diff --git a/smack-core/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/PacketParserUtils.java b/smack-core/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/PacketParserUtils.java
index 813abca62..401ea80c9 100644
--- a/smack-core/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/PacketParserUtils.java
+++ b/smack-core/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/PacketParserUtils.java
@@ -497,7 +497,7 @@ public class PacketParserUtils {
                 CharSequence text = parser.getText();
                 if (event == XmlPullParser.TEXT) {
                     // TODO the toString() can be removed in Smack 4.2.
-                    text = StringUtils.escapeForXML(text.toString());
+                    text = StringUtils.escapeForXmlText(text.toString());
                 }
                 sb.append(text);
             }
diff --git a/smack-core/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/StringUtils.java b/smack-core/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/StringUtils.java
index a0a70e19f..4398e836f 100644
--- a/smack-core/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/StringUtils.java
+++ b/smack-core/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/StringUtils.java
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /**
  *
- * Copyright 2003-2007 Jive Software.
+ * Copyright 2003-2007 Jive Software, 2016 Florian Schmaus.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -41,6 +41,74 @@ public class StringUtils {
 
     public static final char[] HEX_CHARS = "0123456789abcdef".toCharArray();
 
+    /**
+     * Escape <code>input</code> for XML.
+     *
+     * @param input the input to escape.
+     * @return the XML escaped variant of <code>input</code>.
+     * @deprecated use {@link #escapeForXml(CharSequence)} instead.
+     */
+    // Remove in 4.3.
+    @Deprecated
+    public static CharSequence escapeForXML(CharSequence input) {
+        return escapeForXml(input);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Escape <code>input</code> for XML.
+     *
+     * @param input the input to escape.
+     * @return the XML escaped variant of <code>input</code>.
+     */
+    public static CharSequence escapeForXml(CharSequence input) {
+        return escapeForXml(input, XmlEscapeMode.safe);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Escape <code>input</code> for XML.
+     *
+     * @param input the input to escape.
+     * @return the XML escaped variant of <code>input</code>.
+     * @since 4.2
+     */
+    public static CharSequence escapeForXmlAttribute(CharSequence input) {
+        return escapeForXml(input, XmlEscapeMode.forAttribute);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Escape <code>input</code> for XML.
+     * <p>
+     * This is an optimized variant of {@link #escapeForXmlAttribute(CharSequence)} for XML where the
+     * XML attribute is quoted using ''' (Apos).
+     * </p>
+     *
+     * @param input the input to escape.
+     * @return the XML escaped variant of <code>input</code>.
+     * @since 4.2
+     */
+    public static CharSequence escapeForXmlAttributeApos(CharSequence input) {
+        return escapeForXml(input, XmlEscapeMode.forAttributeApos);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Escape <code>input</code> for XML.
+     *
+     * @param input the input to escape.
+     * @return the XML escaped variant of <code>input</code>.
+     * @since 4.2
+     */
+    public static CharSequence escapeForXmlText(CharSequence input) {
+        return escapeForXml(input, XmlEscapeMode.forText);
+    }
+
+    private enum XmlEscapeMode {
+        safe,
+        forAttribute,
+        forAttributeApos,
+        forText,
+        ;
+    };
+
     /**
      * Escapes all necessary characters in the CharSequence so that it can be used
      * in an XML doc.
@@ -48,7 +116,7 @@ public class StringUtils {
      * @param input the CharSequence to escape.
      * @return the string with appropriate characters escaped.
      */
-    public static CharSequence escapeForXML(final CharSequence input) {
+    private static CharSequence escapeForXml(final CharSequence input, final XmlEscapeMode xmlEscapeMode) {
         if (input == null) {
             return null;
         }
@@ -61,23 +129,75 @@ public class StringUtils {
         while (i < len) {
             toAppend = null;
             ch = input.charAt(i);
-            switch(ch) {
-            case '<':
-                toAppend = LT_ENCODE;
+            switch (xmlEscapeMode) {
+            case safe:
+                switch (ch) {
+                case '<':
+                    toAppend = LT_ENCODE;
+                    break;
+                case '>':
+                    toAppend = GT_ENCODE;
+                    break;
+                case '&':
+                    toAppend = AMP_ENCODE;
+                    break;
+                case '"':
+                    toAppend = QUOTE_ENCODE;
+                    break;
+                case '\'':
+                    toAppend = APOS_ENCODE;
+                    break;
+                default:
+                    break;
+                }
                 break;
-            case '>':
-                toAppend = GT_ENCODE;
+            case forAttribute:
+                // No need to escape '>' for attributes.
+                switch(ch) {
+                case '<':
+                    toAppend = LT_ENCODE;
+                    break;
+                case '&':
+                    toAppend = AMP_ENCODE;
+                    break;
+                case '"':
+                    toAppend = QUOTE_ENCODE;
+                    break;
+                case '\'':
+                    toAppend = APOS_ENCODE;
+                    break;
+                default:
+                    break;
+                }
                 break;
-            case '&':
-                toAppend = AMP_ENCODE;
+            case forAttributeApos:
+                // No need to escape '>' and '"' for attributes using '\'' as quote.
+                switch(ch) {
+                case '<':
+                    toAppend = LT_ENCODE;
+                    break;
+                case '&':
+                    toAppend = AMP_ENCODE;
+                    break;
+                case '\'':
+                    toAppend = APOS_ENCODE;
+                    break;
+                default:
+                    break;
+                }
                 break;
-            case '"':
-                toAppend = QUOTE_ENCODE;
-                break;
-            case '\'':
-                toAppend = APOS_ENCODE;
-                break;
-            default:
+            case forText:
+                // No need to escape '"', '\'', and '>' for text.
+                switch(ch) {
+                case '<':
+                    toAppend = LT_ENCODE;
+                    break;
+                case '&':
+                    toAppend = AMP_ENCODE;
+                    break;
+                default:
+                    break;
+                }
                 break;
             }
             if (toAppend != null) {
diff --git a/smack-core/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/XmlStringBuilder.java b/smack-core/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/XmlStringBuilder.java
index 9dbec85b6..127382740 100644
--- a/smack-core/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/XmlStringBuilder.java
+++ b/smack-core/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/XmlStringBuilder.java
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ public class XmlStringBuilder implements Appendable, CharSequence {
     public XmlStringBuilder attribute(String name, String value) {
         assert value != null;
         sb.append(' ').append(name).append("='");
-        escape(value);
+        escapeAttributeValue(value);
         sb.append('\'');
         return this;
     }
@@ -357,7 +357,13 @@ public class XmlStringBuilder implements Appendable, CharSequence {
 
     public XmlStringBuilder escape(String text) {
         assert text != null;
-        sb.append(StringUtils.escapeForXML(text));
+        sb.append(StringUtils.escapeForXml(text));
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    public XmlStringBuilder escapeAttributeValue(String value) {
+        assert value != null;
+        sb.append(StringUtils.escapeForXmlAttributeApos(value));
         return this;
     }
 
diff --git a/smack-core/src/test/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/StringUtilsTest.java b/smack-core/src/test/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/StringUtilsTest.java
index 86df0b2cb..bd0d5ad05 100644
--- a/smack-core/src/test/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/StringUtilsTest.java
+++ b/smack-core/src/test/java/org/jivesoftware/smack/util/StringUtilsTest.java
@@ -28,43 +28,43 @@ import org.junit.Test;
  */
 public class StringUtilsTest  {
 	@Test
-    public void testEscapeForXML() {
+    public void testEscapeForXml() {
         String input = null;
 
-        assertNull(StringUtils.escapeForXML(null));
+        assertNull(StringUtils.escapeForXml(null));
 
         input = "<b>";
-        assertCharSequenceEquals("&lt;b&gt;", StringUtils.escapeForXML(input));
+        assertCharSequenceEquals("&lt;b&gt;", StringUtils.escapeForXml(input));
 
         input = "\"";
-        assertCharSequenceEquals("&quot;", StringUtils.escapeForXML(input));
+        assertCharSequenceEquals("&quot;", StringUtils.escapeForXml(input));
 
         input = "&";
-        assertCharSequenceEquals("&amp;", StringUtils.escapeForXML(input));
+        assertCharSequenceEquals("&amp;", StringUtils.escapeForXml(input));
 
         input = "<b>\n\t\r</b>";
-        assertCharSequenceEquals("&lt;b&gt;\n\t\r&lt;/b&gt;", StringUtils.escapeForXML(input));
+        assertCharSequenceEquals("&lt;b&gt;\n\t\r&lt;/b&gt;", StringUtils.escapeForXml(input));
 
         input = "   &   ";
-        assertCharSequenceEquals("   &amp;   ", StringUtils.escapeForXML(input));
+        assertCharSequenceEquals("   &amp;   ", StringUtils.escapeForXml(input));
 
         input = "   \"   ";
-        assertCharSequenceEquals("   &quot;   ", StringUtils.escapeForXML(input));
+        assertCharSequenceEquals("   &quot;   ", StringUtils.escapeForXml(input));
 
         input = "> of me <";
-        assertCharSequenceEquals("&gt; of me &lt;", StringUtils.escapeForXML(input));
+        assertCharSequenceEquals("&gt; of me &lt;", StringUtils.escapeForXml(input));
 
         input = "> of me & you<";
-        assertCharSequenceEquals("&gt; of me &amp; you&lt;", StringUtils.escapeForXML(input));
+        assertCharSequenceEquals("&gt; of me &amp; you&lt;", StringUtils.escapeForXml(input));
 
         input = "& <";
-        assertCharSequenceEquals("&amp; &lt;", StringUtils.escapeForXML(input));
+        assertCharSequenceEquals("&amp; &lt;", StringUtils.escapeForXml(input));
 
         input = "&";
-        assertCharSequenceEquals("&amp;", StringUtils.escapeForXML(input));
+        assertCharSequenceEquals("&amp;", StringUtils.escapeForXml(input));
 
         input = "It's a good day today";
-        assertCharSequenceEquals("It&apos;s a good day today", StringUtils.escapeForXML(input));
+        assertCharSequenceEquals("It&apos;s a good day today", StringUtils.escapeForXml(input));
     }
 
 	public static void assertCharSequenceEquals(CharSequence expected, CharSequence actual) {
diff --git a/smack-experimental/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/hoxt/provider/AbstractHttpOverXmppProvider.java b/smack-experimental/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/hoxt/provider/AbstractHttpOverXmppProvider.java
index 05bf8c813..b3cbccb6d 100644
--- a/smack-experimental/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/hoxt/provider/AbstractHttpOverXmppProvider.java
+++ b/smack-experimental/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/hoxt/provider/AbstractHttpOverXmppProvider.java
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractHttpOverXmppProvider<H extends AbstractHttpOverXmp
                         builder.append('>');
                         startClosed = true;
                     }
-                    builder.append(StringUtils.escapeForXML(parser.getText()));
+                    builder.append(StringUtils.escapeForXmlText(parser.getText()));
                 } else {
                     throw new IllegalArgumentException("unexpected eventType: " + eventType);
                 }
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractHttpOverXmppProvider<H extends AbstractHttpOverXmp
                 builder.append(' ');
                 builder.append(parser.getAttributeName(i));
                 builder.append("=\"");
-                builder.append(StringUtils.escapeForXML(parser.getAttributeValue(i)));
+                builder.append(StringUtils.escapeForXml(parser.getAttributeValue(i)));
                 builder.append('"');
             }
         }
diff --git a/smack-extensions/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/si/packet/StreamInitiation.java b/smack-extensions/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/si/packet/StreamInitiation.java
index ea077ebad..d6879a580 100644
--- a/smack-extensions/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/si/packet/StreamInitiation.java
+++ b/smack-extensions/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/si/packet/StreamInitiation.java
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ public class StreamInitiation extends IQ {
                     .append(getNamespace()).append("\" ");
 
             if (getName() != null) {
-                buffer.append("name=\"").append(StringUtils.escapeForXML(getName())).append("\" ");
+                buffer.append("name=\"").append(StringUtils.escapeForXmlAttribute(getName())).append("\" ");
             }
 
             if (getSize() > 0) {
@@ -350,7 +350,7 @@ public class StreamInitiation extends IQ {
             if ((desc != null && desc.length() > 0) || isRanged) {
                 buffer.append('>');
                 if (getDesc() != null && desc.length() > 0) {
-                    buffer.append("<desc>").append(StringUtils.escapeForXML(getDesc())).append("</desc>");
+                    buffer.append("<desc>").append(StringUtils.escapeForXmlText(getDesc())).append("</desc>");
                 }
                 if (isRanged()) {
                     buffer.append("<range/>");
diff --git a/smack-extensions/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/vcardtemp/packet/VCard.java b/smack-extensions/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/vcardtemp/packet/VCard.java
index 00349600b..433b5ea4c 100644
--- a/smack-extensions/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/vcardtemp/packet/VCard.java
+++ b/smack-extensions/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/vcardtemp/packet/VCard.java
@@ -525,13 +525,13 @@ public class VCard extends IQ {
     private void updateFN() {
         StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
         if (firstName != null) {
-            sb.append(StringUtils.escapeForXML(firstName)).append(' ');
+            sb.append(StringUtils.escapeForXml(firstName)).append(' ');
         }
         if (middleName != null) {
-            sb.append(StringUtils.escapeForXML(middleName)).append(' ');
+            sb.append(StringUtils.escapeForXml(middleName)).append(' ');
         }
         if (lastName != null) {
-            sb.append(StringUtils.escapeForXML(lastName));
+            sb.append(StringUtils.escapeForXml(lastName));
         }
         setField("FN", sb.toString());
     }
diff --git a/smack-extensions/src/test/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/xdatalayout/packet/DataLayoutTest.java b/smack-extensions/src/test/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/xdatalayout/packet/DataLayoutTest.java
index 51d0a1de1..10787d66d 100644
--- a/smack-extensions/src/test/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/xdatalayout/packet/DataLayoutTest.java
+++ b/smack-extensions/src/test/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/xdatalayout/packet/DataLayoutTest.java
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ public class DataLayoutTest {
                     +     "<text>SectionText - &amp; \u00E9 \u00E1 </text>"
                     +   "</section>"
                     +   "<text>PageText - &amp; \u00E9 \u00E1 </text>"
-                    +   "<section label='&lt;html&gt;Number of Persons by&lt;br/&gt; Nationality and Status&lt;/html&gt;'>"
+                    +   "<section label='&lt;html>Number of Persons by&lt;br/> Nationality and Status&lt;/html>'>"
                     +     "<reportedref/>"
                     +   "</section>"
                     +   "<text>&lt;html&gt;&lt;font color=&apos;red&apos;&gt;&lt;em&gt;DO NOT DELAY&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br/&gt;supply further information&lt;/html&gt;</text>"
diff --git a/smack-extensions/src/test/resources/org/jivesoftware/smackx/xdatalayout/packet/xdata-layout-sample.xml b/smack-extensions/src/test/resources/org/jivesoftware/smackx/xdatalayout/packet/xdata-layout-sample.xml
index cbb0262b0..f667a3913 100644
--- a/smack-extensions/src/test/resources/org/jivesoftware/smackx/xdatalayout/packet/xdata-layout-sample.xml
+++ b/smack-extensions/src/test/resources/org/jivesoftware/smackx/xdatalayout/packet/xdata-layout-sample.xml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
     </section>
     <text>PageText - &amp; é á </text>
     <section
-      label='&lt;html&gt;Number of Persons by&lt;br/&gt; Nationality and Status&lt;/html&gt;'>
+      label='&lt;html>Number of Persons by&lt;br/> Nationality and Status&lt;/html>'>
       <reportedref />
     </section>
     <text><![CDATA[<html><font color='red'><em>DO NOT DELAY</em></font><br/>supply further information</html>]]></text>
diff --git a/smack-legacy/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/workgroup/ext/macros/Macros.java b/smack-legacy/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/workgroup/ext/macros/Macros.java
index d98397371..7f8b64426 100644
--- a/smack-legacy/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/workgroup/ext/macros/Macros.java
+++ b/smack-legacy/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/workgroup/ext/macros/Macros.java
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ public class Macros extends IQ {
         if (getPersonalMacroGroup() != null) {
             // CHECKSTYLE:OFF
         	buf.append("<personalMacro>");
-        	buf.append(StringUtils.escapeForXML(getPersonalMacroGroup().toXML()));
+        	buf.append(StringUtils.escapeForXmlText(getPersonalMacroGroup().toXML()));
         	buf.append("</personalMacro>");
             // CHECKSTYLE:ON
         }
diff --git a/smack-legacy/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/workgroup/util/MetaDataUtils.java b/smack-legacy/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/workgroup/util/MetaDataUtils.java
index 2a378b40c..8f6664508 100644
--- a/smack-legacy/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/workgroup/util/MetaDataUtils.java
+++ b/smack-legacy/src/main/java/org/jivesoftware/smackx/workgroup/util/MetaDataUtils.java
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ public class MetaDataUtils {
                 for (Iterator<String> it = value.iterator(); it.hasNext();) {
                     String v = it.next();
                     buf.append("<value name=\"").append(key).append("\">");
-                    buf.append(StringUtils.escapeForXML(v));
+                    buf.append(StringUtils.escapeForXmlText(v));
                     buf.append("</value>");
                 }
             }