diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ff442ce..a9227e9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ Use the sudo resource to add or remove individual sudo entries using sudoers.d f
 Property            | Description                                                                                                                                                                                              | Example Value                            | Default Value
 ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | ---------------
 `filename`          | name of the `/etc/sudoers.d` file                                                                                                                                                                        | restart-tomcat                           | resource's name
-`commands`          | array of commands this sudoer can execute                                                                                                                                                                | ['/etc/init.d/tomcat restart']           | ['ALL']
+`commands`          | array of commands this sudoer can execute, they must contain a full path. Example: use `/usr/bin/tail` over `tail`                                                                                                                                                                | ['/etc/init.d/tomcat restart']           | ['ALL']
 `groups`            | group(s) to provide sudo privileges to. This accepts either an array or a comma separated list. Leading % on group names is optional. This property was named 'group' prior to the 5.1 cookbook release. | %admin,superadmin                        | []
 `nopasswd`          | allow running sudo without specifying a password sudo                                                                                                                                                    | true                                     | false
 `noexec`            | prevents commands from shelling out                                                                                                                                                                      | true                                     | false
diff --git a/resources/default.rb b/resources/default.rb
index aa1989f..791da5c 100644
--- a/resources/default.rb
+++ b/resources/default.rb
@@ -80,6 +80,24 @@ def platform_config_prefix
   end
 end
 
+# Validates if each element in an array starts with `/` or is in
+# ALL_CAPS. This is helpful for ensuring that the commands
+# passing into the sudoers resource as they need a full path or a
+# `Cmnd_Alias`. This should help people more easily catch issues
+# where the user requested `tail SOME_ARGS SOME_FILE` where they
+# need to use `/usr/bin/tail SOME_ARGS SOME_FILE`.
+# return [TrueClass, FalseClass]
+def validate_commands_path(commands)
+  commands.each do |command|
+    cmd = command.split(' ').first
+    if command.starts_with('/') || cmd.upcase == cmd
+      true
+    else
+      false
+    end
+  end
+end
+
 # Default action - install a single sudoer
 action :create do
   validate_properties
@@ -96,6 +114,10 @@ def platform_config_prefix
 
   Chef::Log.warn("#{new_resource.filename} will be rendered, but will not take effect because the #{new_resource.config_prefix}/sudoers config lacks the includedir directive that loads configs from #{new_resource.config_prefix}/sudoers.d/!") if ::File.readlines("#{new_resource.config_prefix}/sudoers").grep(/includedir/).empty?
 
+  if new_resource.commands && !validate_commands_path(new_resource.commands)
+    Chef::Log.fatal('To restrict sudoer commands you must use absolute paths. For example to use `tail` you must specify `/usr/bin/tail` or whatever the appropriate path is for your system. This is becase someone could create a command called `tail` and put it in their path, sudo does not know which one to allow.')
+  end
+
   if new_resource.template
     Chef::Log.debug('Template property provided, all other properties ignored.')