diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/ExecTask.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/ExecTask.java
index 92e7b461b..374b2c693 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/ExecTask.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/ExecTask.java
@@ -323,7 +323,7 @@ public class ExecTask extends Task {
             runExecute(exe);
         } catch (IOException e) {
             if (failIfExecFails) {
-                throw new BuildException("Execute failed: ",e, location);
+                throw new BuildException("Execute failed: "+e.toString(),e, location);
             } else {
                 log("Execute failed: "+e.toString(), Project.MSG_ERR);
             }