diff --git a/lib/puppet/provider/exec.rb b/lib/puppet/provider/exec.rb
index 2257077f3b5..34f2dabdbb4 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/provider/exec.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/provider/exec.rb
@@ -102,6 +102,6 @@ def extractexe(command)
   def validatecmd(command)
     exe = extractexe(command)
     # if we're not fully qualified, require a path
-    self.fail _("'%{exe}' is not qualified and no path was specified. Please qualify the command or specify a path.") % { exe: exe } if !absolute_path?(exe) and resource[:path].nil?
+    self.fail _("'%{exe}' is not qualified and no path was specified. Please qualify the command or specify a path.") % { exe: exe } if !absolute_path?(exe) && (resource[:path].nil? || resource[:path].empty?)
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/exec.rb b/lib/puppet/type/exec.rb
index 57c99416f94..6d5ae668daf 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/exec.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/exec.rb
@@ -223,7 +223,9 @@ def sync
     newparam(:path) do
       desc "The search path used for command execution.
         Commands must be fully qualified if no path is specified.  Paths
-        can be specified as an array or as a '#{File::PATH_SEPARATOR}' separated list."
+        can be specified as an array or as a '#{File::PATH_SEPARATOR}' separated list. Defaults to the `path` fact."
+
+      defaultto Puppet.runtime[:facter].value('path')
 
       # Support both arrays and colon-separated fields.
       def value=(*values)
diff --git a/spec/unit/provider/exec/posix_spec.rb b/spec/unit/provider/exec/posix_spec.rb
index 857b4d8adcf..5bcc28ff354 100644
--- a/spec/unit/provider/exec/posix_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/unit/provider/exec/posix_spec.rb
@@ -16,10 +16,7 @@ def make_exe
 
   describe "#validatecmd" do
     it "should fail if no path is specified and the command is not fully qualified" do
-      expect { provider.validatecmd("foo") }.to raise_error(
-        Puppet::Error,
-        "'foo' is not qualified and no path was specified. Please qualify the command or specify a path."
-      )
+      expect(provider.validatecmd('foo')).to eq(nil)
     end
 
     it "should pass if a path is given" do
diff --git a/spec/unit/provider/exec/windows_spec.rb b/spec/unit/provider/exec/windows_spec.rb
index 9b7168dfe6e..9ae14779853 100644
--- a/spec/unit/provider/exec/windows_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/unit/provider/exec/windows_spec.rb
@@ -88,8 +88,8 @@
   end
 
   describe "#validatecmd" do
-    it "should fail if the command isn't absolute and there is no path" do
-      expect { provider.validatecmd('foo') }.to raise_error(Puppet::Error, /'foo' is not qualified and no path was specified/)
+    it "should not fail if the command isn't absolute and there is no path" do
+      expect(provider.validatecmd('foo')).to eq(nil)
     end
 
     it "should not fail if the command is absolute and there is no path" do
diff --git a/spec/unit/provider/exec_spec.rb b/spec/unit/provider/exec_spec.rb
index 3c9a676f6bf..8e3ada32985 100644
--- a/spec/unit/provider/exec_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/unit/provider/exec_spec.rb
@@ -73,20 +73,6 @@ def echo_from_ruby_exit_1(message)
     end
 
     context "when validating the command" do
-      it "redacts the arguments if the command is relative" do
-        expect {
-          apply_compiled_manifest(<<-MANIFEST)
-            exec { 'echo':
-              command => Sensitive.new('echo #{supersecret}')
-            }
-          MANIFEST
-        }.to raise_error do |err|
-          expect(err).to be_a(Puppet::Error)
-          expect(err.message).to match(/'echo' is not qualified and no path was specified. Please qualify the command or specify a path./)
-          expect(err.message).to_not match(/#{supersecret}/)
-        end
-      end
-
       it "redacts the arguments if the command is a directory" do
         dir = tmpdir('exec')
         apply_compiled_manifest(<<-MANIFEST)
diff --git a/spec/unit/type/exec_spec.rb b/spec/unit/type/exec_spec.rb
index ebc6f48038a..06491b203f4 100644
--- a/spec/unit/type/exec_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/unit/type/exec_spec.rb
@@ -910,11 +910,6 @@ def instance(path)
     let :abs  do make_absolute('/bin/echo') end
     let :path do make_absolute('/bin') end
 
-    it "should fail with relative command and no path" do
-      expect { type.new(:command => rel) }.
-        to raise_error Puppet::Error, /no path was specified/
-    end
-
     it "should accept a relative command with a path" do
       expect(type.new(:command => rel, :path => path)).to be
     end