diff --git a/libavutil/bprint.c b/libavutil/bprint.c
index 23998a8b02..4e9571715c 100644
--- a/libavutil/bprint.c
+++ b/libavutil/bprint.c
@@ -84,6 +84,11 @@ void av_bprint_init(AVBPrint *buf, unsigned size_init, unsigned size_max)
 
 void av_bprint_init_for_buffer(AVBPrint *buf, char *buffer, unsigned size)
 {
+    if (size == 0) {
+        av_bprint_init(buf, 0, AV_BPRINT_SIZE_COUNT_ONLY);
+        return;
+    }
+
     buf->str      = buffer;
     buf->len      = 0;
     buf->size     = size;
diff --git a/libavutil/bprint.h b/libavutil/bprint.h
index f27d30f723..8559745478 100644
--- a/libavutil/bprint.h
+++ b/libavutil/bprint.h
@@ -144,6 +144,9 @@ void av_bprint_init(AVBPrint *buf, unsigned size_init, unsigned size_max);
  * Init a print buffer using a pre-existing buffer.
  *
  * The buffer will not be reallocated.
+ * In case size equals zero, the AVBPrint will be initialized to use
+ * the internal buffer as if using AV_BPRINT_SIZE_COUNT_ONLY with
+ * av_bprint_init().
  *
  * @param buf     buffer structure to init
  * @param buffer  byte buffer to use for the string data
diff --git a/libavutil/version.h b/libavutil/version.h
index 9e798b0e3f..b36310ee4c 100644
--- a/libavutil/version.h
+++ b/libavutil/version.h
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@
  */
 
 #define LIBAVUTIL_VERSION_MAJOR  58
-#define LIBAVUTIL_VERSION_MINOR  15
+#define LIBAVUTIL_VERSION_MINOR  16
 #define LIBAVUTIL_VERSION_MICRO 100
 
 #define LIBAVUTIL_VERSION_INT   AV_VERSION_INT(LIBAVUTIL_VERSION_MAJOR, \