diff --git a/lib/ansible/runner/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/runner/__init__.py
index 803fca68788..6aa4e78ccc7 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/runner/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/runner/__init__.py
@@ -441,7 +441,7 @@ class Runner(object):
     def _low_level_exec_command(self, conn, cmd, tmp, sudoable=False, executable=None):
         ''' execute a command string over SSH, return the output '''
 
-        if not executable:
+        if executable is None:
             executable = '/bin/sh'
 
         sudo_user = self.sudo_user
diff --git a/lib/ansible/runner/action_plugins/raw.py b/lib/ansible/runner/action_plugins/raw.py
index f1e8c65064b..88040f2648d 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/runner/action_plugins/raw.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/runner/action_plugins/raw.py
@@ -15,16 +15,11 @@
 # You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 # along with Ansible.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 
-import os
-import pwd
-import random
-import traceback
-import tempfile
+import shlex
 
 import ansible.constants as C
 from ansible import utils
 from ansible import errors
-from ansible import module_common
 from ansible.runner.return_data import ReturnData
 
 class ActionModule(object):
@@ -36,12 +31,12 @@ class ActionModule(object):
     def run(self, conn, tmp, module_name, module_args, inject):
         executable = None
         args = []
-        for arg in module_args.split(' '):
+        for arg in shlex.split(module_args.encode("utf-8")):
             if arg.startswith('executable='):
-                executable = '='.join(arg.split('=')[1:])
+                executable = arg.split('=', 1)[1]
             else:
                 args.append(arg)
-        module_args = ' '.join(args).encode('utf-8')
+        module_args = ' '.join(args)
 
         return ReturnData(conn=conn,
             result=self.runner._low_level_exec_command(conn, module_args, tmp, sudoable=True, executable=executable)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/runner/connection_plugins/paramiko_ssh.py b/lib/ansible/runner/connection_plugins/paramiko_ssh.py
index 84fb99e394a..cc7b4c7f15d 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/runner/connection_plugins/paramiko_ssh.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/runner/connection_plugins/paramiko_ssh.py
@@ -110,7 +110,10 @@ class Connection(object):
         chan.get_pty()
 
         if not self.runner.sudo or not sudoable:
-            quoted_command = executable + ' -c ' + pipes.quote(cmd)
+            if executable:
+                quoted_command = executable + ' -c ' + pipes.quote(cmd)
+            else:
+                quoted_command = cmd
             vvv("EXEC %s" % quoted_command, host=self.host)
             chan.exec_command(quoted_command)
         else:
@@ -123,8 +126,12 @@ class Connection(object):
             # the -p option.
             randbits = ''.join(chr(random.randint(ord('a'), ord('z'))) for x in xrange(32))
             prompt = '[sudo via ansible, key=%s] password: ' % randbits
-            sudocmd = 'sudo -k && sudo -p "%s" -u %s %s -c %s' % (
-                prompt, sudo_user, executable, pipes.quote(cmd))
+            sudocmd = 'sudo -k && sudo -p "%s" -u %s ' % (
+                prompt, sudo_user)
+            if executable:
+                sudocmd += "%s -c %s" % (executable, pipes.quote(cmd))
+            else:
+                sudocmd += cmd
             shcmd = '/bin/sh -c ' + pipes.quote(sudocmd)
             vvv("EXEC %s" % shcmd, host=self.host)
             sudo_output = ''
diff --git a/lib/ansible/runner/connection_plugins/ssh.py b/lib/ansible/runner/connection_plugins/ssh.py
index b8dc96245c7..a8ccc4de9c7 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/runner/connection_plugins/ssh.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/runner/connection_plugins/ssh.py
@@ -88,7 +88,10 @@ class Connection(object):
         ssh_cmd += ["ssh", "-tt", "-q"] + self.common_args + [self.host]
 
         if not self.runner.sudo or not sudoable:
-            ssh_cmd.append(executable + ' -c ' + pipes.quote(cmd))
+            if executable:
+                ssh_cmd.append(executable + ' -c ' + pipes.quote(cmd))
+            else:
+                ssh_cmd.append(cmd)
         else:
             # Rather than detect if sudo wants a password this time, -k makes
             # sudo always ask for a password if one is required.
@@ -99,8 +102,12 @@ class Connection(object):
             # the -p option.
             randbits = ''.join(chr(random.randint(ord('a'), ord('z'))) for x in xrange(32))
             prompt = '[sudo via ansible, key=%s] password: ' % randbits
-            sudocmd = 'sudo -k && sudo -p "%s" -u %s %s -c %s' % (
-                prompt, sudo_user, executable, pipes.quote(cmd))
+            sudocmd = 'sudo -k && sudo -p "%s" -u %s ' % (
+                prompt, sudo_user)
+            if executable:
+                sudocmd += "%s -c %s" % (executable, pipes.quote(cmd))
+            else:
+                sudocmd += cmd
             ssh_cmd.append('/bin/sh -c ' + pipes.quote(sudocmd))
 
         vvv("EXEC %s" % ssh_cmd, host=self.host)