diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2411.section.md b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2411.section.md
index 4f773fccd23a1..0aaca05780a0b 100644
--- a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2411.section.md
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2411.section.md
@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@
   Users on old macOS versions should consider upgrading to a supported version (potentially using [OpenCore Legacy Patcher](https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher/) for old hardware) or installing NixOS.
   If neither of those options are viable and you require new versions of software, [MacPorts](https://www.macports.org/) supports back to Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.
 
+- This will be the last release of Nixpkgs to support versions of CUDA prior to CUDA 12.0.
+  These versions only work with old compiler versions that will be unsupported by the time of the Nixpkgs 25.05 release.
+  In future, users should expect CUDA versions to be dropped as the compiler versions they require leave upstream support windows.
+
 - Convenience options for `amdgpu`, open source driver for Radeon cards, is now available under `hardware.amdgpu`.
 
 - [AMDVLK](https://github.com/GPUOpen-Drivers/AMDVLK), AMD's open source Vulkan driver, is now available to be configured as `hardware.amdgpu.amdvlk` option.
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/cuda-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/cuda-packages.nix
index 639fa70446bee..bdd193db04264 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/cuda-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/cuda-packages.nix
@@ -123,4 +123,10 @@ let
     fixedPoints.extends composedExtension passthruFunction
   );
 in
-cudaPackages
+# We want to warn users about the upcoming deprecation of old CUDA
+# versions, without breaking Nixpkgs CI with evaluation warnings. This
+# gross hack ensures that the warning only triggers if aliases are
+# enabled, which is true by default, but not for ofborg.
+lib.warnIf (cudaPackages.cudaOlder "12.0" && config.allowAliases)
+  "CUDA versions older than 12.0 will be removed in Nixpkgs 25.05; see the 24.11 release notes for more information"
+  cudaPackages
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/pkg-config/tests.nix b/pkgs/top-level/pkg-config/tests.nix
index 786e2ecc534b8..dbf766a0cf267 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/pkg-config/tests.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/pkg-config/tests.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # cd nixpkgs
 # nix-build -A tests.pkg-config
-{ lib, stdenv, ... }:
+{ lib, config, stdenv, ... }:
 
 let
   # defaultPkgConfigPackages test needs a Nixpkgs with allowUnsupportedPlatform
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ let
   allPkgs = import ../default.nix {
     system = stdenv.hostPlatform.system;
     localSystem = stdenv.buildPlatform.system;
-    config = {
+    config = config // {
       allowUnsupportedSystem = true;
     };
     overlays = [];