diff --git a/git/cmd.py b/git/cmd.py
index 576a5300a..579fbc83a 100644
--- a/git/cmd.py
+++ b/git/cmd.py
@@ -336,6 +336,7 @@ def execute(self, command,
 						stderr=PIPE,
 						stdout=PIPE,
 						close_fds=(os.name=='posix'),# unsupported on linux
+						shell=True,
 						**subprocess_kwargs
 						)
 		if as_process: