diff --git a/windows/exec_windows.go b/windows/exec_windows.go
index a020caee..7a11e83b 100644
--- a/windows/exec_windows.go
+++ b/windows/exec_windows.go
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ package windows
 import (
 	errorspkg "errors"
 	"unsafe"
+
+	"golang.org/x/sys/internal/unsafeheader"
 )
 
 // EscapeArg rewrites command line argument s as prescribed
@@ -135,8 +137,8 @@ func FullPath(name string) (path string, err error) {
 	}
 }
 
-// NewProcThreadAttributeList allocates a new ProcThreadAttributeList, with the requested maximum number of attributes.
-func NewProcThreadAttributeList(maxAttrCount uint32) (*ProcThreadAttributeList, error) {
+// NewProcThreadAttributeList allocates a new ProcThreadAttributeListContainer, with the requested maximum number of attributes.
+func NewProcThreadAttributeList(maxAttrCount uint32) (*ProcThreadAttributeListContainer, error) {
 	var size uintptr
 	err := initializeProcThreadAttributeList(nil, maxAttrCount, 0, &size)
 	if err != ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_BUFFER {
@@ -145,10 +147,9 @@ func NewProcThreadAttributeList(maxAttrCount uint32) (*ProcThreadAttributeList,
 		}
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	const psize = unsafe.Sizeof(uintptr(0))
 	// size is guaranteed to be ≥1 by InitializeProcThreadAttributeList.
-	al := (*ProcThreadAttributeList)(unsafe.Pointer(&make([]unsafe.Pointer, (size+psize-1)/psize)[0]))
-	err = initializeProcThreadAttributeList(al, maxAttrCount, 0, &size)
+	al := &ProcThreadAttributeListContainer{data: (*ProcThreadAttributeList)(unsafe.Pointer(&make([]byte, size)[0]))}
+	err = initializeProcThreadAttributeList(al.data, maxAttrCount, 0, &size)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -156,11 +157,39 @@ func NewProcThreadAttributeList(maxAttrCount uint32) (*ProcThreadAttributeList,
 }
 
 // Update modifies the ProcThreadAttributeList using UpdateProcThreadAttribute.
-func (al *ProcThreadAttributeList) Update(attribute uintptr, flags uint32, value unsafe.Pointer, size uintptr, prevValue unsafe.Pointer, returnedSize *uintptr) error {
-	return updateProcThreadAttribute(al, flags, attribute, value, size, prevValue, returnedSize)
+// Note that the value passed to this function will be copied into memory
+// allocated by LocalAlloc, the contents of which should not contain any
+// Go-managed pointers, even if the passed value itself is a Go-managed
+// pointer.
+func (al *ProcThreadAttributeListContainer) Update(attribute uintptr, value unsafe.Pointer, size uintptr) error {
+	alloc, err := LocalAlloc(LMEM_FIXED, uint32(size))
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	var src, dst []byte
+	hdr := (*unsafeheader.Slice)(unsafe.Pointer(&src))
+	hdr.Data = value
+	hdr.Cap = int(size)
+	hdr.Len = int(size)
+	hdr = (*unsafeheader.Slice)(unsafe.Pointer(&dst))
+	hdr.Data = unsafe.Pointer(alloc)
+	hdr.Cap = int(size)
+	hdr.Len = int(size)
+	copy(dst, src)
+	al.heapAllocations = append(al.heapAllocations, alloc)
+	return updateProcThreadAttribute(al.data, 0, attribute, unsafe.Pointer(alloc), size, nil, nil)
 }
 
 // Delete frees ProcThreadAttributeList's resources.
-func (al *ProcThreadAttributeList) Delete() {
-	deleteProcThreadAttributeList(al)
+func (al *ProcThreadAttributeListContainer) Delete() {
+	deleteProcThreadAttributeList(al.data)
+	for i := range al.heapAllocations {
+		LocalFree(Handle(al.heapAllocations[i]))
+	}
+	al.heapAllocations = nil
+}
+
+// List returns the actual ProcThreadAttributeList to be passed to StartupInfoEx.
+func (al *ProcThreadAttributeListContainer) List() *ProcThreadAttributeList {
+	return al.data
 }
diff --git a/windows/syscall_windows_test.go b/windows/syscall_windows_test.go
index d6571b71..0aaa0a33 100644
--- a/windows/syscall_windows_test.go
+++ b/windows/syscall_windows_test.go
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"syscall"
 	"testing"
-	"time"
 	"unsafe"
 
 	"golang.org/x/sys/windows"
@@ -506,39 +505,6 @@ func TestNTStatusConversion(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestProcThreadAttributeListPointers(t *testing.T) {
-	list, err := windows.NewProcThreadAttributeList(1)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Errorf("unable to create ProcThreadAttributeList: %v", err)
-	}
-	done := make(chan struct{})
-	fds := make([]syscall.Handle, 20)
-	runtime.SetFinalizer(&fds[0], func(*syscall.Handle) {
-		close(done)
-	})
-	err = list.Update(windows.PROC_THREAD_ATTRIBUTE_HANDLE_LIST, 0, unsafe.Pointer(&fds[0]), uintptr(len(fds))*unsafe.Sizeof(fds[0]), nil, nil)
-	if err != nil {
-		list.Delete()
-		t.Errorf("unable to update ProcThreadAttributeList: %v", err)
-		return
-	}
-	runtime.GC()
-	runtime.GC()
-	select {
-	case <-done:
-		t.Error("ProcThreadAttributeList was garbage collected unexpectedly")
-	default:
-	}
-	list.Delete()
-	runtime.GC()
-	runtime.GC()
-	select {
-	case <-done:
-	case <-time.After(time.Second):
-		t.Error("ProcThreadAttributeList was not garbage collected after a second")
-	}
-}
-
 func TestPEBFilePath(t *testing.T) {
 	peb := windows.RtlGetCurrentPeb()
 	if peb == nil || peb.Ldr == nil {
diff --git a/windows/types_windows.go b/windows/types_windows.go
index 23fe18ec..1f733398 100644
--- a/windows/types_windows.go
+++ b/windows/types_windows.go
@@ -909,14 +909,15 @@ type StartupInfoEx struct {
 
 // ProcThreadAttributeList is a placeholder type to represent a PROC_THREAD_ATTRIBUTE_LIST.
 //
-// To create a *ProcThreadAttributeList, use NewProcThreadAttributeList, and
-// free its memory using ProcThreadAttributeList.Delete.
-type ProcThreadAttributeList struct {
-	// This is of type unsafe.Pointer, not of type byte or uintptr, because
-	// the contents of it is mostly a list of pointers, and in most cases,
-	// that's a list of pointers to Go-allocated objects. In order to keep
-	// the GC from collecting these objects, we declare this as unsafe.Pointer.
-	_ [1]unsafe.Pointer
+// To create a *ProcThreadAttributeList, use NewProcThreadAttributeList, update
+// it with ProcThreadAttributeListContainer.Update, free its memory using
+// ProcThreadAttributeListContainer.Delete, and access the list itself using
+// ProcThreadAttributeListContainer.List.
+type ProcThreadAttributeList struct{}
+
+type ProcThreadAttributeListContainer struct {
+	data            *ProcThreadAttributeList
+	heapAllocations []uintptr
 }
 
 type ProcessInformation struct {