diff --git a/tests/checks/exec.fish b/tests/checks/exec.fish
index 6868f1dbd..0df771f35 100644
--- a/tests/checks/exec.fish
+++ b/tests/checks/exec.fish
@@ -12,7 +12,9 @@ echo "neg failed: $status"
 #CHECK: neg failed: 0
 
 # See that variable overrides are applied to exec'd processes
-$fish --no-config -c 'foo=bar exec env' | grep foo=bar
+# Match the entire line because github actions passes commit messages in the environment,
+# so any message that includes "foo=bar" would also be matched.
+$fish --no-config -c 'foo=bar exec env' | grep '^foo=bar$'
 # CHECK: foo=bar
 
 # This needs to be last, because it actually runs exec.