diff --git a/include/abg-ir.h b/include/abg-ir.h
index a2f4e1a7..7c42bea7 100644
--- a/include/abg-ir.h
+++ b/include/abg-ir.h
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 #include <functional>
 #include <set>
 #include <unordered_map>
+#include "abg-cxx-compat.h"
 #include "abg-fwd.h"
 #include "abg-hash.h"
 #include "abg-traverse.h"
@@ -921,6 +922,7 @@ private:
 	     visibility		vi,
 	     bool		is_in_ksymtab = false,
 	     uint64_t		crc = 0,
+	     const abg_compat::optional<std::string>&	ns = {},
 	     bool		is_suppressed = false);
 
   elf_symbol(const elf_symbol&);
@@ -946,6 +948,7 @@ public:
 	 visibility	    vi,
 	 bool		    is_in_ksymtab = false,
 	 uint64_t	    crc = 0,
+	 const abg_compat::optional<std::string>&	ns = {},
 	 bool		    is_suppressed = false);
 
   const environment*
@@ -1023,6 +1026,12 @@ public:
   void
   set_crc(uint64_t crc);
 
+  const abg_compat::optional<std::string>&
+  get_namespace() const;
+
+  void
+  set_namespace(const abg_compat::optional<std::string>& ns);
+
   bool
   is_suppressed() const;
 
diff --git a/src/abg-comp-filter.cc b/src/abg-comp-filter.cc
index f90fdc78..c179b6bd 100644
--- a/src/abg-comp-filter.cc
+++ b/src/abg-comp-filter.cc
@@ -256,6 +256,43 @@ crc_changed(const diff* diff)
   return false;
 }
 
+/// Test if there was a function or variable namespace change.
+///
+/// @param f the first function or variable to consider.
+///
+/// @param s the second function or variable to consider.
+///
+/// @return true if the test is positive, false otherwise.
+template <typename function_or_var_decl_sptr>
+static bool
+namespace_changed(const function_or_var_decl_sptr& f,
+		  const function_or_var_decl_sptr& s)
+{
+  const auto& symbol_f = f->get_symbol();
+  const auto& symbol_s = s->get_symbol();
+  if (!symbol_f || !symbol_s)
+    return false;
+  return symbol_f->get_namespace() != symbol_s->get_namespace();
+}
+
+/// Test if the current diff tree node carries a namespace change in
+/// either a function or a variable.
+///
+/// @param diff the diff tree node to consider.
+///
+/// @return true if the test is positive, false otherwise.
+static bool
+namespace_changed(const diff* diff)
+{
+  if (const function_decl_diff* d =
+	dynamic_cast<const function_decl_diff*>(diff))
+    return namespace_changed(d->first_function_decl(),
+			     d->second_function_decl());
+  if (const var_diff* d = dynamic_cast<const var_diff*>(diff))
+    return namespace_changed(d->first_var(), d->second_var());
+  return false;
+}
+
 /// Test if there was a function name change, but there there was no
 /// change in name of the underlying symbol.  IOW, if the name of a
 /// function changed, but the symbol of the new function is equal to
@@ -1783,7 +1820,8 @@ categorize_harmful_diff_node(diff *d, bool pre)
 	      || non_static_data_member_added_or_removed(d)
 	      || base_classes_added_or_removed(d)
 	      || has_harmful_enum_change(d)
-	      || crc_changed(d)))
+	      || crc_changed(d)
+	      || namespace_changed(d)))
 	category |= SIZE_OR_OFFSET_CHANGE_CATEGORY;
 
       if (has_virtual_mem_fn_change(d))
diff --git a/src/abg-ir.cc b/src/abg-ir.cc
index 0ef5e8b2..78154622 100644
--- a/src/abg-ir.cc
+++ b/src/abg-ir.cc
@@ -1728,6 +1728,7 @@ struct elf_symbol::priv
   bool			is_common_;
   bool			is_in_ksymtab_;
   uint64_t		crc_;
+  abg_compat::optional<std::string>	namespace_;
   bool			is_suppressed_;
   elf_symbol_wptr	main_symbol_;
   elf_symbol_wptr	next_alias_;
@@ -1745,6 +1746,7 @@ struct elf_symbol::priv
       is_common_(false),
       is_in_ksymtab_(false),
       crc_(0),
+      namespace_(),
       is_suppressed_(false)
   {}
 
@@ -1760,6 +1762,7 @@ struct elf_symbol::priv
        elf_symbol::visibility	  vi,
        bool			  is_in_ksymtab,
        uint64_t			  crc,
+       const abg_compat::optional<std::string>&	ns,
        bool			  is_suppressed)
     : env_(e),
       index_(i),
@@ -1773,6 +1776,7 @@ struct elf_symbol::priv
       is_common_(c),
       is_in_ksymtab_(is_in_ksymtab),
       crc_(crc),
+      namespace_(ns),
       is_suppressed_(is_suppressed)
   {
     if (!is_common_)
@@ -1818,6 +1822,8 @@ elf_symbol::elf_symbol()
 /// @param vi the visibility of the symbol.
 ///
 /// @param crc the CRC (modversions) value of Linux Kernel symbols
+///
+/// @param ns the namespace of Linux Kernel symbols, if any
 elf_symbol::elf_symbol(const environment* e,
 		       size_t		  i,
 		       size_t		  s,
@@ -1830,6 +1836,7 @@ elf_symbol::elf_symbol(const environment* e,
 		       visibility	  vi,
 		       bool		  is_in_ksymtab,
 		       uint64_t		  crc,
+		       const abg_compat::optional<std::string>&	ns,
 		       bool		  is_suppressed)
   : priv_(new priv(e,
 		   i,
@@ -1843,6 +1850,7 @@ elf_symbol::elf_symbol(const environment* e,
 		   vi,
 		   is_in_ksymtab,
 		   crc,
+		   ns,
 		   is_suppressed))
 {}
 
@@ -1886,6 +1894,8 @@ elf_symbol::create()
 ///
 /// @param crc the CRC (modversions) value of Linux Kernel symbols
 ///
+/// @param ns the namespace of Linux Kernel symbols, if any
+///
 /// @return a (smart) pointer to a newly created instance of @ref
 /// elf_symbol.
 elf_symbol_sptr
@@ -1901,10 +1911,11 @@ elf_symbol::create(const environment* e,
 		   visibility	      vi,
 		   bool		      is_in_ksymtab,
 		   uint64_t	      crc,
+		   const abg_compat::optional<std::string>&	ns,
 		   bool		      is_suppressed)
 {
   elf_symbol_sptr sym(new elf_symbol(e, i, s, n, t, b, d, c, ve, vi,
-				     is_in_ksymtab, crc, is_suppressed));
+				     is_in_ksymtab, crc, ns, is_suppressed));
   sym->priv_->main_symbol_ = sym;
   return sym;
 }
@@ -1927,7 +1938,8 @@ textually_equals(const elf_symbol&l,
 		 && l.is_common_symbol() == r.is_common_symbol()
 		 && l.get_version() == r.get_version()
 		 && (l.get_crc() == 0 || r.get_crc() == 0
-		     || l.get_crc() == r.get_crc()));
+		     || l.get_crc() == r.get_crc())
+		 && l.get_namespace() == r.get_namespace());
 
   if (equals && l.is_variable())
     // These are variable symbols.  Let's compare their symbol size.
@@ -2147,6 +2159,20 @@ void
 elf_symbol::set_crc(uint64_t crc)
 {priv_->crc_ = crc;}
 
+/// Getter of the 'namespace' property.
+///
+/// @return the namespace for Linux Kernel symbols, if any
+const abg_compat::optional<std::string>&
+elf_symbol::get_namespace() const
+{return priv_->namespace_;}
+
+/// Setter of the 'namespace' property.
+///
+/// @param ns the new namespace for Linux Kernel symbols, if any
+void
+elf_symbol::set_namespace(const abg_compat::optional<std::string>& ns)
+{priv_->namespace_ = ns;}
+
 /// Getter for the 'is-suppressed' property.
 ///
 /// @return true iff the current symbol has been suppressed by a
diff --git a/src/abg-reader.cc b/src/abg-reader.cc
index 31885692..0a8ecd70 100644
--- a/src/abg-reader.cc
+++ b/src/abg-reader.cc
@@ -3269,6 +3269,13 @@ build_elf_symbol(read_context& ctxt, const xmlNodePtr node,
   if (crc != 0)
     e->set_crc(crc);
 
+  if (xml_char_sptr s = XML_NODE_GET_ATTRIBUTE(node, "namespace"))
+    {
+      std::string ns;
+      xml::xml_char_sptr_to_string(s, ns);
+      e->set_namespace(ns);
+    }
+
   return e;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/abg-reporter-priv.cc b/src/abg-reporter-priv.cc
index 7012f5dc..9ebcdf00 100644
--- a/src/abg-reporter-priv.cc
+++ b/src/abg-reporter-priv.cc
@@ -1158,6 +1158,24 @@ maybe_report_diff_for_symbol(const elf_symbol_sptr&	symbol1,
 	  << std::noshowbase << std::dec
 	  << "\n";
     }
+
+  const abg_compat::optional<std::string>& ns1 = symbol1->get_namespace();
+  const abg_compat::optional<std::string>& ns2 = symbol2->get_namespace();
+  if (ns1 != ns2)
+    {
+      const std::string none = "(none)";
+      out << indent << "namespace changed from ";
+      if (ns1.has_value())
+	out << "'" << ns1.value() << "'";
+      else
+	out << none;
+      out << " to ";
+      if (ns2.has_value())
+	out << "'" << ns2.value() << "'";
+      else
+	out << none;
+      out << "\n";
+    }
 }
 
 /// For a given symbol, emit a string made of its name and version.
diff --git a/src/abg-symtab-reader.cc b/src/abg-symtab-reader.cc
index b42ce87d..e59bd62c 100644
--- a/src/abg-symtab-reader.cc
+++ b/src/abg-symtab-reader.cc
@@ -232,9 +232,33 @@ symtab::load_(Elf*	       elf_handle,
       return false;
     }
 
+  // The __kstrtab_strings sections is basically an ELF strtab but does not
+  // support elf_strptr lookups. A single call to elf_getdata gives a handle to
+  // section data.
+  //
+  // The value of a __kstrtabns_FOO (or other similar) symbol is an address
+  // within the __kstrtab_strings section. To look up the string value, we need
+  // to translate from load address to section offset by subtracting the base
+  // address of the section.
+  Elf_Scn* strings_section = elf_helpers::find_ksymtab_strings_section(elf_handle);
+  size_t strings_offset = 0;
+  const char* strings_data = nullptr;
+  size_t strings_size = 0;
+  if (strings_section)
+    {
+      GElf_Shdr strings_sheader;
+      gelf_getshdr(strings_section, &strings_sheader);
+      strings_offset = strings_sheader.sh_addr;
+      Elf_Data* data = elf_getdata(strings_section, nullptr);
+      ABG_ASSERT(data->d_off == 0);
+      strings_data = reinterpret_cast<const char *>(data->d_buf);
+      strings_size = data->d_size;
+    }
+
   const bool is_kernel = elf_helpers::is_linux_kernel(elf_handle);
   std::unordered_set<std::string> exported_kernel_symbols;
   std::unordered_map<std::string, uint64_t> crc_values;
+  std::unordered_map<std::string, std::string> namespaces;
 
   const bool is_arm32 = elf_helpers::architecture_is_arm32(elf_handle);
   const bool is_ppc64 = elf_helpers::architecture_is_ppc64(elf_handle);
@@ -288,6 +312,32 @@ symtab::load_(Elf*	       elf_handle,
 	  ABG_ASSERT(crc_values.emplace(name.substr(6), sym->st_value).second);
 	  continue;
 	}
+      if (strings_section && is_kernel && name.rfind("__kstrtabns_", 0) == 0)
+	{
+	  // This symbol lives in the __ksymtab_strings section but st_value is
+	  // a load address so, for vmlinux only, we need to subtract an offset
+	  // before looking it up in that section. Kernel module offsets must
+	  // not be adjusted. The simple way to distinguish the cases is to see
+	  // if the adjustment would overflow.
+          const size_t value = sym->st_value;
+	  const size_t offset =
+              value < strings_offset ? value : value - strings_offset;
+	  // check offset
+	  ABG_ASSERT(offset < strings_size);
+	  // find the terminating NULL
+	  const char* first = strings_data + offset;
+	  const char* last = strings_data + strings_size;
+	  const char* limit = std::find(first, last, 0);
+	  // check NULL found
+	  ABG_ASSERT(limit < last);
+	  // interpret the empty namespace name as no namespace name
+	  if (first < limit)
+	    {
+	      const std::string ns(first, limit - first);
+	      ABG_ASSERT(namespaces.emplace(name.substr(12), ns).second);
+	    }
+	  continue;
+	}
 
       // filter out uninteresting entries and only keep functions/variables for
       // now. The rest might be interesting in the future though.
@@ -402,6 +452,17 @@ symtab::load_(Elf*	       elf_handle,
 	symbol->set_crc(crc_entry.second);
     }
 
+  // Now add the namespaces
+  for (const auto& namespace_entry : namespaces)
+    {
+      const auto r = name_symbol_map_.find(namespace_entry.first);
+      if (r == name_symbol_map_.end())
+	continue;
+
+      for (const auto& symbol : r->second)
+	symbol->set_namespace(namespace_entry.second);
+    }
+
   // sort the symbols for deterministic output
   std::sort(symbols_.begin(), symbols_.end(), symbol_sort);
 
diff --git a/src/abg-writer.cc b/src/abg-writer.cc
index 7802128d..692abc75 100644
--- a/src/abg-writer.cc
+++ b/src/abg-writer.cc
@@ -3136,6 +3136,9 @@ write_elf_symbol(const elf_symbol_sptr&	sym,
       << std::hex << std::showbase << sym->get_crc() << "'"
       << std::dec << std::noshowbase;
 
+  if (sym->get_namespace().has_value())
+    o << " namespace='" << sym->get_namespace().value() << "'";
+
   o << "/>\n";
 
   return true;
diff --git a/tests/data/Makefile.am b/tests/data/Makefile.am
index a7eb7ff0..7ea24d58 100644
--- a/tests/data/Makefile.am
+++ b/tests/data/Makefile.am
@@ -91,6 +91,9 @@ test-abidiff/test-crc-0.xml \
 test-abidiff/test-crc-1.xml \
 test-abidiff/test-crc-2.xml \
 test-abidiff/test-crc-report.txt \
+test-abidiff/test-namespace-0.xml \
+test-abidiff/test-namespace-1.xml \
+test-abidiff/test-namespace-report.txt \
 test-abidiff/test-PR27985-report.txt	 \
 test-abidiff/test-PR27985-v0.c		 \
 test-abidiff/test-PR27985-v0.o		 \
diff --git a/tests/data/test-abidiff/test-namespace-0.xml b/tests/data/test-abidiff/test-namespace-0.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5a9f5cd2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/data/test-abidiff/test-namespace-0.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+<abi-corpus path='test.o' architecture='elf-amd-x86_64'>
+  <elf-variable-symbols>
+    <elf-symbol name='v1' size='4' type='object-type' binding='global-binding' visibility='default-visibility' is-defined='yes'/>
+    <elf-symbol name='v2' size='4' type='object-type' binding='global-binding' visibility='default-visibility' is-defined='yes' namespace='this'/>
+    <elf-symbol name='v3' size='4' type='object-type' binding='global-binding' visibility='default-visibility' is-defined='yes' namespace='that'/>
+    <elf-symbol name='v4' size='4' type='object-type' binding='global-binding' visibility='default-visibility' is-defined='yes' namespace=''/>
+  </elf-variable-symbols>
+  <abi-instr version='1.0' address-size='64' path='test.c' comp-dir-path='/tmp' language='LANG_C89'>
+    <type-decl name='int' size-in-bits='32' id='type-id-1'/>
+    <var-decl name='v1' type-id='type-id-1' mangled-name='v1' visibility='default' filepath='test.c' line='1' column='1' elf-symbol-id='v1'/>
+    <var-decl name='v2' type-id='type-id-1' mangled-name='v2' visibility='default' filepath='test.c' line='2' column='1' elf-symbol-id='v2'/>
+    <var-decl name='v3' type-id='type-id-1' mangled-name='v3' visibility='default' filepath='test.c' line='3' column='1' elf-symbol-id='v3'/>
+    <var-decl name='v4' type-id='type-id-1' mangled-name='v4' visibility='default' filepath='test.c' line='4' column='1' elf-symbol-id='v4'/>
+  </abi-instr>
+</abi-corpus>
diff --git a/tests/data/test-abidiff/test-namespace-1.xml b/tests/data/test-abidiff/test-namespace-1.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9814844b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/data/test-abidiff/test-namespace-1.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+<abi-corpus path='test.o' architecture='elf-amd-x86_64'>
+  <elf-variable-symbols>
+    <elf-symbol name='v1' size='4' type='object-type' binding='global-binding' visibility='default-visibility' is-defined='yes' namespace='this'/>
+    <elf-symbol name='v2' size='4' type='object-type' binding='global-binding' visibility='default-visibility' is-defined='yes' namespace='that'/>
+    <elf-symbol name='v3' size='4' type='object-type' binding='global-binding' visibility='default-visibility' is-defined='yes' namespace=''/>
+    <elf-symbol name='v4' size='4' type='object-type' binding='global-binding' visibility='default-visibility' is-defined='yes'/>
+  </elf-variable-symbols>
+  <abi-instr version='1.0' address-size='64' path='test.c' comp-dir-path='/tmp' language='LANG_C89'>
+    <type-decl name='int' size-in-bits='32' id='type-id-1'/>
+    <var-decl name='v1' type-id='type-id-1' mangled-name='v1' visibility='default' filepath='test.c' line='1' column='1' elf-symbol-id='v1'/>
+    <var-decl name='v2' type-id='type-id-1' mangled-name='v2' visibility='default' filepath='test.c' line='2' column='1' elf-symbol-id='v2'/>
+    <var-decl name='v3' type-id='type-id-1' mangled-name='v3' visibility='default' filepath='test.c' line='3' column='1' elf-symbol-id='v3'/>
+    <var-decl name='v4' type-id='type-id-1' mangled-name='v4' visibility='default' filepath='test.c' line='4' column='1' elf-symbol-id='v4'/>
+  </abi-instr>
+</abi-corpus>
diff --git a/tests/data/test-abidiff/test-namespace-report.txt b/tests/data/test-abidiff/test-namespace-report.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d2c421ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/data/test-abidiff/test-namespace-report.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+Functions changes summary: 0 Removed, 0 Changed, 0 Added function
+Variables changes summary: 0 Removed, 4 Changed, 0 Added variables
+
+4 Changed variables:
+
+  [C] 'int v1' was changed:
+    namespace changed from (none) to 'this'
+
+  [C] 'int v2' was changed:
+    namespace changed from 'this' to 'that'
+
+  [C] 'int v3' was changed:
+    namespace changed from 'that' to ''
+
+  [C] 'int v4' was changed:
+    namespace changed from '' to (none)
+
diff --git a/tests/test-abidiff.cc b/tests/test-abidiff.cc
index 32858ece..009f7de5 100644
--- a/tests/test-abidiff.cc
+++ b/tests/test-abidiff.cc
@@ -128,6 +128,12 @@ static InOutSpec specs[] =
     "data/test-abidiff/test-crc-report.txt",
     "output/test-abidiff/test-crc-report-1-2.txt"
   },
+  {
+    "data/test-abidiff/test-namespace-0.xml",
+    "data/test-abidiff/test-namespace-1.xml",
+    "data/test-abidiff/test-namespace-report.txt",
+    "output/test-abidiff/test-namespace-report-0-1.txt"
+  },
   {
     "data/test-abidiff/test-PR27616-v0.xml",
     "data/test-abidiff/test-PR27616-v1.xml",
