diff --git a/src/libexpr/include/nix/expr/print-ambiguous.hh b/src/libexpr/include/nix/expr/print-ambiguous.hh
index c0d811d4b..7e44a6b66 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/include/nix/expr/print-ambiguous.hh
+++ b/src/libexpr/include/nix/expr/print-ambiguous.hh
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 
 namespace nix {
 
+class EvalState;
+
 /**
  * Print a value in the deprecated format used by `nix-instantiate --eval` and
  * `nix-env` (for manifests).
@@ -15,7 +17,6 @@ namespace nix {
  *
  * See: https://github.com/NixOS/nix/issues/9730
  */
-void printAmbiguous(
-    Value & v, const SymbolTable & symbols, std::ostream & str, std::set<const void *> * seen, int depth);
+void printAmbiguous(EvalState & state, Value & v, std::ostream & str, std::set<const void *> * seen, size_t depth = 0);
 
 } // namespace nix
diff --git a/src/libexpr/print-ambiguous.cc b/src/libexpr/print-ambiguous.cc
index 8b80e2a66..cb1a1ef2d 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/print-ambiguous.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/print-ambiguous.cc
@@ -2,19 +2,17 @@
 #include "nix/expr/print.hh"
 #include "nix/util/signals.hh"
 #include "nix/expr/eval.hh"
+#include "nix/expr/eval-error.hh"
 
 namespace nix {
 
 // See: https://github.com/NixOS/nix/issues/9730
-void printAmbiguous(
-    Value & v, const SymbolTable & symbols, std::ostream & str, std::set<const void *> * seen, int depth)
+void printAmbiguous(EvalState & state, Value & v, std::ostream & str, std::set<const void *> * seen, size_t depth)
 {
     checkInterrupt();
 
-    if (depth <= 0) {
-        str << "«too deep»";
-        return;
-    }
+    if (depth > state.settings.maxCallDepth)
+        state.error<StackOverflowError>().atPos(v.determinePos(noPos)).debugThrow();
     switch (v.type()) {
     case nInt:
         str << v.integer();
@@ -36,9 +34,9 @@ void printAmbiguous(
             str << "«repeated»";
         else {
             str << "{ ";
-            for (auto & i : v.attrs()->lexicographicOrder(symbols)) {
-                str << symbols[i->name] << " = ";
-                printAmbiguous(*i->value, symbols, str, seen, depth - 1);
+            for (auto & i : v.attrs()->lexicographicOrder(state.symbols)) {
+                str << state.symbols[i->name] << " = ";
+                printAmbiguous(state, *i->value, str, seen, depth + 1);
                 str << "; ";
             }
             str << "}";
@@ -54,7 +52,7 @@ void printAmbiguous(
             str << "[ ";
             for (auto v2 : v.listView()) {
                 if (v2)
-                    printAmbiguous(*v2, symbols, str, seen, depth - 1);
+                    printAmbiguous(state, *v2, str, seen, depth + 1);
                 else
                     str << "(nullptr)";
                 str << " ";
diff --git a/src/nix/nix-env/user-env.cc b/src/nix/nix-env/user-env.cc
index 21fdf25bc..6275e37a2 100644
--- a/src/nix/nix-env/user-env.cc
+++ b/src/nix/nix-env/user-env.cc
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ bool createUserEnv(
        environment. */
     auto manifestFile = ({
         std::ostringstream str;
-        printAmbiguous(manifest, state.symbols, str, nullptr, std::numeric_limits<int>::max());
+        printAmbiguous(state, manifest, str, nullptr);
         StringSource source{str.view()};
         state.store->addToStoreFromDump(
             source,
diff --git a/src/nix/nix-instantiate/nix-instantiate.cc b/src/nix/nix-instantiate/nix-instantiate.cc
index 3d5c3e26a..e6d7c9186 100644
--- a/src/nix/nix-instantiate/nix-instantiate.cc
+++ b/src/nix/nix-instantiate/nix-instantiate.cc
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ void processExpr(
                 if (strict)
                     state.forceValueDeep(vRes);
                 std::set<const void *> seen;
-                printAmbiguous(vRes, state.symbols, std::cout, &seen, std::numeric_limits<int>::max());
+                printAmbiguous(state, vRes, std::cout, &seen);
                 std::cout << std::endl;
             }
         } else {
diff --git a/tests/functional/simple.sh b/tests/functional/simple.sh
index 52304b509..f6507d741 100755
--- a/tests/functional/simple.sh
+++ b/tests/functional/simple.sh
@@ -46,3 +46,13 @@ expectStderr 1 nix-instantiate --expr 'let x = { recurseForDerivations = true; m
 echo 'let f = n: { type = "derivation"; name = "test"; system = "x86_64-linux"; meta.nested = f (n + 1); }; in { pkg = f 0; }' > "$TEST_ROOT/deep-meta.nix"
 expectStderr 1 nix-env -qa -f "$TEST_ROOT/deep-meta.nix" --json --meta \
   | grepQuiet "stack overflow; max-call-depth exceeded"
+
+# Test that nix-instantiate --eval on a pre-forced deep structure (built with
+# foldl' to avoid thunks) produces a controlled stack overflow error rather than
+# a segfault when printAmbiguous traverses the structure.
+# Note: Without the fix, this test may pass if the system stack is large enough.
+# The fix ensures we get a controlled error at max-call-depth (default 10000)
+# rather than relying on the system stack limit.
+# shellcheck disable=SC2016
+expectStderr 1 nix-instantiate --eval --expr 'builtins.foldl'\'' (acc: _: { inner = acc; }) null (builtins.genList (x: x) 20000)' \
+  | grepQuiet "stack overflow; max-call-depth exceeded"