diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/ni/nixos-rebuild-ng/src/nixos_rebuild/__init__.py b/pkgs/by-name/ni/nixos-rebuild-ng/src/nixos_rebuild/__init__.py
index 838b8913abb3..fb68b219c1f9 100644
--- a/pkgs/by-name/ni/nixos-rebuild-ng/src/nixos_rebuild/__init__.py
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/ni/nixos-rebuild-ng/src/nixos_rebuild/__init__.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import os
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 from subprocess import CalledProcessError, run
+from textwrap import dedent
 from typing import Final, assert_never
 
 from . import nix, tmpdir
@@ -329,6 +330,30 @@ def reexec(
                 os.execve(current, argv, os.environ | {"_NIXOS_REBUILD_REEXEC": "1"})
 
 
+def validate_nixos_config(path_to_config: Path) -> None:
+    if not (path_to_config / "nixos-version").exists() and not os.environ.get(
+        "NIXOS_REBUILD_I_UNDERSTAND_THE_CONSEQUENCES_PLEASE_BREAK_MY_SYSTEM"
+    ):
+        msg = dedent(
+            # the lowercase for the first letter below is proposital
+            f"""
+                your NixOS configuration path seems to be missing essential files.
+                To avoid corrupting your current NixOS installation, the activation will abort.
+
+                This could be caused by Nix bug: https://github.com/NixOS/nix/issues/13367.
+                This is the evaluated NixOS configuration path: {path_to_config}.
+                Change the directory to somewhere else (e.g., `cd $HOME`) before trying again.
+
+                If you think this is a mistake, you can set the environment variable
+                NIXOS_REBUILD_I_UNDERSTAND_THE_CONSEQUENCES_PLEASE_BREAK_MY_SYSTEM to 1
+                and re-run the command to continue.
+                Please open an issue if this is the case.
+            """
+        ).strip()
+        logger.error(msg)
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+
 def execute(argv: list[str]) -> None:
     args, args_groups = parse_args(argv)
 
@@ -488,6 +513,7 @@ def execute(argv: list[str]) -> None:
                     copy_flags=copy_flags,
                 )
                 if action in (Action.SWITCH, Action.BOOT):
+                    validate_nixos_config(path_to_config)
                     nix.set_profile(
                         profile,
                         path_to_config,
diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/ni/nixos-rebuild-ng/src/tests/test_main.py b/pkgs/by-name/ni/nixos-rebuild-ng/src/tests/test_main.py
index a66d70498c5f..345c8bd32f79 100644
--- a/pkgs/by-name/ni/nixos-rebuild-ng/src/tests/test_main.py
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/ni/nixos-rebuild-ng/src/tests/test_main.py
@@ -213,7 +213,11 @@ def test_reexec_flake(
     )
 
 
-@patch.dict(os.environ, {}, clear=True)
+@patch.dict(
+    os.environ,
+    {"NIXOS_REBUILD_I_UNDERSTAND_THE_CONSEQUENCES_PLEASE_BREAK_MY_SYSTEM": "1"},
+    clear=True,
+)
 @patch("subprocess.run", autospec=True)
 def test_execute_nix_boot(mock_run: Mock, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     nixpkgs_path = tmp_path / "nixpkgs"
@@ -291,7 +295,15 @@ def test_execute_nix_boot(mock_run: Mock, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
                     "boot",
                 ],
                 check=True,
-                **(DEFAULT_RUN_KWARGS | {"env": {"NIXOS_INSTALL_BOOTLOADER": "0"}}),
+                **(
+                    DEFAULT_RUN_KWARGS
+                    | {
+                        "env": {
+                            "NIXOS_INSTALL_BOOTLOADER": "0",
+                            "NIXOS_REBUILD_I_UNDERSTAND_THE_CONSEQUENCES_PLEASE_BREAK_MY_SYSTEM": "1",
+                        }
+                    }
+                ),
             ),
         ]
     )
@@ -421,7 +433,11 @@ def test_execute_nix_build_image_flake(mock_run: Mock, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     )
 
 
-@patch.dict(os.environ, {}, clear=True)
+@patch.dict(
+    os.environ,
+    {"NIXOS_REBUILD_I_UNDERSTAND_THE_CONSEQUENCES_PLEASE_BREAK_MY_SYSTEM": "1"},
+    clear=True,
+)
 @patch("subprocess.run", autospec=True)
 def test_execute_nix_switch_flake(mock_run: Mock, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     config_path = tmp_path / "test"
@@ -498,13 +514,25 @@ def test_execute_nix_switch_flake(mock_run: Mock, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
                     "switch",
                 ],
                 check=True,
-                **(DEFAULT_RUN_KWARGS | {"env": {"NIXOS_INSTALL_BOOTLOADER": "1"}}),
+                **(
+                    DEFAULT_RUN_KWARGS
+                    | {
+                        "env": {
+                            "NIXOS_INSTALL_BOOTLOADER": "1",
+                            "NIXOS_REBUILD_I_UNDERSTAND_THE_CONSEQUENCES_PLEASE_BREAK_MY_SYSTEM": "1",
+                        }
+                    }
+                ),
             ),
         ]
     )
 
 
-@patch.dict(os.environ, {}, clear=True)
+@patch.dict(
+    os.environ,
+    {"NIXOS_REBUILD_I_UNDERSTAND_THE_CONSEQUENCES_PLEASE_BREAK_MY_SYSTEM": "1"},
+    clear=True,
+)
 @patch("subprocess.run", autospec=True)
 @patch("uuid.uuid4", autospec=True)
 @patch(get_qualified_name(nr.cleanup_ssh), autospec=True)
@@ -714,7 +742,11 @@ def test_execute_nix_switch_build_target_host(
     )
 
 
-@patch.dict(os.environ, {}, clear=True)
+@patch.dict(
+    os.environ,
+    {"NIXOS_REBUILD_I_UNDERSTAND_THE_CONSEQUENCES_PLEASE_BREAK_MY_SYSTEM": "1"},
+    clear=True,
+)
 @patch("subprocess.run", autospec=True)
 @patch(get_qualified_name(nr.cleanup_ssh), autospec=True)
 def test_execute_nix_switch_flake_target_host(
@@ -817,7 +849,11 @@ def test_execute_nix_switch_flake_target_host(
     )
 
 
-@patch.dict(os.environ, {}, clear=True)
+@patch.dict(
+    os.environ,
+    {"NIXOS_REBUILD_I_UNDERSTAND_THE_CONSEQUENCES_PLEASE_BREAK_MY_SYSTEM": "1"},
+    clear=True,
+)
 @patch("subprocess.run", autospec=True)
 @patch(get_qualified_name(nr.cleanup_ssh), autospec=True)
 def test_execute_nix_switch_flake_build_host(