diff --git a/appservice/storage/sqlite3/storage.go b/appservice/storage/sqlite3/storage.go
index 275c6652..2238b3ff 100644
--- a/appservice/storage/sqlite3/storage.go
+++ b/appservice/storage/sqlite3/storage.go
@@ -37,7 +37,11 @@ type Database struct {
 func NewDatabase(dataSourceName string) (*Database, error) {
 	var result Database
 	var err error
-	if result.db, err = sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), dataSourceName, nil); err != nil {
+	cs, err := sqlutil.ParseFileURI(dataSourceName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if result.db, err = sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), cs, nil); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	if err = result.prepare(); err != nil {
diff --git a/appservice/storage/storage_wasm.go b/appservice/storage/storage_wasm.go
index de1acf92..a6144b43 100644
--- a/appservice/storage/storage_wasm.go
+++ b/appservice/storage/storage_wasm.go
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ func NewDatabase(
 	case "postgres":
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Cannot use postgres implementation")
 	case "file":
-		return sqlite3.NewDatabase(uri.Path)
+		return sqlite3.NewDatabase(dataSourceName)
 	default:
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Cannot use postgres implementation")
 	}
diff --git a/clientapi/auth/storage/accounts/sqlite3/storage.go b/clientapi/auth/storage/accounts/sqlite3/storage.go
index 5233001f..31426e47 100644
--- a/clientapi/auth/storage/accounts/sqlite3/storage.go
+++ b/clientapi/auth/storage/accounts/sqlite3/storage.go
@@ -48,7 +48,11 @@ type Database struct {
 func NewDatabase(dataSourceName string, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName) (*Database, error) {
 	var db *sql.DB
 	var err error
-	if db, err = sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), dataSourceName, nil); err != nil {
+	cs, err := sqlutil.ParseFileURI(dataSourceName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if db, err = sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), cs, nil); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	partitions := internal.PartitionOffsetStatements{}
diff --git a/clientapi/auth/storage/accounts/storage_wasm.go b/clientapi/auth/storage/accounts/storage_wasm.go
index 7cf50de7..81e77cf7 100644
--- a/clientapi/auth/storage/accounts/storage_wasm.go
+++ b/clientapi/auth/storage/accounts/storage_wasm.go
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ func NewDatabase(
 	case "postgres":
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Cannot use postgres implementation")
 	case "file":
-		return sqlite3.NewDatabase(uri.Path, serverName)
+		return sqlite3.NewDatabase(dataSourceName, serverName)
 	default:
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Cannot use postgres implementation")
 	}
diff --git a/clientapi/auth/storage/devices/sqlite3/storage.go b/clientapi/auth/storage/devices/sqlite3/storage.go
index 5cd89451..e05a53b4 100644
--- a/clientapi/auth/storage/devices/sqlite3/storage.go
+++ b/clientapi/auth/storage/devices/sqlite3/storage.go
@@ -41,7 +41,11 @@ type Database struct {
 func NewDatabase(dataSourceName string, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName) (*Database, error) {
 	var db *sql.DB
 	var err error
-	if db, err = sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), dataSourceName, nil); err != nil {
+	cs, err := sqlutil.ParseFileURI(dataSourceName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if db, err = sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), cs, nil); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	d := devicesStatements{}
diff --git a/clientapi/auth/storage/devices/storage_wasm.go b/clientapi/auth/storage/devices/storage_wasm.go
index c89ad887..14c19e74 100644
--- a/clientapi/auth/storage/devices/storage_wasm.go
+++ b/clientapi/auth/storage/devices/storage_wasm.go
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ func NewDatabase(
 	case "postgres":
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Cannot use postgres implementation")
 	case "file":
-		return sqlite3.NewDatabase(uri.Path, serverName)
+		return sqlite3.NewDatabase(dataSourceName, serverName)
 	default:
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Cannot use postgres implementation")
 	}
diff --git a/federationsender/storage/sqlite3/storage.go b/federationsender/storage/sqlite3/storage.go
index dc60ebb0..8699fc19 100644
--- a/federationsender/storage/sqlite3/storage.go
+++ b/federationsender/storage/sqlite3/storage.go
@@ -38,7 +38,11 @@ type Database struct {
 func NewDatabase(dataSourceName string) (*Database, error) {
 	var result Database
 	var err error
-	if result.db, err = sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), dataSourceName, nil); err != nil {
+	cs, err := sqlutil.ParseFileURI(dataSourceName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if result.db, err = sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), cs, nil); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	if err = result.prepare(); err != nil {
diff --git a/federationsender/storage/storage_wasm.go b/federationsender/storage/storage_wasm.go
index 3d071bfe..f593fd44 100644
--- a/federationsender/storage/storage_wasm.go
+++ b/federationsender/storage/storage_wasm.go
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ func NewDatabase(
 	}
 	switch uri.Scheme {
 	case "file":
-		return sqlite3.NewDatabase(uri.Path)
+		return sqlite3.NewDatabase(dataSourceName)
 	case "postgres":
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Cannot use postgres implementation")
 	default:
diff --git a/internal/basecomponent/base.go b/internal/basecomponent/base.go
index beaf0e86..42d236f8 100644
--- a/internal/basecomponent/base.go
+++ b/internal/basecomponent/base.go
@@ -277,12 +277,9 @@ func setupNaffka(cfg *config.Dendrite) (sarama.Consumer, sarama.SyncProducer) {
 	uri, err := url.Parse(string(cfg.Database.Naffka))
 	if err != nil || uri.Scheme == "file" {
 		var cs string
-		if uri.Opaque != "" { // file:filename.db
-			cs = uri.Opaque
-		} else if uri.Path != "" { // file:///path/to/filename.db
-			cs = uri.Path
-		} else {
-			logrus.Panic("file uri has no filename")
+		cs, err = sqlutil.ParseFileURI(string(cfg.Database.Naffka))
+		if err != nil {
+			logrus.WithError(err).Panic("Failed to parse naffka database file URI")
 		}
 		db, err = sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), cs, nil)
 		if err != nil {
diff --git a/internal/sqlutil/uri.go b/internal/sqlutil/uri.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f72e0242
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/sqlutil/uri.go
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+package sqlutil
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"net/url"
+)
+
+// ParseFileURI returns the filepath in the given file: URI. Specifically, this will handle
+// both relative (file:foo.db) and absolute (file:///path/to/foo) paths.
+func ParseFileURI(dataSourceName string) (string, error) {
+	uri, err := url.Parse(dataSourceName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	var cs string
+	if uri.Opaque != "" { // file:filename.db
+		cs = uri.Opaque
+	} else if uri.Path != "" { // file:///path/to/filename.db
+		cs = uri.Path
+	} else {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("invalid file uri: %s", dataSourceName)
+	}
+	return cs, nil
+}
diff --git a/mediaapi/storage/sqlite3/storage.go b/mediaapi/storage/sqlite3/storage.go
index 6da7132d..ea81f912 100644
--- a/mediaapi/storage/sqlite3/storage.go
+++ b/mediaapi/storage/sqlite3/storage.go
@@ -37,7 +37,11 @@ type Database struct {
 func Open(dataSourceName string) (*Database, error) {
 	var d Database
 	var err error
-	if d.db, err = sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), dataSourceName, nil); err != nil {
+	cs, err := sqlutil.ParseFileURI(dataSourceName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if d.db, err = sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), cs, nil); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	if err = d.statements.prepare(d.db); err != nil {
diff --git a/mediaapi/storage/storage_wasm.go b/mediaapi/storage/storage_wasm.go
index aa188997..78de2cb8 100644
--- a/mediaapi/storage/storage_wasm.go
+++ b/mediaapi/storage/storage_wasm.go
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ func Open(
 	case "postgres":
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Cannot use postgres implementation")
 	case "file":
-		return sqlite3.Open(uri.Path)
+		return sqlite3.Open(dataSourceName)
 	default:
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Cannot use postgres implementation")
 	}
diff --git a/publicroomsapi/storage/sqlite3/storage.go b/publicroomsapi/storage/sqlite3/storage.go
index 89810112..f5105182 100644
--- a/publicroomsapi/storage/sqlite3/storage.go
+++ b/publicroomsapi/storage/sqlite3/storage.go
@@ -42,7 +42,11 @@ type attributeValue interface{}
 func NewPublicRoomsServerDatabase(dataSourceName string, localServerName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName) (*PublicRoomsServerDatabase, error) {
 	var db *sql.DB
 	var err error
-	if db, err = sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), dataSourceName, nil); err != nil {
+	cs, err := sqlutil.ParseFileURI(dataSourceName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if db, err = sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), cs, nil); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	storage := PublicRoomsServerDatabase{
diff --git a/publicroomsapi/storage/storage_wasm.go b/publicroomsapi/storage/storage_wasm.go
index fa3356c0..70ceeaf8 100644
--- a/publicroomsapi/storage/storage_wasm.go
+++ b/publicroomsapi/storage/storage_wasm.go
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ func NewPublicRoomsServerDatabase(dataSourceName string, localServerName gomatri
 	case "postgres":
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Cannot use postgres implementation")
 	case "file":
-		return sqlite3.NewPublicRoomsServerDatabase(uri.Path, localServerName)
+		return sqlite3.NewPublicRoomsServerDatabase(dataSourceName, localServerName)
 	default:
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Cannot use postgres implementation")
 	}
diff --git a/roomserver/storage/sqlite3/storage.go b/roomserver/storage/sqlite3/storage.go
index 54a2f265..5596b5e3 100644
--- a/roomserver/storage/sqlite3/storage.go
+++ b/roomserver/storage/sqlite3/storage.go
@@ -18,8 +18,6 @@ package sqlite3
 import (
 	"context"
 	"database/sql"
-	"errors"
-	"net/url"
 
 	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/internal/sqlutil"
 
@@ -50,18 +48,10 @@ type Database struct {
 // nolint: gocyclo
 func Open(dataSourceName string) (*Database, error) {
 	var d Database
-	uri, err := url.Parse(dataSourceName)
+	cs, err := sqlutil.ParseFileURI(dataSourceName)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	var cs string
-	if uri.Opaque != "" { // file:filename.db
-		cs = uri.Opaque
-	} else if uri.Path != "" { // file:///path/to/filename.db
-		cs = uri.Path
-	} else {
-		return nil, errors.New("no filename or path in connect string")
-	}
 	if d.db, err = sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), cs, nil); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/serverkeyapi/storage/sqlite3/keydb.go b/serverkeyapi/storage/sqlite3/keydb.go
index 1ad6e7e8..e8cb78bd 100644
--- a/serverkeyapi/storage/sqlite3/keydb.go
+++ b/serverkeyapi/storage/sqlite3/keydb.go
@@ -17,8 +17,6 @@ package sqlite3
 
 import (
 	"context"
-	"errors"
-	"net/url"
 	"time"
 
 	"golang.org/x/crypto/ed25519"
@@ -46,18 +44,10 @@ func NewDatabase(
 	serverKey ed25519.PublicKey,
 	serverKeyID gomatrixserverlib.KeyID,
 ) (*Database, error) {
-	uri, err := url.Parse(dataSourceName)
+	cs, err := sqlutil.ParseFileURI(dataSourceName)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	var cs string
-	if uri.Opaque != "" { // file:filename.db
-		cs = uri.Opaque
-	} else if uri.Path != "" { // file:///path/to/filename.db
-		cs = uri.Path
-	} else {
-		return nil, errors.New("no filename or path in connect string")
-	}
 	db, err := sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), cs, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
diff --git a/syncapi/storage/sqlite3/syncserver.go b/syncapi/storage/sqlite3/syncserver.go
index 5ba07617..38ce5bcf 100644
--- a/syncapi/storage/sqlite3/syncserver.go
+++ b/syncapi/storage/sqlite3/syncserver.go
@@ -17,8 +17,6 @@ package sqlite3
 
 import (
 	"database/sql"
-	"errors"
-	"net/url"
 
 	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/internal/sqlutil"
 
@@ -43,18 +41,10 @@ type SyncServerDatasource struct {
 // nolint: gocyclo
 func NewDatabase(dataSourceName string) (*SyncServerDatasource, error) {
 	var d SyncServerDatasource
-	uri, err := url.Parse(dataSourceName)
+	cs, err := sqlutil.ParseFileURI(dataSourceName)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	var cs string
-	if uri.Opaque != "" { // file:filename.db
-		cs = uri.Opaque
-	} else if uri.Path != "" { // file:///path/to/filename.db
-		cs = uri.Path
-	} else {
-		return nil, errors.New("no filename or path in connect string")
-	}
 	if d.db, err = sqlutil.Open(internal.SQLiteDriverName(), cs, nil); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}