diff --git a/src/shared/extension-util.c b/src/shared/extension-util.c
index 1f99f46e8d..d993b47de5 100644
--- a/src/shared/extension-util.c
+++ b/src/shared/extension-util.c
@@ -1,12 +1,20 @@
 /* SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later */
 
+#include <linux/magic.h>
+
 #include "alloc-util.h"
 #include "architecture.h"
+#include "blockdev-util.h"
 #include "chase.h"
+#include "devnum-util.h"
 #include "env-util.h"
 #include "extension-util.h"
+#include "fd-util.h"
+#include "fileio.h"
 #include "log.h"
 #include "os-util.h"
+#include "path-util.h"
+#include "stat-util.h"
 #include "string-util.h"
 #include "strv.h"
 
@@ -178,3 +186,45 @@ int extension_has_forbidden_content(const char *root) {
 
         return 0;
 }
+
+int extension_overlay_block(const char *p, ImageClass image_class, dev_t *ret) {
+        int r;
+
+        assert(p);
+        assert(ret);
+
+        /* Tries to read the backing device information systemd-sysext puts in
+         * the virtual file .systemd-sysext/.systemd-confext */
+
+        _cleanup_free_ char *j = path_join(p, image_class == IMAGE_CONFEXT ? ".systemd-confext" : ".systemd-sysext");
+        if (!j)
+                return log_oom_debug();
+
+        _cleanup_close_ int fd = open(j, O_RDONLY|O_DIRECTORY);
+        if (fd < 0)
+                return log_debug_errno(errno, "Failed to open '%s': %m", j);
+
+        r = fd_is_fs_type(fd, OVERLAYFS_SUPER_MAGIC);
+        if (r < 0)
+                return log_debug_errno(r, "Failed to determine backing file system of '%s': %m", j);
+        if (r == 0)
+                return log_debug_errno(
+                                SYNTHETIC_ERRNO(ENOTTY), "Backing file system of '%s' is not an overlayfs.", j);
+
+        _cleanup_free_ char *buf = NULL;
+        r = read_one_line_file_at(fd, "backing", &buf);
+        if (r < 0)
+                return log_debug_errno(r, "Failed to read contents of '%s/backing': %m", j);
+
+        r = parse_devnum(buf, ret);
+        if (r < 0)
+                return log_debug_errno(r, "Failed to parse contents of '%s/backing': %m", j);
+
+        if (major(*ret) == 0) { /* not a block device? */
+                *ret = 0;
+                return 0;
+        }
+
+        (void) block_get_originating(*ret, ret, /* recursive= */ false);
+        return 1;
+}
diff --git a/src/shared/extension-util.h b/src/shared/extension-util.h
index 08bdd7f33e..ad8f90f8ca 100644
--- a/src/shared/extension-util.h
+++ b/src/shared/extension-util.h
@@ -22,3 +22,6 @@ int parse_env_extension_hierarchies(char ***ret_hierarchies, const char *hierarc
 /* Insist that extension images do not overwrite the underlying OS release file (it's fine if they place one
  * in /etc/os-release, i.e. where things don't matter, as they aren't merged.) */
 int extension_has_forbidden_content(const char *root);
+
+/* Find the backing device. Returns >0 on success, 0 if the volume is not an extension, and <0 on error. */
+int extension_overlay_block(const char *p, ImageClass image_class, dev_t *ret);
diff --git a/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-resource.c b/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-resource.c
index cfc0d09ae6..b6cebee314 100644
--- a/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-resource.c
+++ b/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-resource.c
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 /* SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later */
 
 #include <fcntl.h>
-#include <linux/magic.h>
 #include <sys/stat.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
 
@@ -10,10 +9,10 @@
 #include "build-path.h"
 #include "chase.h"
 #include "device-util.h"
-#include "devnum-util.h"
 #include "dirent-util.h"
 #include "env-util.h"
 #include "errno-util.h"
+#include "extension-util.h"
 #include "fd-util.h"
 #include "fdisk-util.h"
 #include "fileio.h"
@@ -23,6 +22,7 @@
 #include "hexdecoct.h"
 #include "import-util.h"
 #include "iovec-util.h"
+#include "os-util.h"
 #include "path-util.h"
 #include "pidref.h"
 #include "process-util.h"
@@ -766,47 +766,6 @@ Instance* resource_find_instance(Resource *rr, const char *version) {
         return *found;
 }
 
-static int get_sysext_overlay_block(const char *p, dev_t *ret) {
-        int r;
-
-        assert(p);
-        assert(ret);
-
-        /* Tries to read the backing device information systemd-sysext puts in the virtual file
-         * /usr/.systemd-sysext/backing */
-
-        _cleanup_free_ char *j = path_join(p, ".systemd-sysext");
-        if (!j)
-                return log_oom_debug();
-
-        _cleanup_close_ int fd = open(j, O_RDONLY|O_DIRECTORY);
-        if (fd < 0)
-                return log_debug_errno(errno, "Failed to open '%s': %m", j);
-
-        r = fd_is_fs_type(fd, OVERLAYFS_SUPER_MAGIC);
-        if (r < 0)
-                return log_debug_errno(r, "Failed to determine backing file system of '%s': %m", j);
-        if (r == 0)
-                return log_debug_errno(SYNTHETIC_ERRNO(ENOTTY), "Backing file system of '%s' is not an overlayfs.", j);
-
-        _cleanup_free_ char *buf = NULL;
-        r = read_one_line_file_at(fd, "backing", &buf);
-        if (r < 0)
-                return log_debug_errno(r, "Failed to read contents of '%s/backing': %m", j);
-
-        r = parse_devnum(buf, ret);
-        if (r < 0)
-                return log_debug_errno(r, "Failed to parse contents of '%s/backing': %m", j);
-
-        if (major(*ret) == 0) { /* not a block device? */
-                *ret = 0;
-                return 0;
-        }
-
-        (void) block_get_originating(*ret, ret, /* recursive= */ false);
-        return 1;
-}
-
 int resource_resolve_path(
                 Resource *rr,
                 const char *root,
@@ -858,7 +817,7 @@ int resource_resolve_path(
                         /* volatile-root not found */
                         r = get_block_device_harder("/usr/", &d);
                         if (r == 0) /* Not backed by a block device? Let's see if this is a sysext overlayfs instance */
-                                r = get_sysext_overlay_block("/usr/", &d);
+                                r = extension_overlay_block("/usr/", IMAGE_SYSEXT, &d);
                         if (r < 0)
                                 return log_error_errno(r, "Failed to determine block device of file system: %m");
                 } else if (!S_ISBLK(orig_root_stats.st_mode)) /* symlink was present but not block device */