diff --git a/tests/functional/lang/eval-fail-bad-string-interpolation-4.err.exp b/tests/functional/lang/eval-fail-bad-string-interpolation-4.err.exp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..07843a480
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/functional/lang/eval-fail-bad-string-interpolation-4.err.exp
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+error:
+       … while evaluating a path segment
+
+         at /pwd/lang/eval-fail-bad-string-interpolation-4.nix:9:3:
+
+            8| # The error message should not be too long.
+            9| ''${pkgs}''
+             |   ^
+           10|
+
+       error: cannot coerce a set to a string
diff --git a/tests/functional/lang/eval-fail-bad-string-interpolation-4.nix b/tests/functional/lang/eval-fail-bad-string-interpolation-4.nix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..457b5f06a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/functional/lang/eval-fail-bad-string-interpolation-4.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+let
+  # Basically a "billion laughs" attack, but toned down to simulated `pkgs`.
+  ha = x: y: { a = x y; b = x y; c = x y; d = x y; e = x y; f = x y; g = x y; h = x y; j = x y; };
+  has = ha (ha (ha (ha (x: x)))) "ha";
+  # A large structure that has already been evaluated.
+  pkgs = builtins.deepSeq has has;
+in
+# The error message should not be too long.
+''${pkgs}''