diff --git a/pkgs/applications/virtualization/virtualbox/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/virtualization/virtualbox/default.nix
index 1c5063fc034..ba01d8c4d41 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/virtualization/virtualbox/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/virtualization/virtualbox/default.nix
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ in stdenv.mkDerivation {
     mkdir -p $out/share/icons/hicolor
     for size in `ls -1 $libexec/icons`; do
       mkdir -p $out/share/icons/hicolor/$size/apps
-      cp $libexec/icons/$size/*.png $out/share/icons/hicolor/$size/apps
+      ln -s $libexec/icons/$size/*.png $out/share/icons/hicolor/$size/apps
     done
   '';