_last_path_component_nostrip(tokens[0]),
+					name
+				);
 				for (i = 0; argv[i]; i++) {
 					if (fnmatch(argv[i], name, 0) == 0) {
 						puts(tokens[0]);
diff --git a/modutils/modutils.c b/modutils/modutils.c
index 6187ca7..84300d9 100644
--- a/modutils/modutils.c
+++ b/modutils/modutils.c
@@ -47,18 +47,26 @@ int FAST_FUNC string_to_llist(char *string, llist_t **llist, const char *delim)
 
 char* FAST_FUNC filename2modname(const char *filename, char *modname)
 {
+	char local_modname[MODULE_NAME_LEN];
 	int i;
-	char *from;
+	const char *from;
 
 	if (filename == NULL)
 		return NULL;
 	if (modname == NULL)
-		modname = xmalloc(MODULE_NAME_LEN);
-	from = bb_get_last_path_component_nostrip(filename);
+		modname = local_modname;
+	// Disabled since otherwise "modprobe dir/name" would work
+	// as if it is "modprobe name". It is unclear why
+	// 'basenamization' was here in the first place.
+	//from = bb_get_last_path_component_nostrip(filename);
+	from = filename;
 	for (i = 0; i < (MODULE_NAME_LEN-1) && from[i] != '\0' && from[i] != '.'; i++)
 		modname[i] = (from[i] == '-') ? '_' : from[i];
 	modname[i] = '\0';
 
+	if (modname == local_modname)
+		return xstrdup(modname);
+
 	return modname;
 }