diff --git a/Lib/test/support/os_helper.py b/Lib/test/support/os_helper.py
index ae016441fdb9a8..26c467a7ad2a85 100644
--- a/Lib/test/support/os_helper.py
+++ b/Lib/test/support/os_helper.py
@@ -630,7 +630,7 @@ def fd_count():
     """
     if sys.platform.startswith(('linux', 'android', 'freebsd', 'emscripten')):
         fd_path = "/proc/self/fd"
-    elif sys.platform == "darwin":
+    elif support.is_apple:
         fd_path = "/dev/fd"
     else:
         fd_path = None
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Tests/2025-04-23-02-23-37.gh-issue-109981.IX3k8p.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Tests/2025-04-23-02-23-37.gh-issue-109981.IX3k8p.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..175615258303bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Tests/2025-04-23-02-23-37.gh-issue-109981.IX3k8p.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+The test helper that counts the list of open file descriptors now uses the
+optimised ``/dev/fd`` approach on all Apple platforms, not just macOS.
+This avoids crashes caused by guarded file descriptors.