diff --git a/readthedocs/doc_builder/backends/sphinx.py b/readthedocs/doc_builder/backends/sphinx.py
index d4e8bdd692a..0efb7c33fc0 100644
--- a/readthedocs/doc_builder/backends/sphinx.py
+++ b/readthedocs/doc_builder/backends/sphinx.py
@@ -242,16 +242,17 @@ def venv_sphinx_version(self):
         In this case, the output will be ``2.0.0``.
         """
 
-
         command = [
             self.python_env.venv_bin(filename='python'),
             '-c'
-            '"import sphinx;print(sphinx.__version__)"',
+            '"import sphinx; print(sphinx.__version__)"',
         ]
+
         cmd_ret = self.run(
             *command,
-            cwd=self.project.checkout_path(self.version.slug),
             bin_path=self.python_env.venv_bin(),
+            cwd=self.project.checkout_path(self.version.slug),
+            escape_command=False,
         )
         return cmd_ret.output
 
diff --git a/readthedocs/doc_builder/environments.py b/readthedocs/doc_builder/environments.py
index cda73492dea..782a15f21f8 100644
--- a/readthedocs/doc_builder/environments.py
+++ b/readthedocs/doc_builder/environments.py
@@ -296,14 +296,20 @@ class DockerBuildCommand(BuildCommand):
     Build command to execute in docker container
     """
 
-    def run(self):
+    def __init__(self, *args, escape_command=True, **kwargs):
         """
-        Execute command in existing Docker container.
+        Override default to extend behavior.
 
-        :param cmd_input: input to pass to command in STDIN
-        :type cmd_input: str
-        :param combine_output: combine STDERR into STDOUT
+        :param escape_command: whether escape special chars the command before
+            executing it in the container. This should only be disabled on
+            trusted or internal commands.
+        :type escape_command: bool
         """
+        self.escape_command = escape_command
+        super(DockerBuildCommand, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)
+
+    def run(self):
+        """Execute command in existing Docker container."""
         log.info(
             "Running in container %s: '%s' [%s]",
             self.build_env.container_id,
@@ -352,13 +358,15 @@ def run(self):
 
     def get_wrapped_command(self):
         """
-        Escape special bash characters in command to wrap in shell.
+        Wrap command in a shell and optionally escape special bash characters.
 
         In order to set the current working path inside a docker container, we
-        need to wrap the command in a shell call manually. Some characters will
-        be interpreted as shell characters without escaping, such as: ``pip
-        install requests<0.8``. This escapes a good majority of those
-        characters.
+        need to wrap the command in a shell call manually.
+
+        Some characters will be interpreted as shell characters without
+        escaping, such as: ``pip install requests<0.8``. When passing
+        ``escape_command=True`` in the init method this escapes a good majority
+        of those characters.
         """
         bash_escape_re = re.compile(
             r"([\t\ \!\"\#\$\&\'\(\)\*\:\;\<\>\?\@"
@@ -367,16 +375,18 @@ def get_wrapped_command(self):
         prefix = ''
         if self.bin_path:
             prefix += 'PATH={}:$PATH '.format(self.bin_path)
+
+        command = (
+            ' '.join([
+                bash_escape_re.sub(r'\\\1', part) if self.escape_command else part
+                for part in self.command
+            ])
+        )
         return (
             "/bin/sh -c 'cd {cwd} && {prefix}{cmd}'".format(
                 cwd=self.cwd,
                 prefix=prefix,
-                cmd=(
-                    ' '.join([
-                        bash_escape_re.sub(r'\\\1', part)
-                        for part in self.command
-                    ])
-                ),
+                cmd=command,
             )
         )