diff --git a/nixos/lib/test-driver/Machine.pm b/nixos/lib/test-driver/Machine.pm
index 85bc376f67f..30664406b26 100644
--- a/nixos/lib/test-driver/Machine.pm
+++ b/nixos/lib/test-driver/Machine.pm
@@ -607,7 +607,8 @@ sub waitForWindow {
 sub copyFileFromHost {
     my ($self, $from, $to) = @_;
     my $s = `cat $from` or die;
-    $self->mustSucceed("echo '$s' > $to"); # !!! escaping
+    $s =~ s/'/'\\''/g;
+    $self->mustSucceed("echo '$s' > $to");
 }