diff --git a/load.c b/load.c
index 50cc549b2e6..f1f85597642 100644
--- a/load.c
+++ b/load.c
@@ -395,8 +395,11 @@ get_loaded_features_index(const rb_box_t *box)
                 rb_ary_store(features, i, as_str);
             features_index_add(box, as_str, INT2FIX(i));
         }
-        /* The user modified $LOADED_FEATURES, so we should restore the changes. */
-        if (!rb_ary_shared_with_p(features, box->loaded_features)) {
+        /* The user modified $LOADED_FEATURES, so we should restore the changes.
+         * A frozen array is never shared, so this check always fires for one.
+         * Let rb_provide_feature() report the freeze instead. */
+        if (!OBJ_FROZEN(box->loaded_features) &&
+            !rb_ary_shared_with_p(features, box->loaded_features)) {
             rb_ary_replace(box->loaded_features, features);
         }
         reset_loaded_features_snapshot(box);
diff --git a/test/ruby/test_require.rb b/test/ruby/test_require.rb
index 9456dadbcb7..80c66d11fb7 100644
--- a/test/ruby/test_require.rb
+++ b/test/ruby/test_require.rb
@@ -537,6 +537,11 @@ class TestRequire < Test::Unit::TestCase
                       bug3756)
   end
 
+  def test_frozen_loaded_features_while_rebuilding_index
+    assert_in_out_err(['-e', '$LOADED_FEATURES << "dummy.rb"; $LOADED_FEATURES.freeze; require "erb"'], "",
+                      [], /\$LOADED_FEATURES is frozen; cannot append feature \(RuntimeError\)$/)
+  end
+
   def test_race_exception
     bug5754 = '[ruby-core:41618]'
     path = nil