diff --git a/lib/child_process.js b/lib/child_process.js
index 462decbd843..d6017d18ffe 100644
--- a/lib/child_process.js
+++ b/lib/child_process.js
@@ -608,7 +608,7 @@ function normalizeExecArgs(command /*, options, callback */) {
   }
 
   if (process.platform === 'win32') {
-    file = 'cmd.exe';
+    file = process.env.comspec || 'cmd.exe';
     args = ['/s', '/c', '"' + command + '"'];
     // Make a shallow copy before patching so we don't clobber the user's
     // options object.