1 files changed, 5 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/java/src/main/java/com/google/protobuf/LiteralByteString.java b/java/src/main/java/com/google/protobuf/LiteralByteString.java
index 767b9f35..6893ddf1 100644
--- a/java/src/main/java/com/google/protobuf/LiteralByteString.java
+++ b/java/src/main/java/com/google/protobuf/LiteralByteString.java
@@ -154,7 +154,11 @@ class LiteralByteString extends ByteString {
   @Override
   public String toString(String charsetName)
       throws UnsupportedEncodingException {
-    return new String(bytes, getOffsetIntoBytes(), size(), charsetName);
+    // Optimize for empty strings, but ensure we don't silently ignore invalid
+    // encodings.
+    return size() == 0 && UTF_8.equals(charsetName)
+        ? ""
+        : new String(bytes, getOffsetIntoBytes(), size(), charsetName);
   }
 
   // =================================================================