diff --git a/rust/src/lib.rs b/rust/src/lib.rs
index abf9d27e5b..7155d81f80 100644
--- a/rust/src/lib.rs
+++ b/rust/src/lib.rs
@@ -82,4 +82,5 @@ pub mod x509;
 pub mod asn1;
 pub mod ssh;
 pub mod http2;
-pub mod plugin;
\ No newline at end of file
+pub mod plugin;
+pub mod util;
diff --git a/rust/src/util.rs b/rust/src/util.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a093368916
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rust/src/util.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+/* Copyright (C) 2020 Open Information Security Foundation
+ *
+ * You can copy, redistribute or modify this Program under the terms of
+ * the GNU General Public License version 2 as published by the Free
+ * Software Foundation.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * version 2 along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA
+ * 02110-1301, USA.
+ */
+
+use std::ffi::CStr;
+use std::os::raw::c_char;
+
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn rs_check_utf8(val: *const c_char) -> bool {
+    CStr::from_ptr(val).to_str().is_ok()
+}