diff --git a/CHANGES b/CHANGES
index 855dbf211e7..e630303e2a7 100644
--- a/CHANGES
+++ b/CHANGES
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@ Dependencies
 Incompatible changes
 --------------------
 
+* #6462: double backslashes in domain directives are no longer replaced by
+  single backslashes.
+
 Deprecated
 ----------
 
@@ -20,6 +23,7 @@ Bugs fixed
 * #1125: html theme: scrollbar is hard to see on classic theme and macOS
 * #5502: linkcheck: Consider HTTP 503 response as not an error
 * #6439: Make generated download links reproducible
+* #6462: keep backslahes in domain directives verbatim
 
 Testing
 --------
diff --git a/sphinx/directives/__init__.py b/sphinx/directives/__init__.py
index 13f48e82757..8ebf0b32718 100644
--- a/sphinx/directives/__init__.py
+++ b/sphinx/directives/__init__.py
@@ -92,8 +92,7 @@ def get_signatures(self) -> List[str]:
         Backslash-escaping of newlines is supported.
         """
         lines = nl_escape_re.sub('', self.arguments[0]).split('\n')
-        # remove backslashes to support (dummy) escapes; helps Vim highlighting
-        return [strip_backslash_re.sub(r'\1', line.strip()) for line in lines]
+        return [line.strip() for line in lines]
 
     def handle_signature(self, sig: str, signode: desc_signature) -> Any:
         """