PowerShell unexpectedly executes documents located in $env:PATH directories as commands

[mklement0]

See also: #12625

Steps to reproduce

# Create a text file in the temp dir and prepend 
# the temp dir to $env:PATH for this session.
'hi' > temp:/foo.txt
$env:PATH = (Convert-Path 'temp:/') + [io.path]::PathSeparator + $env:PATH

# Go to a directory *other* than where the file is located (and where no foo.txt file exists either).
Set-Location

# Invoke foo.txt by mere file name.
{ foo.txt } | Should -Throw

Expected behavior

The test should succeed, because the following error should be reported:

foo.txt: The term 'foo.txt' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.
Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.

Actual behavior

foo.txt opens in the system's default text editor, and the test fails:

Expected an exception, to be thrown, but no exception was thrown.

That is, foo.txt was unexpectedly looked for in the directories listed in $env:PATH, and then invoked as a document, as if it had been passed to Invoke-Item.

I don't think users expect to invoke documents by mere file name from $env:PATH locations - doing so isn't useful, and, conversely, users may end up operating on different files than they expect.

Note that, by contrast, Invoke-Item foo.txt commendably looks only in the current directory.

Environment data

PowerShell Core 7.1.0-preview.2

[microsoft-github-policy-service]

This issue has not had any activity in 6 months, if this is a bug please try to reproduce on the latest version of PowerShell and reopen a new issue and reference this issue if this is still a blocker for you.

[microsoft-github-policy-service]

This issue has not had any activity in 6 months, if this is a bug please try to reproduce on the latest version of PowerShell and reopen a new issue and reference this issue if this is still a blocker for you.

[microsoft-github-policy-service]

This issue has not had any activity in 6 months, if this is a bug please try to reproduce on the latest version of PowerShell and reopen a new issue and reference this issue if this is still a blocker for you.

[microsoft-github-policy-service]

This issue has been marked as "No Activity" as there has been no activity for 6 months. It has been closed for housekeeping purposes.