diff --git a/src/wp-includes/functions.php b/src/wp-includes/functions.php
index a58144f843..c135d0d93e 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/functions.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/functions.php
@@ -1250,7 +1250,7 @@ function wp( $query_vars = '' ) {
  * @global array $wp_header_to_desc
  *
  * @param int $code HTTP status code.
- * @return string Empty string if not found, or description if found.
+ * @return string Status description if found, an empty string otherwise.
  */
 function get_status_header_desc( $code ) {
 	global $wp_header_to_desc;
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/functions/getStatusHeaderDesc.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/functions/getStatusHeaderDesc.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..09634afc70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/functions/getStatusHeaderDesc.php
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * Tests get_status_header_desc function
+ *
+ * @since 5.3.0
+ *
+ * @group functions.php
+ */
+class Tests_Functions_get_status_header_desc extends WP_UnitTestCase {
+
+	/**
+	 * @dataProvider _status_strings
+	 *
+	 * @param int    $code     HTTP status code.
+	 * @param string $expected Status description.
+	 */
+	public function test_get_status_header_desc( $code, $expected ) {
+		$this->assertSame( get_status_header_desc( $code ), $expected );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Data provider for test_get_status_header_desc().
+	 *
+	 * @return array
+	 */
+	public function _status_strings() {
+		return array(
+			array( 200, 'OK' ),
+			array( 301, 'Moved Permanently' ),
+			array( 404, 'Not Found' ),
+			array( 500, 'Internal Server Error' ),
+
+			// A string to make sure that the absint() is working.
+			array( "200", 'OK' ),
+
+			// Not recognized codes return empty strings.
+			array( 9999, '' ),
+			array( 'random', '' ),
+		);
+	}
+}