diff --git a/tests/ext/span_stack/span_stack_active_reference.phpt b/tests/ext/span_stack/span_stack_active_reference.phpt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2714300f561
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/ext/span_stack/span_stack_active_reference.phpt
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+--TEST--
+SpanStack active references do not corrupt child span opening
+--DESCRIPTION--
+DDTrace\SpanStack::$active is exposed as a normal PHP property, but the C span
+stack also aliases the same zval slot as a raw ddtrace_span_properties pointer.
+If userland acquires that property by reference, the slot becomes IS_REFERENCE.
+Opening a later child span must not treat the zend_reference container as a
+SpanData pointer while inheriting parent state.
+
+This reproduces the parent-service corruption path where the next span can crash
+while reading or copying properties from what should be the active parent span.
+--ENV--
+DD_TRACE_AUTO_FLUSH_ENABLED=0
+DD_TRACE_GENERATE_ROOT_SPAN=0
+DD_CODE_ORIGIN_FOR_SPANS_ENABLED=0
+--FILE--
+<?php
+
+function touch_ref(&$value): void {}
+
+$root = \DDTrace\start_span();
+$root->service = "parent-service";
+touch_ref(\DDTrace\active_stack()->active);
+$child = \DDTrace\start_span();
+
+var_dump($child->parent === $root);
+var_dump($child->service);
+echo "ok\n";
+
+?>
+--EXPECT--
+bool(true)
+string(14) "parent-service"
+ok