--TEST-- Bug #72543 (different references behavior comparing to PHP 5) --FILE-- $value) { create_references($array[$key]); } } function change_copy($copy) { $copy['b']['z']['z'] = $copy['b']; } $data = [ 'a' => [ 'b' => [], ], ]; create_references($data); $copy = $data['a']; var_dump($copy); change_copy($copy); var_dump($copy); //RECURSION ?> --EXPECT-- array(1) { ["b"]=> array(0) { } } array(1) { ["b"]=> array(0) { } }