diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/shell_escape_full_path_for_rsync.yml b/changelogs/fragments/shell_escape_full_path_for_rsync.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d37bee7fa8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/shell_escape_full_path_for_rsync.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+bugfixes:
+  - Fix for whitespace in source full path causing error ```code 23) at main.c(1330) [sender=3.2.3]``` (https://github.com/ansible-collections/ansible.posix/pull/278)
diff --git a/plugins/modules/synchronize.py b/plugins/modules/synchronize.py
index 5f63dd4860..86cf360d43 100644
--- a/plugins/modules/synchronize.py
+++ b/plugins/modules/synchronize.py
@@ -587,8 +587,8 @@ def main():
     if '@' not in dest:
         dest = os.path.expanduser(dest)
 
-    cmd.append(source)
-    cmd.append(dest)
+    cmd.append(shlex_quote(source))
+    cmd.append(shlex_quote(dest))
     cmdstr = ' '.join(cmd)
 
     # If we are using password authentication, write the password into the pipe
diff --git a/tests/integration/targets/synchronize/tasks/main.yml b/tests/integration/targets/synchronize/tasks/main.yml
index 8df2c75d6c..125a406f3b 100644
--- a/tests/integration/targets/synchronize/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/tests/integration/targets/synchronize/tasks/main.yml
@@ -265,3 +265,46 @@
   - directory_a/foo.txt
   - directory_a
   - directory_b
+
+- name: setup - test for source with working dir with spaces in path
+  file:
+    state: directory
+    path: '{{output_dir}}/{{item}}'
+  delegate_to: '{{ inventory_hostname }}'
+  with_items:
+    - 'directory a'
+    - 'directory b'
+- name: setup - create test new files
+  copy:
+    dest: '{{output_dir}}/directory a/{{item}}'
+    mode: '0644'
+    content: 'hello world'
+  with_items:
+    - foo.txt
+  delegate_to: '{{ inventory_hostname }}'
+- name: copy source with spaces in dir path
+  synchronize:
+    src: '{{output_dir}}/directory a/foo.txt'
+    dest: '{{output_dir}}/directory b/'
+  delegate_to: '{{ inventory_hostname }}'
+  register: sync_result
+  ignore_errors: true
+- name: get stat information for directory_b
+  stat:
+    path: '{{ output_dir }}/directory b/foo.txt'
+  register: stat_result_b
+- assert:
+    that:
+      - '''changed'' in sync_result'
+      - sync_result.changed == true
+      - stat_result_b.stat.exists == True
+      - stat_result_b.stat.checksum == '2aae6c35c94fcfb415dbe95f408b9ce91ee846ed'
+- name: Cleanup
+  file:
+    state: absent
+    path: '{{output_dir}}/{{item}}'
+  with_items:
+    - 'directory b/foo.txt'
+    - 'directory a/foo.txt'
+    - 'directory a'
+    - 'directory b'