diff --git a/src/uu/cp/src/platform/macos.rs b/src/uu/cp/src/platform/macos.rs
index 20b38edfd6..0c7be8ea61 100644
--- a/src/uu/cp/src/platform/macos.rs
+++ b/src/uu/cp/src/platform/macos.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ use std::fs::{self, File, OpenOptions};
 use std::os::unix::ffi::OsStrExt;
 use std::os::unix::fs::OpenOptionsExt;
 use std::path::Path;
+use std::time::SystemTime;
 
 use uucore::buf_copy;
 use uucore::display::Quotable;
@@ -99,6 +100,18 @@ pub(crate) fn copy_on_write(
         }
     }
 
+    if attempt_clone && error == 0 {
+        // clonefile(2) copies the source's metadata, mtime included, where a plain copy leaves the
+        // destination with its own. Unconditional is safe: -p restores the source's afterwards in
+        // copy_attributes.
+        let now = SystemTime::now();
+        let times = fs::FileTimes::new().set_accessed(now).set_modified(now);
+
+        if let Err(e) = File::open(dest).and_then(|f| f.set_times(times)) {
+            return Err(CpError::IoErrContext(e, context.to_owned()));
+        }
+    }
+
     if !attempt_clone || error != 0 {
         // clonefile(2) is either not supported or it errored out (possibly because the FS does not
         // support COW).
diff --git a/tests/by-util/test_cp.rs b/tests/by-util/test_cp.rs
index 2342d4c667..781760cb91 100644
--- a/tests/by-util/test_cp.rs
+++ b/tests/by-util/test_cp.rs
@@ -2818,6 +2818,70 @@ fn test_cp_reflink_never_does_not_clonefile() {
     );
 }
 
+// The sibling of the test above, for the default path. `--reflink=auto` still calls clonefile(2),
+// which copies the source's metadata including mtime — where a copy gets its own mtime on every
+// other platform, and where GNU cp on macOS clones the very same file (`--debug` reports
+// `reflink: yes`) and still stamps the destination. So a default copy must not inherit the
+// source's old mtime either.
+#[test]
+#[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
+fn test_cp_default_does_not_inherit_mtime_from_clone() {
+    let (at, mut ucmd) = at_and_ucmd!();
+    at.write("src", "default clone contents");
+    // Stamp the source well into the past; a clonefile copies it verbatim.
+    let past = std::time::SystemTime::UNIX_EPOCH + Duration::from_secs(1_000_000_000); // 2001-09-09
+    let file = std::fs::OpenOptions::new()
+        .write(true)
+        .open(at.plus("src"))
+        .unwrap();
+    file.set_times(
+        std::fs::FileTimes::new()
+            .set_accessed(past)
+            .set_modified(past),
+    )
+    .unwrap();
+
+    ucmd.arg("src").arg("dst").succeeds();
+
+    assert_eq!(at.read("dst"), "default clone contents");
+    let src_mtime = at.metadata("src").modified().unwrap();
+    let dst_mtime = at.metadata("dst").modified().unwrap();
+    assert_ne!(
+        dst_mtime, src_mtime,
+        "a default copy must not inherit the source's mtime, even when clonefile(2) is used"
+    );
+}
+
+// The other direction, and the reason the fix above can stamp unconditionally: `-p` asks for the
+// source's timestamps, and copy_attributes restores them after the clone. Without this, a fix that
+// freshened every clone would silently break preservation.
+#[test]
+#[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
+fn test_cp_preserve_timestamps_survives_clone() {
+    let (at, mut ucmd) = at_and_ucmd!();
+    at.write("src", "preserved clone contents");
+    let past = std::time::SystemTime::UNIX_EPOCH + Duration::from_secs(1_000_000_000); // 2001-09-09
+    let file = std::fs::OpenOptions::new()
+        .write(true)
+        .open(at.plus("src"))
+        .unwrap();
+    file.set_times(
+        std::fs::FileTimes::new()
+            .set_accessed(past)
+            .set_modified(past),
+    )
+    .unwrap();
+
+    ucmd.arg("-p").arg("src").arg("dst").succeeds();
+
+    let src_mtime = at.metadata("src").modified().unwrap();
+    let dst_mtime = at.metadata("dst").modified().unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(
+        dst_mtime, src_mtime,
+        "-p must still preserve the source's mtime across a clonefile(2) copy"
+    );
+}
+
 #[test]
 #[cfg(any(target_os = "linux", target_os = "android", target_os = "macos"))]
 fn test_cp_reflink_bad() {