diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/pep517-backend-traceback-fix.yml b/changelogs/fragments/pep517-backend-traceback-fix.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..cf779f9b465
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/pep517-backend-traceback-fix.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - pep517 build backend - Copy symlinks when copying the source tree.
+    This avoids tracebacks in various scenarios, such as when a venv is present in the source tree.
diff --git a/packaging/pep517_backend/_backend.py b/packaging/pep517_backend/_backend.py
index 633de63bffe..f7c9226655b 100644
--- a/packaging/pep517_backend/_backend.py
+++ b/packaging/pep517_backend/_backend.py
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ def build_sdist(  # noqa: WPS210, WPS430
     original_src_dir = Path.cwd().resolve()
     with _run_in_temporary_directory() as tmp_dir:
         tmp_src_dir = Path(tmp_dir) / 'src'
-        copytree(original_src_dir, tmp_src_dir)
+        copytree(original_src_dir, tmp_src_dir, symlinks=True)
         os.chdir(tmp_src_dir)
 
         if build_manpages_requested: