diff --git a/pkg/fatfs/fatfs_vfs/fatfs_vfs.c b/pkg/fatfs/fatfs_vfs/fatfs_vfs.c
index 45fa4263ac..97344fd776 100644
--- a/pkg/fatfs/fatfs_vfs/fatfs_vfs.c
+++ b/pkg/fatfs/fatfs_vfs/fatfs_vfs.c
@@ -222,14 +222,12 @@ static fatfs_file_desc_t * _get_fatfs_file_desc(vfs_file_t *f)
     return (fatfs_file_desc_t *)(uintptr_t)f->private_data.buffer;
 }
 
-static int _open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode,
-                 const char *abs_path)
+static int _open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode)
 {
     fatfs_file_desc_t *fd = _get_fatfs_file_desc(filp);
     fatfs_desc_t *fs_desc = (fatfs_desc_t *)filp->mp->private_data;
     _build_abs_path(fs_desc, name);
 
-    (void) abs_path;
     (void) mode; /* fatfs can't use mode param with f_open*/
     DEBUG("fatfs_vfs.c: _open: private_data = %p, name = %s; flags = 0x%x\n",
           filp->mp->private_data, name, flags);
@@ -416,11 +414,10 @@ static inline DIR * _get_DIR(vfs_DIR *d)
     return (DIR *)(uintptr_t)d->private_data.buffer;
 }
 
-static int _opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname, const char *abs_path)
+static int _opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname)
 {
     DIR *dir = _get_DIR(dirp);
     fatfs_desc_t *fs_desc = (fatfs_desc_t *)dirp->mp->private_data;
-    (void) abs_path;
 
     _build_abs_path(fs_desc, dirname);
 
diff --git a/pkg/littlefs/fs/littlefs_fs.c b/pkg/littlefs/fs/littlefs_fs.c
index 72d3a97e4e..7f6840eb8e 100644
--- a/pkg/littlefs/fs/littlefs_fs.c
+++ b/pkg/littlefs/fs/littlefs_fs.c
@@ -286,11 +286,10 @@ static inline lfs_file_t * _get_lfs_file(vfs_file_t *f)
     return (lfs_file_t *)(uintptr_t)f->private_data.buffer;
 }
 
-static int _open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode, const char *abs_path)
+static int _open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode)
 {
     littlefs_desc_t *fs = filp->mp->private_data;
     lfs_file_t *fp = _get_lfs_file(filp);
-    (void) abs_path;
     (void) mode;
 
     mutex_lock(&fs->lock);
@@ -320,7 +319,7 @@ static int _open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode, con
         l_flags |= LFS_O_EXCL;
     }
 
-    DEBUG("littlefs: open: %s (abs_path: %s), flags: 0x%x\n", name, abs_path, (int) l_flags);
+    DEBUG("littlefs: open: %s, flags: 0x%x\n", name, (int) l_flags);
 
     int ret = lfs_file_open(&fs->fs, fp, name, l_flags);
     mutex_unlock(&fs->lock);
@@ -477,16 +476,15 @@ static inline lfs_dir_t * _get_lfs_dir(vfs_DIR *dirp)
     return (lfs_dir_t *)(uintptr_t)dirp->private_data.buffer;
 }
 
-static int _opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname, const char *abs_path)
+static int _opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname)
 {
-    (void)abs_path;
     littlefs_desc_t *fs = dirp->mp->private_data;
     lfs_dir_t *dir = _get_lfs_dir(dirp);
 
     mutex_lock(&fs->lock);
 
-    DEBUG("littlefs: opendir: dirp=%p, dirname=%s (abs_path=%s)\n",
-          (void *)dirp, dirname, abs_path);
+    DEBUG("littlefs: opendir: dirp=%p, dirname=%s\n",
+          (void *)dirp, dirname);
 
     int ret = lfs_dir_open(&fs->fs, dir, dirname);
     mutex_unlock(&fs->lock);
diff --git a/pkg/littlefs2/fs/littlefs2_fs.c b/pkg/littlefs2/fs/littlefs2_fs.c
index 18109fc5c7..6cd651b68e 100644
--- a/pkg/littlefs2/fs/littlefs2_fs.c
+++ b/pkg/littlefs2/fs/littlefs2_fs.c
@@ -291,11 +291,10 @@ static inline lfs_file_t * _get_lfs_file(vfs_file_t *f)
     return (lfs_file_t *)(uintptr_t)f->private_data.buffer;
 }
 
-static int _open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode, const char *abs_path)
+static int _open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode)
 {
     littlefs2_desc_t *fs = filp->mp->private_data;
     lfs_file_t *fp = _get_lfs_file(filp);
-    (void) abs_path;
     (void) mode;
 
     mutex_lock(&fs->lock);
@@ -325,7 +324,7 @@ static int _open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode, con
         l_flags |= LFS_O_EXCL;
     }
 
-    DEBUG("littlefs: open: %s (abs_path: %s), flags: 0x%x\n", name, abs_path, (int) l_flags);
+    DEBUG("littlefs: open: %s, flags: 0x%x\n", name, (int) l_flags);
 
     int ret = lfs_file_open(&fs->fs, fp, name, l_flags);
     mutex_unlock(&fs->lock);
@@ -482,16 +481,15 @@ static inline lfs_dir_t * _get_lfs_dir(vfs_DIR *dirp)
     return (lfs_dir_t *)(uintptr_t)dirp->private_data.buffer;
 }
 
-static int _opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname, const char *abs_path)
+static int _opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname)
 {
-    (void)abs_path;
     littlefs2_desc_t *fs = dirp->mp->private_data;
     lfs_dir_t *dir = _get_lfs_dir(dirp);
 
     mutex_lock(&fs->lock);
 
-    DEBUG("littlefs: opendir: dirp=%p, dirname=%s (abs_path=%s)\n",
-          (void *)dirp, dirname, abs_path);
+    DEBUG("littlefs: opendir: dirp=%p, dirname=%s\n",
+          (void *)dirp, dirname);
 
     int ret = lfs_dir_open(&fs->fs, dir, dirname);
     mutex_unlock(&fs->lock);
diff --git a/pkg/spiffs/fs/spiffs_fs.c b/pkg/spiffs/fs/spiffs_fs.c
index 076a0876ee..779272ce22 100644
--- a/pkg/spiffs/fs/spiffs_fs.c
+++ b/pkg/spiffs/fs/spiffs_fs.c
@@ -246,10 +246,9 @@ static int _statvfs(vfs_mount_t *mountp, const char *restrict path, struct statv
     return 0;
 }
 
-static int _open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode, const char *abs_path)
+static int _open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode)
 {
     spiffs_desc_t *fs_desc = filp->mp->private_data;
-    (void) abs_path;
     DEBUG("spiffs: open: private_data = %p\n", filp->mp->private_data);
 
     spiffs_flags s_flags = 0;
@@ -280,7 +279,7 @@ static int _open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode, con
         s_flags |= SPIFFS_O_EXCL;
     }
 
-    DEBUG("spiffs: open: %s (abs_path: %s), flags: 0x%x, mode: %d\n", name, abs_path, (int) s_flags, (int) mode);
+    DEBUG("spiffs: open: %s, flags: 0x%x, mode: %d\n", name, (int) s_flags, (int) mode);
 
     s32_t ret = SPIFFS_open(&fs_desc->fs, name, s_flags, mode);
     if (ret >= 0) {
@@ -368,11 +367,10 @@ static spiffs_DIR * _get_spifs_dir(vfs_DIR *dirp)
     return (spiffs_DIR *)(uintptr_t)&dirp->private_data.buffer[0];
 }
 
-static int _opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname, const char *abs_path)
+static int _opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname)
 {
     spiffs_desc_t *fs_desc = dirp->mp->private_data;
     spiffs_DIR *d = _get_spifs_dir(dirp);
-    (void) abs_path;
 
     spiffs_DIR *res = SPIFFS_opendir(&fs_desc->fs, dirname, d);
     if (res == NULL) {
diff --git a/sys/fs/constfs/constfs.c b/sys/fs/constfs/constfs.c
index de4fab450d..7067036bfb 100644
--- a/sys/fs/constfs/constfs.c
+++ b/sys/fs/constfs/constfs.c
@@ -39,11 +39,11 @@ static int constfs_statvfs(vfs_mount_t *mountp, const char *restrict path, struc
 /* File operations */
 static int constfs_fstat(vfs_file_t *filp, struct stat *buf);
 static off_t constfs_lseek(vfs_file_t *filp, off_t off, int whence);
-static int constfs_open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode, const char *abs_path);
+static int constfs_open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode);
 static ssize_t constfs_read(vfs_file_t *filp, void *dest, size_t nbytes);
 
 /* Directory operations */
-static int constfs_opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname, const char *abs_path);
+static int constfs_opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname);
 static int constfs_readdir(vfs_DIR *dirp, vfs_dirent_t *entry);
 
 static const vfs_file_system_ops_t constfs_fs_ops = {
@@ -162,12 +162,11 @@ static off_t constfs_lseek(vfs_file_t *filp, off_t off, int whence)
     return off;
 }
 
-static int constfs_open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode, const char *abs_path)
+static int constfs_open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode)
 {
     (void) mode;
-    (void) abs_path;
     constfs_t *fs = filp->mp->private_data;
-    DEBUG("constfs_open: %p, \"%s\", 0x%x, 0%03lo, \"%s\"\n", (void *)filp, name, flags, (unsigned long)mode, abs_path);
+    DEBUG("constfs_open: %p, \"%s\", 0x%x, 0%03lo\"\n", (void *)filp, name, flags, (unsigned long)mode);
     /* We only support read access */
     if ((flags & O_ACCMODE) != O_RDONLY) {
         return -EROFS;
@@ -203,10 +202,9 @@ static ssize_t constfs_read(vfs_file_t *filp, void *dest, size_t nbytes)
     return nbytes;
 }
 
-static int constfs_opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname, const char *abs_path)
+static int constfs_opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname)
 {
-    (void) abs_path;
-    DEBUG("constfs_opendir: %p, \"%s\", \"%s\"\n", (void *)dirp, dirname, abs_path);
+    DEBUG("constfs_opendir: %p, \"%s\"\n", (void *)dirp, dirname);
     if (strncmp(dirname, "/", 2) != 0) {
         /* We keep it simple and only support a flat file system, only a root directory */
         return -ENOENT;
diff --git a/sys/fs/devfs/devfs.c b/sys/fs/devfs/devfs.c
index 7c54fb9002..eba73b01e3 100644
--- a/sys/fs/devfs/devfs.c
+++ b/sys/fs/devfs/devfs.c
@@ -50,12 +50,12 @@ static mutex_t _devfs_mutex = MUTEX_INIT;
 
 /* File operations */
 /* open is overloaded to allow searching for the correct device */
-static int devfs_open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode, const char *abs_path);
+static int devfs_open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode);
 /* A minimal fcntl is also provided to enable SETFL handling */
 static int devfs_fcntl(vfs_file_t *filp, int cmd, int arg);
 
 /* Directory operations */
-static int devfs_opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname, const char *abs_path);
+static int devfs_opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname);
 static int devfs_readdir(vfs_DIR *dirp, vfs_dirent_t *entry);
 static int devfs_closedir(vfs_DIR *dirp);
 
@@ -75,9 +75,9 @@ const vfs_file_system_t devfs_file_system = {
     .d_op = &devfs_dir_ops,
 };
 
-static int devfs_open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode, const char *abs_path)
+static int devfs_open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode)
 {
-    DEBUG("devfs_open: %p, \"%s\", 0x%x, 0%03lo, \"%s\"\n", (void *)filp, name, flags, (unsigned long)mode, abs_path);
+    DEBUG("devfs_open: %p, \"%s\", 0x%x, 0%03lo\n", (void *)filp, name, flags, (unsigned long)mode);
     /* linear search through the device list */
     mutex_lock(&_devfs_mutex);
     clist_node_t *it = _devfs_list.next;
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ static int devfs_open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode
             filp->f_op = devp->f_op;
             /* Chain the open() method for the specific device */
             if (filp->f_op->open != NULL) {
-                return filp->f_op->open(filp, name, flags, mode, abs_path);
+                return filp->f_op->open(filp, name, flags, mode);
             }
             return 0;
         }
@@ -122,10 +122,9 @@ static int devfs_fcntl(vfs_file_t *filp, int cmd, int arg)
     }
 }
 
-static int devfs_opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname, const char *abs_path)
+static int devfs_opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname)
 {
-    (void) abs_path;
-    DEBUG("devfs_opendir: %p, \"%s\", \"%s\"\n", (void *)dirp, dirname, abs_path);
+    DEBUG("devfs_opendir: %p, \"%s\"\n", (void *)dirp, dirname);
     if (strncmp(dirname, "/", 2) != 0) {
         /* We keep it simple and only support a flat file system, only a root directory */
         return -ENOENT;
diff --git a/sys/include/vfs.h b/sys/include/vfs.h
index 5dc2758082..617334440c 100644
--- a/sys/include/vfs.h
+++ b/sys/include/vfs.h
@@ -476,12 +476,11 @@ struct vfs_file_ops {
      * @param[in]  name     null-terminated name of the file to open, relative to the file system root, including a leading slash
      * @param[in]  flags    flags for opening, see man 2 open, man 3p open
      * @param[in]  mode     mode for creating a new file, see man 2 open, man 3p open
-     * @param[in]  abs_path null-terminated name of the file to open, relative to the VFS root ("/")
      *
      * @return 0 on success
      * @return <0 on error
      */
-    int (*open) (vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode, const char *abs_path);
+    int (*open) (vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode);
 
     /**
      * @brief Read bytes from an open file
@@ -528,12 +527,11 @@ struct vfs_dir_ops {
      *
      * @param[in]  dirp     pointer to open directory
      * @param[in]  name     null-terminated name of the dir to open, relative to the file system root, including a leading slash
-     * @param[in]  abs_path null-terminated name of the dir to open, relative to the VFS root ("/")
      *
      * @return 0 on success
      * @return <0 on error
      */
-    int (*opendir) (vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname, const char *abs_path);
+    int (*opendir) (vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname);
 
     /**
      * @brief Read a single entry from the open directory dirp and advance the
diff --git a/sys/vfs/vfs.c b/sys/vfs/vfs.c
index 971d1e8e9f..29881fc942 100644
--- a/sys/vfs/vfs.c
+++ b/sys/vfs/vfs.c
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ int vfs_open(const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode)
     }
     vfs_file_t *filp = &_vfs_open_files[fd];
     if (filp->f_op->open != NULL) {
-        res = filp->f_op->open(filp, rel_path, flags, mode, name);
+        res = filp->f_op->open(filp, rel_path, flags, mode);
         if (res < 0) {
             /* something went wrong during open */
             DEBUG("vfs_open: open: ERR %d!\n", res);
@@ -420,7 +420,7 @@ int vfs_opendir(vfs_DIR *dirp, const char *dirname)
     dirp->mp = mountp;
     dirp->d_op = mountp->fs->d_op;
     if (dirp->d_op->opendir != NULL) {
-        int res = dirp->d_op->opendir(dirp, rel_path, dirname);
+        int res = dirp->d_op->opendir(dirp, rel_path);
         if (res < 0) {
             /* remember to decrement the open_files count */
             atomic_fetch_sub(&mountp->open_files, 1);
@@ -1114,7 +1114,7 @@ static bool _is_dir(vfs_mount_t *mountp, vfs_DIR *dir, const char *restrict path
     dir->d_op = ops;
     dir->mp = mountp;
 
-    int res = ops->opendir(dir, path, path);
+    int res = ops->opendir(dir, path);
     if (res < 0) {
         return false;
     }
@@ -1140,7 +1140,7 @@ int vfs_sysop_stat_from_fstat(vfs_mount_t *mountp, const char *restrict path, st
         },
     };
 
-    int err = f_op->open(&filedir.file, path, 0, 0, NULL);
+    int err = f_op->open(&filedir.file, path, 0, 0);
     if (err < 0) {
         if (_is_dir(mountp, &filedir.dir, path)) {
             buf->st_mode = S_IFDIR;
diff --git a/tests/devfs/main.c b/tests/devfs/main.c
index 99e939baa3..d1448454ed 100644
--- a/tests/devfs/main.c
+++ b/tests/devfs/main.c
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 
 #include "embUnit.h"
 
-static int _mock_open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode, const char *abs_path);
+static int _mock_open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode);
 static ssize_t _mock_read(vfs_file_t *filp, void *dest, size_t nbytes);
 static ssize_t _mock_write(vfs_file_t *filp, const void *src, size_t nbytes);
 
@@ -55,12 +55,11 @@ static vfs_mount_t _test_devfs_mount = {
     .private_data = &_mock_private_data,
 };
 
-static int _mock_open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode, const char *abs_path)
+static int _mock_open(vfs_file_t *filp, const char *name, int flags, mode_t mode)
 {
     (void) name;
     (void) flags;
     (void) mode;
-    (void) abs_path;
     if (filp->private_data.ptr != &_mock_private_data_tag) {
         return -4321;
     }