diff --git a/dataflowengineoss/src/main/scala/io/joern/dataflowengineoss/passes/reachingdef/EdgeValidator.scala b/dataflowengineoss/src/main/scala/io/joern/dataflowengineoss/passes/reachingdef/EdgeValidator.scala
index 106df8d40e2c..d3ff1a3e8cb5 100644
--- a/dataflowengineoss/src/main/scala/io/joern/dataflowengineoss/passes/reachingdef/EdgeValidator.scala
+++ b/dataflowengineoss/src/main/scala/io/joern/dataflowengineoss/passes/reachingdef/EdgeValidator.scala
@@ -1,17 +1,10 @@
 package io.joern.dataflowengineoss.passes.reachingdef
 
-import io.joern.dataflowengineoss.language.*
-import io.joern.dataflowengineoss.queryengine.Engine.{isOutputArgOfInternalMethod, semanticsForCall}
-import io.joern.dataflowengineoss.semanticsloader.{
-  FlowMapping,
-  FlowPath,
-  FlowSemantic,
-  ParameterNode,
-  PassThroughMapping,
-  Semantics
-}
+import io.joern.dataflowengineoss.language._
+import io.joern.dataflowengineoss.queryengine.Engine.isOutputArgOfInternalMethod
+import io.joern.dataflowengineoss.semanticsloader.{FlowMapping, ParameterNode, PassThroughMapping, Semantics}
 import io.shiftleft.codepropertygraph.generated.nodes.{Call, CfgNode, Expression, StoredNode}
-import io.shiftleft.semanticcpg.language._
+import io.shiftleft.semanticcpg.language.*
 
 object EdgeValidator {
 
@@ -22,11 +15,6 @@ object EdgeValidator {
       case (childNode: Expression, parentNode)
           if isCallRetval(parentNode) || !isValidEdgeToExpression(parentNode, childNode) =>
         false
-      case (childNode: Call, parentNode: Expression)
-          if isCallRetval(childNode) && childNode.argument.contains(parentNode) =>
-        // e.g. foo(x), but there are semantics for `foo` that don't taint its return value
-        // in which case we don't want `x` to taint `foo(x)`.
-        false
       case (childNode: Expression, parentNode: Expression)
           if parentNode.isArgToSameCallWith(childNode) && childNode.isDefined && parentNode.isUsed =>
         parentNode.hasDefinedFlowTo(childNode)
@@ -46,22 +34,17 @@ object EdgeValidator {
         curNode.isUsed
     }
 
-  /** Is it a CALL for which semantics exist but don't taint its return value?
-    */
   private def isCallRetval(parentNode: StoredNode)(implicit semantics: Semantics): Boolean =
     parentNode match {
-      case call: Call => semanticsForCall(call).exists(!explicitlyFlowsToReturnValue(_))
-      case _          => false
+      case call: Call =>
+        val sem = semantics.forMethod(call.methodFullName)
+        sem.isDefined && !sem.get.mappings.exists {
+          case FlowMapping(_, ParameterNode(dst, _)) => dst == -1
+          case PassThroughMapping                    => true
+          case _                                     => false
+        }
+      case _ =>
+        false
     }
 
-  private def explicitlyFlowsToReturnValue(flowSemantic: FlowSemantic): Boolean =
-    flowSemantic.mappings.exists(explicitlyFlowsToReturnValue)
-
-  private def explicitlyFlowsToReturnValue(flowPath: FlowPath): Boolean = flowPath match {
-    // Some frontends (e.g. python) denote named arguments using `-1` as the argument index. As such
-    // `-1` denotes the return value only if there's no argument name.
-    case FlowMapping(_, ParameterNode(-1, None)) => true
-    case PassThroughMapping                      => true
-    case _                                       => false
-  }
 }
diff --git a/joern-cli/frontends/pysrc2cpg/src/test/scala/io/joern/pysrc2cpg/dataflow/DataFlowTests.scala b/joern-cli/frontends/pysrc2cpg/src/test/scala/io/joern/pysrc2cpg/dataflow/DataFlowTests.scala
index 10c97af5a0f1..7358d0eb900a 100644
--- a/joern-cli/frontends/pysrc2cpg/src/test/scala/io/joern/pysrc2cpg/dataflow/DataFlowTests.scala
+++ b/joern-cli/frontends/pysrc2cpg/src/test/scala/io/joern/pysrc2cpg/dataflow/DataFlowTests.scala
@@ -681,7 +681,7 @@ class DataFlowTests extends PySrc2CpgFixture(withOssDataflow = true) {
         |x = {'x': 10}
         |print(1, x)
         |""".stripMargin)
-      .withSemantics(DefaultSemantics().plus(List(FlowSemantic(".*print", List(PassThroughMapping), true))))
+      .withExtraFlows(List(FlowSemantic(".*print", List(PassThroughMapping), true)))
 
     def source       = cpg.literal
     def sink         = cpg.call("print").argument.argumentIndex(2)
@@ -1243,8 +1243,8 @@ class RegexDefinedFlowsDataFlowTests
         |""".stripMargin)
     "be found" in {
       val src = cpg.identifier("Foo").l
-      val snk = cpg.call("print").argument(1).l
-      snk.reachableByFlows(src).size shouldBe 3
+      val snk = cpg.call("print").l
+      snk.reachableByFlows(src).size shouldBe 2
     }
   }
   "Import statement with method ref sample four" in {