diff --git a/src/core/dbus-execute.c b/src/core/dbus-execute.c
index 2a32063ddd..c1050b7030 100644
--- a/src/core/dbus-execute.c
+++ b/src/core/dbus-execute.c
@@ -9,13 +9,13 @@
 #include "cap-list.h"
 #include "capability-util.h"
 #include "cpu-set-util.h"
-#include "credential.h"
 #include "creds-util.h"
 #include "dbus-execute.h"
 #include "dbus-util.h"
 #include "env-util.h"
 #include "errno-list.h"
 #include "escape.h"
+#include "exec-credential.h"
 #include "execute.h"
 #include "fd-util.h"
 #include "fileio.h"
diff --git a/src/core/credential.c b/src/core/exec-credential.c
similarity index 92%
rename from src/core/credential.c
rename to src/core/exec-credential.c
index d9a88004c5..2a72f1c396 100644
--- a/src/core/credential.c
+++ b/src/core/exec-credential.c
@@ -3,22 +3,21 @@
 #include <sys/mount.h>
 
 #include "acl-util.h"
-#include "credential.h"
 #include "creds-util.h"
+#include "exec-credential.h"
 #include "execute.h"
 #include "fileio.h"
 #include "glob-util.h"
 #include "io-util.h"
 #include "label-util.h"
-#include "missing_syscall.h"
 #include "mkdir-label.h"
 #include "mount-util.h"
+#include "mount.h"
 #include "mountpoint-util.h"
 #include "process-util.h"
 #include "random-util.h"
 #include "recurse-dir.h"
 #include "rm-rf.h"
-#include "socket-util.h"
 #include "tmpfile-util.h"
 
 ExecSetCredential *exec_set_credential_free(ExecSetCredential *sc) {
@@ -96,6 +95,25 @@ static int get_credential_directory(
         return 1;
 }
 
+int exec_context_get_credential_directory(
+                const ExecContext *context,
+                const ExecParameters *params,
+                const char *unit,
+                char **ret) {
+
+        assert(context);
+        assert(params);
+        assert(unit);
+        assert(ret);
+
+        if (!exec_context_has_credentials(context)) {
+                *ret = NULL;
+                return 0;
+        }
+
+        return get_credential_directory(params->prefix[EXEC_DIRECTORY_RUNTIME], unit, ret);
+}
+
 int unit_add_default_credential_dependencies(Unit *u, const ExecContext *c) {
         _cleanup_free_ char *p = NULL, *m = NULL;
         int r;
@@ -121,19 +139,21 @@ int unit_add_default_credential_dependencies(Unit *u, const ExecContext *c) {
         return unit_add_dependency_by_name(u, UNIT_AFTER, m, /* add_reference= */ true, UNIT_DEPENDENCY_FILE);
 }
 
-int exec_context_destroy_credentials(const ExecContext *c, const char *runtime_prefix, const char *unit) {
+int exec_context_destroy_credentials(Unit *u) {
         _cleanup_free_ char *p = NULL;
         int r;
 
-        assert(c);
+        assert(u);
 
-        r = get_credential_directory(runtime_prefix, unit, &p);
+        r = get_credential_directory(u->manager->prefix[EXEC_DIRECTORY_RUNTIME], u->id, &p);
         if (r <= 0)
                 return r;
 
         /* This is either a tmpfs/ramfs of its own, or a plain directory. Either way, let's first try to
          * unmount it, and afterwards remove the mount point */
-        (void) umount2(p, MNT_DETACH|UMOUNT_NOFOLLOW);
+        if (umount2(p, MNT_DETACH|UMOUNT_NOFOLLOW) >= 0)
+                (void) mount_invalidate_state_by_path(u->manager, p);
+
         (void) rm_rf(p, REMOVE_ROOT|REMOVE_CHMOD);
 
         return 0;
@@ -732,8 +752,7 @@ static int setup_credentials_internal(
                 bool reuse_workspace,     /* Whether to reuse any existing workspace mount if it already is a mount */
                 bool must_mount,          /* Whether to require that we mount something, it's not OK to use the plain directory fall back */
                 uid_t uid,
-                gid_t gid,
-                int *ret_mount_fd) {
+                gid_t gid) {
 
         int r, workspace_mounted; /* negative if we don't know yet whether we have/can mount something; true
                                    * if we mounted something; false if we definitely can't mount anything */
@@ -851,27 +870,6 @@ static int setup_credentials_internal(
                         if (r < 0)
                                 return r;
 
-                        if (ret_mount_fd) {
-                                _cleanup_close_ int mount_fd = -EBADF;
-
-                                r = mount_fd = RET_NERRNO(open_tree(AT_FDCWD, workspace, OPEN_TREE_CLONE | OPEN_TREE_CLOEXEC));
-                                if (r >= 0) {
-                                        /* The workspace is already cloned in the above, and not necessary
-                                         * anymore. Even though the workspace is unmounted when the short-lived
-                                         * child process exits, let's explicitly unmount it here for safety. */
-                                        r = umount_verbose(LOG_DEBUG, workspace, MNT_DETACH|UMOUNT_NOFOLLOW);
-                                        if (r < 0)
-                                                return r;
-
-                                        *ret_mount_fd = TAKE_FD(mount_fd);
-                                        return 0;
-                                }
-
-                                /* Old kernel? Unprivileged? */
-                                if (!ERRNO_IS_NOT_SUPPORTED(r) && !ERRNO_IS_PRIVILEGE(r))
-                                        return r;
-                        }
-
                         /* And mount it to the final place, read-only */
                         r = mount_nofollow_verbose(LOG_DEBUG, workspace, final, NULL, MS_MOVE, NULL);
                 } else
@@ -892,35 +890,24 @@ static int setup_credentials_internal(
                         return -errno;
         }
 
-        if (ret_mount_fd)
-                *ret_mount_fd = -EBADF;
         return 0;
 }
 
-int setup_credentials(
+int exec_setup_credentials(
                 const ExecContext *context,
                 const ExecParameters *params,
                 const char *unit,
                 uid_t uid,
-                gid_t gid,
-                char **ret_path,
-                int *ret_mount_fd) {
+                gid_t gid) {
 
-        _cleanup_close_pair_ int socket_pair[2] = PIPE_EBADF;
         _cleanup_free_ char *p = NULL, *q = NULL;
-        _cleanup_close_ int mount_fd = -EBADF;
         int r;
 
         assert(context);
         assert(params);
-        assert(ret_path);
-        assert(ret_mount_fd);
 
-        if (!exec_context_has_credentials(context)) {
-                *ret_path = NULL;
-                *ret_mount_fd = -EBADF;
+        if (!exec_context_has_credentials(context))
                 return 0;
-        }
 
         if (!params->prefix[EXEC_DIRECTORY_RUNTIME])
                 return -EINVAL;
@@ -943,12 +930,7 @@ int setup_credentials(
         if (r < 0 && r != -EEXIST)
                 return r;
 
-        if (socketpair(AF_UNIX, SOCK_DGRAM | SOCK_CLOEXEC, 0, socket_pair) < 0)
-                return -errno;
-
-        r = safe_fork_full("(sd-mkdcreds)",
-                           NULL, &socket_pair[1], 1,
-                           FORK_DEATHSIG|FORK_CLOSE_ALL_FDS|FORK_WAIT|FORK_NEW_MOUNTNS|FORK_REOPEN_LOG, NULL);
+        r = safe_fork("(sd-mkdcreds)", FORK_DEATHSIG|FORK_WAIT|FORK_NEW_MOUNTNS, NULL);
         if (r < 0) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *t = NULL, *u = NULL;
 
@@ -984,15 +966,14 @@ int setup_credentials(
                                 true,    /* reuse the workspace if it is already a mount */
                                 false,   /* it's OK to fall back to a plain directory if we can't mount anything */
                                 uid,
-                                gid,
-                                NULL);
+                                gid);
 
                 (void) rmdir(u); /* remove the workspace again if we can. */
 
                 if (r < 0)
                         return r;
 
-        } else if (r == 0) { /* child */
+        } else if (r == 0) {
 
                 /* We managed to set up a mount namespace, and are now in a child. That's great. In this case
                  * we can use the same directory for all cases, after turning off propagation. Question
@@ -1011,8 +992,6 @@ int setup_credentials(
                  * given that we do this in a privately namespaced short-lived single-threaded process that
                  * no one else sees this should be OK to do. */
 
-                _cleanup_close_ int fd = -EBADF;
-
                 /* Turn off propagation from our namespace to host */
                 r = mount_nofollow_verbose(LOG_DEBUG, NULL, "/dev", NULL, MS_SLAVE|MS_REC, NULL);
                 if (r < 0)
@@ -1027,14 +1006,7 @@ int setup_credentials(
                                 false,       /* do not reuse /dev/shm if it is already a mount, under no circumstances */
                                 true,        /* insist that something is mounted, do not allow fallback to plain directory */
                                 uid,
-                                gid,
-                                &fd);
-                if (r < 0)
-                        goto child_fail;
-
-                r = send_one_fd_iov(socket_pair[1], fd,
-                                    &IOVEC_MAKE((int[]) { fd >= 0 }, sizeof(int)), 1,
-                                    MSG_DONTWAIT);
+                                gid);
                 if (r < 0)
                         goto child_fail;
 
@@ -1042,17 +1014,6 @@ int setup_credentials(
 
         child_fail:
                 _exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
-
-        } else { /* parent */
-
-                int ret;
-                struct iovec iov = IOVEC_MAKE(&ret, sizeof(int));
-
-                r = receive_one_fd_iov(socket_pair[0], &iov, 1, MSG_DONTWAIT, &mount_fd);
-                if (r < 0)
-                        return r;
-                if (ret > 0 && mount_fd < 0)
-                        return -EIO;
         }
 
         /* If the credentials dir is empty and not a mount point, then there's no point in having it. Let's
@@ -1060,8 +1021,5 @@ int setup_credentials(
          * actually end up mounting anything on it. In that case we'd rather have ENOENT than EACCESS being
          * seen by users when trying access this inode. */
         (void) rmdir(p);
-
-        *ret_path = TAKE_PTR(p);
-        *ret_mount_fd = TAKE_FD(mount_fd);
         return 0;
 }
diff --git a/src/core/credential.h b/src/core/exec-credential.h
similarity index 82%
rename from src/core/credential.h
rename to src/core/exec-credential.h
index 4b936b32d6..6f836fbd0b 100644
--- a/src/core/credential.h
+++ b/src/core/exec-credential.h
@@ -37,14 +37,18 @@ extern const struct hash_ops exec_load_credential_hash_ops;
 bool exec_context_has_encrypted_credentials(ExecContext *c);
 bool exec_context_has_credentials(const ExecContext *c);
 
+int exec_context_get_credential_directory(
+                const ExecContext *context,
+                const ExecParameters *params,
+                const char *unit,
+                char **ret);
+
 int unit_add_default_credential_dependencies(Unit *u, const ExecContext *c);
 
-int exec_context_destroy_credentials(const ExecContext *c, const char *runtime_root, const char *unit);
-int setup_credentials(
+int exec_context_destroy_credentials(Unit *u);
+int exec_setup_credentials(
                 const ExecContext *context,
                 const ExecParameters *params,
                 const char *unit,
                 uid_t uid,
-                gid_t gid,
-                char **ret_path,
-                int *ret_mount_fd);
+                gid_t gid);
diff --git a/src/core/execute.c b/src/core/execute.c
index eb452a45ec..701e1ead2a 100644
--- a/src/core/execute.c
+++ b/src/core/execute.c
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
 #include <sys/file.h>
 #include <sys/ioctl.h>
 #include <sys/mman.h>
-#include <sys/mount.h>
 #include <sys/personality.h>
 #include <sys/prctl.h>
 #include <sys/shm.h>
@@ -50,12 +49,12 @@
 #include "chown-recursive.h"
 #include "constants.h"
 #include "cpu-set-util.h"
-#include "credential.h"
 #include "data-fd-util.h"
 #include "env-file.h"
 #include "env-util.h"
 #include "errno-list.h"
 #include "escape.h"
+#include "exec-credential.h"
 #include "execute.h"
 #include "exit-status.h"
 #include "fd-util.h"
@@ -73,7 +72,6 @@
 #include "missing_fs.h"
 #include "missing_ioprio.h"
 #include "missing_prctl.h"
-#include "missing_syscall.h"
 #include "mkdir-label.h"
 #include "namespace.h"
 #include "parse-util.h"
@@ -1866,7 +1864,6 @@ static int build_environment(
                 dev_t journal_stream_dev,
                 ino_t journal_stream_ino,
                 const char *memory_pressure_path,
-                const char *creds_path,
                 char ***ret) {
 
         _cleanup_strv_free_ char **our_env = NULL;
@@ -2044,8 +2041,12 @@ static int build_environment(
                 our_env[n_env++] = x;
         }
 
-        if (creds_path) {
-                x = strjoin("CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY=", creds_path);
+        _cleanup_free_ char *creds_dir = NULL;
+        r = exec_context_get_credential_directory(c, p, u->id, &creds_dir);
+        if (r < 0)
+                return r;
+        if (r > 0) {
+                x = strjoin("CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY=", creds_dir);
                 if (!x)
                         return -ENOMEM;
 
@@ -3113,14 +3114,12 @@ static int apply_mount_namespace(
                 const ExecParameters *params,
                 ExecRuntime *runtime,
                 const char *memory_pressure_path,
-                const char *creds_path,
-                int creds_fd,
                 char **error_path) {
 
         _cleanup_(verity_settings_done) VeritySettings verity = VERITY_SETTINGS_DEFAULT;
         _cleanup_strv_free_ char **empty_directories = NULL, **symlinks = NULL,
                         **read_write_paths_cleanup = NULL;
-        _cleanup_free_ char *incoming_dir = NULL, *propagate_dir = NULL,
+        _cleanup_free_ char *creds_path = NULL, *incoming_dir = NULL, *propagate_dir = NULL,
                         *extension_dir = NULL, *host_os_release_stage = NULL;
         const char *root_dir = NULL, *root_image = NULL, *tmp_dir = NULL, *var_tmp_dir = NULL;
         char **read_write_paths;
@@ -3222,6 +3221,12 @@ static int apply_mount_namespace(
         if (context->mount_propagation_flag == MS_SHARED)
                 log_unit_debug(u, "shared mount propagation hidden by other fs namespacing unit settings: ignoring");
 
+        if (FLAGS_SET(params->flags, EXEC_WRITE_CREDENTIALS)) {
+                r = exec_context_get_credential_directory(context, params, u->id, &creds_path);
+                if (r < 0)
+                        return r;
+        }
+
         if (params->runtime_scope == RUNTIME_SCOPE_SYSTEM) {
                 propagate_dir = path_join("/run/systemd/propagate/", u->id);
                 if (!propagate_dir)
@@ -3290,7 +3295,6 @@ static int apply_mount_namespace(
                         tmp_dir,
                         var_tmp_dir,
                         creds_path,
-                        creds_fd,
                         context->log_namespace,
                         context->mount_propagation_flag,
                         &verity,
@@ -3944,7 +3948,7 @@ static int exec_child(
         int r, ngids = 0, exec_fd;
         _cleanup_free_ gid_t *supplementary_gids = NULL;
         const char *username = NULL, *groupname = NULL;
-        _cleanup_free_ char *home_buffer = NULL, *memory_pressure_path = NULL, *creds_path = NULL;
+        _cleanup_free_ char *home_buffer = NULL, *memory_pressure_path = NULL;
         const char *home = NULL, *shell = NULL;
         char **final_argv = NULL;
         dev_t journal_stream_dev = 0;
@@ -3975,7 +3979,6 @@ static int exec_child(
         int ngids_after_pam = 0;
         _cleanup_free_ int *fds = NULL;
         _cleanup_strv_free_ char **fdnames = NULL;
-        _cleanup_close_ int creds_fd = -EBADF;
 
         assert(unit);
         assert(command);
@@ -4426,7 +4429,7 @@ static int exec_child(
         }
 
         if (FLAGS_SET(params->flags, EXEC_WRITE_CREDENTIALS)) {
-                r = setup_credentials(context, params, unit->id, uid, gid, &creds_path, &creds_fd);
+                r = exec_setup_credentials(context, params, unit->id, uid, gid);
                 if (r < 0) {
                         *exit_status = EXIT_CREDENTIALS;
                         return log_unit_error_errno(unit, r, "Failed to set up credentials: %m");
@@ -4446,7 +4449,6 @@ static int exec_child(
                         journal_stream_dev,
                         journal_stream_ino,
                         memory_pressure_path,
-                        creds_path,
                         &our_env);
         if (r < 0) {
                 *exit_status = EXIT_MEMORY;
@@ -4640,7 +4642,7 @@ static int exec_child(
         if (needs_mount_namespace) {
                 _cleanup_free_ char *error_path = NULL;
 
-                r = apply_mount_namespace(unit, command->flags, context, params, runtime, memory_pressure_path, creds_path, creds_fd, &error_path);
+                r = apply_mount_namespace(unit, command->flags, context, params, runtime, memory_pressure_path, &error_path);
                 if (r < 0) {
                         *exit_status = EXIT_NAMESPACE;
                         return log_unit_error_errno(unit, r, "Failed to set up mount namespacing%s%s: %m",
@@ -4648,19 +4650,6 @@ static int exec_child(
                 }
         }
 
-        if (creds_fd >= 0) {
-                assert(creds_path);
-
-                /* When a mount namespace is not requested, then the target directory may not exist yet.
-                 * Here, we ignore the failure, as if it fails, the subsequent move_mount() will fail. */
-                (void) mkdir_p_label(creds_path, 0755);
-
-                if (move_mount(creds_fd, "", AT_FDCWD, creds_path, MOVE_MOUNT_F_EMPTY_PATH) < 0) {
-                        *exit_status = EXIT_CREDENTIALS;
-                        return log_unit_error_errno(unit, errno, "Failed to mount credentials directory on %s: %m", creds_path);
-                }
-        }
-
         if (needs_sandboxing) {
                 r = apply_protect_hostname(unit, context, exit_status);
                 if (r < 0)
diff --git a/src/core/load-fragment.c b/src/core/load-fragment.c
index 3c931568a0..cbc6da49af 100644
--- a/src/core/load-fragment.c
+++ b/src/core/load-fragment.c
@@ -28,11 +28,11 @@
 #include "conf-parser.h"
 #include "core-varlink.h"
 #include "cpu-set-util.h"
-#include "credential.h"
 #include "creds-util.h"
 #include "env-util.h"
 #include "errno-list.h"
 #include "escape.h"
+#include "exec-credential.h"
 #include "fd-util.h"
 #include "fileio.h"
 #include "fs-util.h"
diff --git a/src/core/meson.build b/src/core/meson.build
index 045ad31a51..12c7d7c6ed 100644
--- a/src/core/meson.build
+++ b/src/core/meson.build
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ libcore_sources = files(
         'bpf-socket-bind.c',
         'cgroup.c',
         'core-varlink.c',
-        'credential.c',
         'dbus-automount.c',
         'dbus-cgroup.c',
         'dbus-device.c',
@@ -35,6 +34,7 @@ libcore_sources = files(
         'dynamic-user.c',
         'efi-random.c',
         'emergency-action.c',
+        'exec-credential.c',
         'execute.c',
         'generator-setup.c',
         'ima-setup.c',
diff --git a/src/core/mount.c b/src/core/mount.c
index f93bad7074..931075a1ee 100644
--- a/src/core/mount.c
+++ b/src/core/mount.c
@@ -1284,6 +1284,11 @@ static int mount_stop(Unit *u) {
 
         assert(m);
 
+        /* When we directly call umount() for a path, then the state of the corresponding mount unit may be
+         * outdated. Let's re-read mountinfo now and update the state. */
+        if (m->invalidated_state)
+                (void) mount_process_proc_self_mountinfo(u->manager);
+
         switch (m->state) {
 
         case MOUNT_UNMOUNTING:
@@ -1318,6 +1323,11 @@ static int mount_stop(Unit *u) {
                 mount_enter_signal(m, MOUNT_UNMOUNTING_SIGKILL, MOUNT_SUCCESS);
                 return 0;
 
+        case MOUNT_DEAD:
+        case MOUNT_FAILED:
+                /* The mount has just been unmounted by somebody else. */
+                return 0;
+
         default:
                 assert_not_reached();
         }
@@ -2067,6 +2077,8 @@ static int mount_process_proc_self_mountinfo(Manager *m) {
         LIST_FOREACH(units_by_type, u, m->units_by_type[UNIT_MOUNT]) {
                 Mount *mount = MOUNT(u);
 
+                mount->invalidated_state = false;
+
                 if (!mount_is_mounted(mount)) {
 
                         /* A mount point is not around right now. It might be gone, or might never have
@@ -2160,6 +2172,26 @@ static int mount_dispatch_io(sd_event_source *source, int fd, uint32_t revents,
         return mount_process_proc_self_mountinfo(m);
 }
 
+int mount_invalidate_state_by_path(Manager *manager, const char *path) {
+        _cleanup_free_ char *name = NULL;
+        Unit *u;
+        int r;
+
+        assert(manager);
+        assert(path);
+
+        r = unit_name_from_path(path, ".mount", &name);
+        if (r < 0)
+                return log_debug_errno(r, "Failed to generate unit name from path \"%s\", ignoring: %m", path);
+
+        u = manager_get_unit(manager, name);
+        if (!u)
+                return -ENOENT;
+
+        MOUNT(u)->invalidated_state = true;
+        return 0;
+}
+
 static void mount_reset_failed(Unit *u) {
         Mount *m = MOUNT(u);
 
diff --git a/src/core/mount.h b/src/core/mount.h
index d6d6d335a4..2560674719 100644
--- a/src/core/mount.h
+++ b/src/core/mount.h
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ struct Mount {
         MountParameters parameters_proc_self_mountinfo;
         MountParameters parameters_fragment;
 
+        bool invalidated_state:1; /* Set when the 'state' of the mount unit may be outdated, and we need to
+                                   * re-read /proc/self/mountinfo. */
         bool from_proc_self_mountinfo:1;
         bool from_fragment:1;
 
@@ -92,6 +94,8 @@ extern const UnitVTable mount_vtable;
 
 void mount_fd_event(Manager *m, int events);
 
+int mount_invalidate_state_by_path(Manager *manager, const char *path);
+
 const char* mount_exec_command_to_string(MountExecCommand i) _const_;
 MountExecCommand mount_exec_command_from_string(const char *s) _pure_;
 
diff --git a/src/core/namespace.c b/src/core/namespace.c
index 2197287fd0..e2304f5d06 100644
--- a/src/core/namespace.c
+++ b/src/core/namespace.c
@@ -74,8 +74,7 @@ typedef enum MountMode {
         EXTENSION_DIRECTORIES, /* Bind-mounted outside the root directory, and used by subsequent mounts */
         EXTENSION_IMAGES, /* Mounted outside the root directory, and used by subsequent mounts */
         MQUEUEFS,
-        READWRITE_IMPLICIT, /* Should have the 2nd lowest priority. */
-        MKDIR,              /* Should have the lowest priority. */
+        READWRITE_IMPLICIT, /* Should have the lowest priority. */
         _MOUNT_MODE_MAX,
 } MountMode;
 
@@ -232,7 +231,6 @@ static const char * const mount_mode_table[_MOUNT_MODE_MAX] = {
         [EXTENSION_IMAGES]      = "extension-images",
         [MQUEUEFS]              = "mqueuefs",
         [READWRITE_IMPLICIT]    = "read-write-implicit",
-        [MKDIR]                 = "mkdir",
 };
 
 /* Helper struct for naming simplicity and reusability */
@@ -1549,12 +1547,6 @@ static int apply_one_mount(
         case OVERLAY_MOUNT:
                 return mount_overlay(m);
 
-        case MKDIR:
-                r = mkdir_p_label(mount_entry_path(m), 0755);
-                if (r < 0)
-                        return r;
-                return 1;
-
         default:
                 assert_not_reached();
         }
@@ -2021,7 +2013,6 @@ int setup_namespace(
                 const char* tmp_dir,
                 const char* var_tmp_dir,
                 const char *creds_path,
-                int creds_fd,
                 const char *log_namespace,
                 unsigned long mount_propagation_flag,
                 VeritySettings *verity,
@@ -2344,22 +2335,13 @@ int setup_namespace(
                                 .flags = MS_NODEV|MS_STRICTATIME|MS_NOSUID|MS_NOEXEC,
                         };
 
-                        /* If we have mount fd for credentials directory, then it will be mounted after
-                         * namespace is set up. So, here we only create the mount point. */
-
-                        if (creds_fd < 0)
-                                *(m++) = (MountEntry) {
-                                        .path_const = creds_path,
-                                        .mode = BIND_MOUNT,
-                                        .read_only = true,
-                                        .source_const = creds_path,
-                                        .ignore = true,
-                                };
-                        else
-                                *(m++) = (MountEntry) {
-                                        .path_const = creds_path,
-                                        .mode = MKDIR,
-                                };
+                        *(m++) = (MountEntry) {
+                                .path_const = creds_path,
+                                .mode = BIND_MOUNT,
+                                .read_only = true,
+                                .source_const = creds_path,
+                                .ignore = true,
+                        };
                 } else {
                         /* If our service has no credentials store configured, then make the whole
                          * credentials tree inaccessible wholesale. */
diff --git a/src/core/namespace.h b/src/core/namespace.h
index b8615cbd98..b6132154c5 100644
--- a/src/core/namespace.h
+++ b/src/core/namespace.h
@@ -122,7 +122,6 @@ int setup_namespace(
                 const char *tmp_dir,
                 const char *var_tmp_dir,
                 const char *creds_path,
-                int creds_fd,
                 const char *log_namespace,
                 unsigned long mount_propagation_flag,
                 VeritySettings *verity,
diff --git a/src/core/unit.c b/src/core/unit.c
index f1b27d30d3..34cbde690b 100644
--- a/src/core/unit.c
+++ b/src/core/unit.c
@@ -20,12 +20,12 @@
 #include "cgroup-util.h"
 #include "chase.h"
 #include "core-varlink.h"
-#include "credential.h"
 #include "dbus-unit.h"
 #include "dbus.h"
 #include "dropin.h"
 #include "env-util.h"
 #include "escape.h"
+#include "exec-credential.h"
 #include "execute.h"
 #include "fd-util.h"
 #include "fileio-label.h"
@@ -5994,7 +5994,7 @@ void unit_destroy_runtime_data(Unit *u, const ExecContext *context) {
         if (context->runtime_directory_preserve_mode == EXEC_PRESERVE_NO)
                 exec_context_destroy_runtime_directory(context, u->manager->prefix[EXEC_DIRECTORY_RUNTIME]);
 
-        exec_context_destroy_credentials(context, u->manager->prefix[EXEC_DIRECTORY_RUNTIME], u->id);
+        exec_context_destroy_credentials(u);
         exec_context_destroy_mount_ns_dir(u);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/test/test-execute.c b/src/test/test-execute.c
index 847415b9ae..0be66c2c7b 100644
--- a/src/test/test-execute.c
+++ b/src/test/test-execute.c
@@ -282,11 +282,7 @@ static void test_exec_cpuaffinity(Manager *m) {
 
 static void test_exec_credentials(Manager *m) {
         test(m, "exec-set-credential.service", 0, CLD_EXITED);
-        test(m, "exec-set-credential-with-mount-namespace.service", 0, CLD_EXITED);
-        test(m, "exec-set-credential-with-seccomp.service", 0, CLD_EXITED);
         test(m, "exec-load-credential.service", MANAGER_IS_SYSTEM(m) ? 0 : EXIT_CREDENTIALS, CLD_EXITED);
-        test(m, "exec-load-credential-with-mount-namespace.service", MANAGER_IS_SYSTEM(m) ? 0 : EXIT_CREDENTIALS, CLD_EXITED);
-        test(m, "exec-load-credential-with-seccomp.service", MANAGER_IS_SYSTEM(m) ? 0 : EXIT_CREDENTIALS, CLD_EXITED);
         test(m, "exec-credentials-dir-specifier.service", MANAGER_IS_SYSTEM(m) ? 0 : EXIT_CREDENTIALS, CLD_EXITED);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/test/test-namespace.c b/src/test/test-namespace.c
index 436a784e86..25aafc35ca 100644
--- a/src/test/test-namespace.c
+++ b/src/test/test-namespace.c
@@ -194,7 +194,6 @@ TEST(protect_kernel_logs) {
                                     NULL,
                                     NULL,
                                     NULL,
-                                    -EBADF,
                                     NULL,
                                     0,
                                     NULL,
diff --git a/src/test/test-ns.c b/src/test/test-ns.c
index 56f3de83b6..77afd2f6b9 100644
--- a/src/test/test-ns.c
+++ b/src/test/test-ns.c
@@ -96,7 +96,6 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                             tmp_dir,
                             var_tmp_dir,
                             NULL,
-                            -EBADF,
                             NULL,
                             0,
                             NULL,
diff --git a/test/test-execute/exec-credentials-dir-specifier.service b/test/test-execute/exec-credentials-dir-specifier.service
index 818619acaa..5e71eee246 100644
--- a/test/test-execute/exec-credentials-dir-specifier.service
+++ b/test/test-execute/exec-credentials-dir-specifier.service
@@ -10,3 +10,9 @@ ExecStart=test %d/very_top_secret = "${CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY}/very_top_secret"
 LoadCredential=very_top_secret
 ExecStart=test %d/very_top_secret = "${CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY}/very_top_secret"
 ExecStart=sh -c 'test %d/very_top_secret = "$TOP_SECRET"'
+ExecStartPost=test %d/very_top_secret = "${CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY}/very_top_secret"
+ExecStartPost=sh -c 'test %d/very_top_secret = "$TOP_SECRET"'
+ExecStop=test %d/very_top_secret = "${CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY}/very_top_secret"
+ExecStop=sh -c 'test %d/very_top_secret = "$TOP_SECRET"'
+ExecStopPost=test %d/very_top_secret = "${CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY}/very_top_secret"
+ExecStopPost=sh -c 'test %d/very_top_secret = "$TOP_SECRET"'
diff --git a/test/test-execute/exec-load-credential-with-mount-namespace.service b/test/test-execute/exec-load-credential-with-mount-namespace.service
deleted file mode 100644
index fd71cf6717..0000000000
--- a/test/test-execute/exec-load-credential-with-mount-namespace.service
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later
-[Unit]
-Description=Test for LoadCredential=
-
-[Service]
-ExecStart=/bin/sh -x -c 'test "$$(cat %d/test-execute.load-credential)" = "foo"'
-Type=oneshot
-LoadCredential=test-execute.load-credential
-PrivateMounts=yes
diff --git a/test/test-execute/exec-load-credential-with-seccomp.service b/test/test-execute/exec-load-credential-with-seccomp.service
deleted file mode 100644
index 67303f2713..0000000000
--- a/test/test-execute/exec-load-credential-with-seccomp.service
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later
-[Unit]
-Description=Test for LoadCredential=
-
-[Service]
-ExecStart=/bin/sh -x -c 'test "$$(cat %d/test-execute.load-credential)" = "foo"'
-Type=oneshot
-LoadCredential=test-execute.load-credential
-SystemCallFilter=~open_tree move_mount
diff --git a/test/test-execute/exec-load-credential.service b/test/test-execute/exec-load-credential.service
index b3e3650075..3a29b6d13d 100644
--- a/test/test-execute/exec-load-credential.service
+++ b/test/test-execute/exec-load-credential.service
@@ -4,5 +4,8 @@ Description=Test for LoadCredential=
 
 [Service]
 ExecStart=/bin/sh -x -c 'test "$$(cat %d/test-execute.load-credential)" = "foo"'
+ExecStartPost=/bin/sh -x -c 'test "$$(cat %d/test-execute.load-credential)" = "foo"'
+ExecStop=/bin/sh -x -c 'test "$$(cat %d/test-execute.load-credential)" = "foo"'
+ExecStopPost=/bin/sh -x -c 'test "$$(cat %d/test-execute.load-credential)" = "foo"'
 Type=oneshot
 LoadCredential=test-execute.load-credential
diff --git a/test/test-execute/exec-set-credential-with-mount-namespace.service b/test/test-execute/exec-set-credential-with-mount-namespace.service
deleted file mode 100644
index 67d15e5dbb..0000000000
--- a/test/test-execute/exec-set-credential-with-mount-namespace.service
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later
-[Unit]
-Description=Test for SetCredential=
-
-[Service]
-ExecStart=/bin/sh -x -c 'test "$$(cat %d/test-execute.set-credential)" = "hoge"'
-Type=oneshot
-SetCredential=test-execute.set-credential:hoge
-PrivateMounts=yes
diff --git a/test/test-execute/exec-set-credential-with-seccomp.service b/test/test-execute/exec-set-credential-with-seccomp.service
deleted file mode 100644
index 778777b947..0000000000
--- a/test/test-execute/exec-set-credential-with-seccomp.service
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later
-[Unit]
-Description=Test for SetCredential=
-
-[Service]
-ExecStart=/bin/sh -x -c 'test "$$(cat %d/test-execute.set-credential)" = "hoge"'
-Type=oneshot
-SetCredential=test-execute.set-credential:hoge
-SystemCallFilter=~open_tree move_mount
diff --git a/test/test-execute/exec-set-credential.service b/test/test-execute/exec-set-credential.service
index 2af236dc4b..9db6c5f3d4 100644
--- a/test/test-execute/exec-set-credential.service
+++ b/test/test-execute/exec-set-credential.service
@@ -4,5 +4,8 @@ Description=Test for SetCredential=
 
 [Service]
 ExecStart=/bin/sh -x -c 'test "$$(cat %d/test-execute.set-credential)" = "hoge"'
+ExecStartPost=/bin/sh -x -c 'test "$$(cat %d/test-execute.set-credential)" = "hoge"'
+ExecStop=/bin/sh -x -c 'test "$$(cat %d/test-execute.set-credential)" = "hoge"'
+ExecStopPost=/bin/sh -x -c 'test "$$(cat %d/test-execute.set-credential)" = "hoge"'
 Type=oneshot
 SetCredential=test-execute.set-credential:hoge