diff --git a/internal/cbm/lsp/php_lsp.c b/internal/cbm/lsp/php_lsp.c
index 0fa2c025..04d98d01 100644
--- a/internal/cbm/lsp/php_lsp.c
+++ b/internal/cbm/lsp/php_lsp.c
@@ -3459,13 +3459,31 @@ static void flatten_trait_into_class(PHPLSPContext *ctx, CBMTypeRegistry *reg, c
         t = lookup_type_with_project(ctx, trait_qn);
     const char *canonical_trait_qn = t ? t->qualified_name : trait_qn;
 
+    /* A trait cannot meaningfully flatten into itself. PHP itself rejects
+     * `trait T { use T; }` ("Trait T cannot use itself"), and an aliased
+     * `use X as Y; use Y;` can resolve back onto the enclosing trait by short
+     * name. Without this guard the loop below copies the trait's own methods
+     * back onto it with receiver_type == canonical_trait_qn; because each copy
+     * then re-matches the loop's filter while cbm_registry_add_func() keeps
+     * growing reg->func_count, the iteration never terminates — it arena-
+     * allocates a fresh method every pass until the process exhausts all
+     * memory (observed: 40 GB+, freezing the host). See regression test
+     * phplsp_trait_self_use_terminates. */
+    if (strcmp(class_qn, canonical_trait_qn) == 0)
+        return;
+
     /* Iterate registry funcs whose receiver_type is the trait.
      *
      * Self-substitution: when the trait's method has a return type that
      * names the trait itself (e.g. `tap(): self` registered as
      * NAMED(trait_qn)), rewrite it to NAMED(using_class_qn) so chains
-     * like `$c->tap()->classMethod()` resolve correctly. */
-    for (int i = 0; i < reg->func_count; i++) {
+     * like `$c->tap()->classMethod()` resolve correctly.
+     *
+     * Snapshot the count before iterating: cbm_registry_add_func() below
+     * appends to reg->funcs, so the loop must never visit entries it adds
+     * during iteration (a mutate-while-iterating hazard). */
+    const int func_count_before = reg->func_count;
+    for (int i = 0; i < func_count_before; i++) {
         const CBMRegisteredFunc *src = &reg->funcs[i];
         if (!src->receiver_type || strcmp(src->receiver_type, canonical_trait_qn) != 0) {
             continue;
diff --git a/tests/test_php_lsp.c b/tests/test_php_lsp.c
index 1558ae6b..44393f5c 100644
--- a/tests/test_php_lsp.c
+++ b/tests/test_php_lsp.c
@@ -543,6 +543,31 @@ TEST(phplsp_trait_method_flattened) {
     PASS();
 }
 
+/* ── 23b. Regression: a trait that uses itself must terminate ─────
+ *
+ * `trait T { use T; ... }` — directly, or via an alias that resolves back
+ * to T by short name (`use Other\T as A; use A;`) — previously sent
+ * flatten_trait_into_class() into an unbounded loop: each copied method
+ * re-matched the loop filter while cbm_registry_add_func() grew the
+ * registry, exhausting all memory (40 GB+, freezing the host). The fix
+ * short-circuits self-flattening and snapshots the loop bound. The
+ * assertion is simply that extraction returns: pre-fix this never
+ * completed, and under the ASan test build a regression would surface as
+ * an OOM/abort here rather than a silent hang. */
+TEST(phplsp_trait_self_use_terminates) {
+    const char *src =
+        "<?php\n"
+        "namespace App;\n"
+        "trait EnumTrait {\n"
+        "    use EnumTrait;\n"
+        "    public function getRandom(): int { return 1; }\n"
+        "}\n";
+    CBMFileResult *r = extract_php(src);
+    ASSERT(r);
+    cbm_free_result(r);
+    PASS();
+}
+
 /* ── 24. Match expression result type ──────────────────────────── */
 
 TEST(phplsp_match_result_type) {
@@ -5160,6 +5185,7 @@ SUITE(php_lsp) {
     RUN_TEST(phplsp_phpdoc_property_class_tag);
     RUN_TEST(phplsp_phpdoc_method_class_tag);
     RUN_TEST(phplsp_trait_method_flattened);
+    RUN_TEST(phplsp_trait_self_use_terminates);
     RUN_TEST(phplsp_match_result_type);
     RUN_TEST(phplsp_ternary_result_type);
     RUN_TEST(phplsp_method_chain_depth_three);