diff --git a/library/std/src/ffi/os_str.rs b/library/std/src/ffi/os_str.rs
index 20ebe1c4f8a..9dd3d7d3fa1 100644
--- a/library/std/src/ffi/os_str.rs
+++ b/library/std/src/ffi/os_str.rs
@@ -532,6 +532,12 @@ pub fn into_boxed_os_str(self) -> Box<OsStr> {
         let rw = Box::into_raw(self.inner.into_box()) as *mut OsStr;
         unsafe { Box::from_raw(rw) }
     }
+
+    /// Part of a hack to make PathBuf::push/pop more efficient.
+    #[inline]
+    pub(crate) fn as_mut_vec_for_path_buf(&mut self) -> &mut Vec<u8> {
+        self.inner.as_mut_vec_for_path_buf()
+    }
 }
 
 #[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
diff --git a/library/std/src/path.rs b/library/std/src/path.rs
index 1c58671a0cf..85355435100 100644
--- a/library/std/src/path.rs
+++ b/library/std/src/path.rs
@@ -1158,12 +1158,6 @@ impl FusedIterator for Ancestors<'_> {}
 /// Which method works best depends on what kind of situation you're in.
 #[cfg_attr(not(test), rustc_diagnostic_item = "PathBuf")]
 #[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
-// `PathBuf::as_mut_vec` current implementation relies
-// on `PathBuf` being layout-compatible with `Vec<u8>`.
-// However, `PathBuf` layout is considered an implementation detail and must not be relied upon. We
-// want `repr(transparent)` but we don't want it to show up in rustdoc, so we hide it under
-// `cfg(doc)`. This is an ad-hoc implementation of attribute privacy.
-#[cfg_attr(not(doc), repr(transparent))]
 pub struct PathBuf {
     inner: OsString,
 }
@@ -1171,7 +1165,7 @@ pub struct PathBuf {
 impl PathBuf {
     #[inline]
     fn as_mut_vec(&mut self) -> &mut Vec<u8> {
-        unsafe { &mut *(self as *mut PathBuf as *mut Vec<u8>) }
+        self.inner.as_mut_vec_for_path_buf()
     }
 
     /// Allocates an empty `PathBuf`.
diff --git a/library/std/src/sys/os_str/bytes.rs b/library/std/src/sys/os_str/bytes.rs
index 4ca3f1cd185..3076e18b237 100644
--- a/library/std/src/sys/os_str/bytes.rs
+++ b/library/std/src/sys/os_str/bytes.rs
@@ -198,6 +198,12 @@ pub fn into_arc(&self) -> Arc<Slice> {
     pub fn into_rc(&self) -> Rc<Slice> {
         self.as_slice().into_rc()
     }
+
+    /// Part of a hack to make PathBuf::push/pop more efficient.
+    #[inline]
+    pub(crate) fn as_mut_vec_for_path_buf(&mut self) -> &mut Vec<u8> {
+        &mut self.inner
+    }
 }
 
 impl Slice {
diff --git a/library/std/src/sys/os_str/wtf8.rs b/library/std/src/sys/os_str/wtf8.rs
index 352bd735903..b3ceb55802d 100644
--- a/library/std/src/sys/os_str/wtf8.rs
+++ b/library/std/src/sys/os_str/wtf8.rs
@@ -158,6 +158,12 @@ pub fn into_arc(&self) -> Arc<Slice> {
     pub fn into_rc(&self) -> Rc<Slice> {
         self.as_slice().into_rc()
     }
+
+    /// Part of a hack to make PathBuf::push/pop more efficient.
+    #[inline]
+    pub(crate) fn as_mut_vec_for_path_buf(&mut self) -> &mut Vec<u8> {
+        self.inner.as_mut_vec_for_path_buf()
+    }
 }
 
 impl Slice {
diff --git a/library/std/src/sys_common/wtf8.rs b/library/std/src/sys_common/wtf8.rs
index 2dbd19d7171..38e15f9f549 100644
--- a/library/std/src/sys_common/wtf8.rs
+++ b/library/std/src/sys_common/wtf8.rs
@@ -468,6 +468,12 @@ pub fn from_box(boxed: Box<Wtf8>) -> Wtf8Buf {
         let bytes: Box<[u8]> = unsafe { mem::transmute(boxed) };
         Wtf8Buf { bytes: bytes.into_vec(), is_known_utf8: false }
     }
+
+    /// Part of a hack to make PathBuf::push/pop more efficient.
+    #[inline]
+    pub(crate) fn as_mut_vec_for_path_buf(&mut self) -> &mut Vec<u8> {
+        &mut self.bytes
+    }
 }
 
 /// Creates a new WTF-8 string from an iterator of code points.