diff --git a/core/include/thread.h b/core/include/thread.h
index 8ec569a5f9..9325e90eaa 100644
--- a/core/include/thread.h
+++ b/core/include/thread.h
@@ -79,6 +79,16 @@ kernel_pid_t thread_create(char *stack,
                   void *(*function)(void *arg),
                   void *arg,
                   const char *name);
+
+/**
+ * @brief       Retreive a thread control block by PID.
+ * @details     This is a bound-checked variant of accessing `sched_threads[pid]` directly.
+ *              If you know that the PID is valid, then don't use this function.
+ * @param[in]   pid   Thread to retreive.
+ * @return      `NULL` if the PID is invalid or there is no such thread.
+ */
+volatile tcb_t *thread_get(kernel_pid_t pid);
+
 /**
  * @brief Returns the status of a process
  *
diff --git a/core/thread.c b/core/thread.c
index 1fe535fdca..4d30e35069 100644
--- a/core/thread.c
+++ b/core/thread.c
@@ -37,22 +37,24 @@ inline kernel_pid_t thread_getpid(void)
     return sched_active_thread->pid;
 }
 
+volatile tcb_t *thread_get(kernel_pid_t pid)
+{
+    if ((pid != KERNEL_PID_UNDEF) && (0 <= pid) && (pid < MAXTHREADS)) {
+        return sched_threads[pid];
+    }
+    return NULL;
+}
+
 int thread_getstatus(kernel_pid_t pid)
 {
-    if (sched_threads[pid] == NULL) {
-        return STATUS_NOT_FOUND;
-    }
-
-    return sched_threads[pid]->status;
+    volatile tcb_t *t = thread_get(pid);
+    return t ? t->status : STATUS_NOT_FOUND;
 }
 
 const char *thread_getname(kernel_pid_t pid)
 {
-    if (sched_threads[pid] == NULL) {
-        return NULL;
-    }
-
-    return sched_threads[pid]->name;
+    volatile tcb_t *t = thread_get(pid);
+    return t ? t->name : NULL;
 }
 
 void thread_sleep(void)