diff --git a/lib/ansible/vars/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/vars/__init__.py
index 7b0b51b35d..990f3660ee 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/vars/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/vars/__init__.py
@@ -243,7 +243,7 @@ class VariableManager:
 
         # the 'omit' value alows params to be left out if the variable they are based on is undefined
         all_vars['omit'] = self._omit_token
-        all_vars['vars'] = all_vars
+        all_vars['vars'] = all_vars.copy()
 
         #CACHED_VARS[cache_entry] = all_vars