diff --git a/tests/unit/other.tcl b/tests/unit/other.tcl
index 225287aa3a..15c0d38136 100644
--- a/tests/unit/other.tcl
+++ b/tests/unit/other.tcl
@@ -568,7 +568,8 @@ if {$::verbose} {
 set tempFileId [open $tempFileName w]
 set group [dict get [file attributes $tempFileName] -group]
 if {$group != ""} {
-    start_server [list tags {"repl external:skip"} overrides [list unixsocketgroup $group unixsocketperm 744]] {
+    set escaped_group "\"[string map {"\\" "\\\\"} $group]\""
+    start_server [list tags {"repl external:skip"} overrides [list unixsocketgroup $escaped_group unixsocketperm 744]] {
         test {test unixsocket options are set correctly} {
             set socketpath [lindex [r config get unixsocket] 1]
             set attributes [file attributes $socketpath]