diff --git a/RSYNC_COMPAT.md b/RSYNC_COMPAT.md
index 4b236ec..24d3b43 100644
--- a/RSYNC_COMPAT.md
+++ b/RSYNC_COMPAT.md
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ This document maps rsync's full feature set to FastSync's current implementation
 | Max data/string/chunk sizes | Prevent OOM attacks | ✅ Implemented | Per-message limits |
 | Per-connection memory limit | 1GB per connection | ✅ Implemented | `MAX_CONNECTION_MEMORY` |
 | `--trust-sender` | Trust remote sender's file list | ❌ Not Implemented | |
-| `--old-args` | Disable modern arg protection | ❌ Not Implemented | |
+| `--old-args` | Disable modern arg protection | ✅ Implemented | SSH-only legacy mode; restores raw remote command construction and permits shell interpretation of the configured server path |
 | `--ignore-missing-args` | Ignore missing source args | ❌ Not Implemented | |
 | `--delete-missing-args` | Delete missing source args | ❌ Not Implemented | |
 
diff --git a/src/client/client_cli.c b/src/client/client_cli.c
index 191cc07..815b3f3 100644
--- a/src/client/client_cli.c
+++ b/src/client/client_cli.c
@@ -146,6 +146,7 @@ static const OptionEntry OPTION_TABLE[] = {
     {"--backup", NULL, OPT_FLAG, offsetof(Config, backup)},
     {"--stats", NULL, OPT_FLAG, offsetof(Config, stats)},
     {"--partial", NULL, OPT_FLAG, offsetof(Config, partial)},
+    {"--old-args", NULL, OPT_FLAG, offsetof(Config, old_args)},
     {"--links", "-l", OPT_FLAG, offsetof(Config, follow_symlinks)},
     {"--copy-links", NULL, OPT_FLAG, offsetof(Config, copy_links)},
     {"--safe-links", NULL, OPT_FLAG, offsetof(Config, safe_links)},
diff --git a/src/client/client_send.c b/src/client/client_send.c
index 0b4ca5c..4f103a4 100644
--- a/src/client/client_send.c
+++ b/src/client/client_send.c
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ static Client* connect_transfer_client(const Config* config) {
       return NULL;
     }
     return client_connect_ssh(config->ssh_destination, config->ssh_port,
-                              config->fastsync_server_path);
+                              config->fastsync_server_path, config->old_args);
   }
 
   Client* client = client_create();
diff --git a/src/client/usage.c b/src/client/usage.c
index 2f800af..f6f0d26 100644
--- a/src/client/usage.c
+++ b/src/client/usage.c
@@ -62,6 +62,8 @@ void print_usage(void) {
   printf("  --partial-dir <dir> Directory for partial files\n");
   printf("  --fastsync-server-path <path>\n");
   printf("                      Path to fastsync-server on remote (default: fastsync-server)\n");
+  printf(
+      "  --old-args          Disable safe SSH command argument quoting (legacy compatibility)\n");
   printf("  -l, --links         Copy symlinks as symlinks\n");
   printf("  --copy-links        Transform symlinks into referent files\n");
   printf("  --safe-links        Skip symlinks that point outside transfer tree\n");
diff --git a/src/shared/config.c b/src/shared/config.c
index efc2708..f250869 100644
--- a/src/shared/config.c
+++ b/src/shared/config.c
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ static void config_set_defaults(Config* config) {
   config->relative = false;
   config->rsh_command = NULL;
   config->rsync_path = NULL;
+  config->old_args = false;
   config->temp_dir = NULL;
   config->compare_dest = NULL;
   config->copy_dest = NULL;
diff --git a/src/shared/config.h b/src/shared/config.h
index 4a218b0..ed596b8 100644
--- a/src/shared/config.h
+++ b/src/shared/config.h
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ typedef struct Config {
   // Issue #130: Remote shell/connection options
   char* rsh_command;
   char* rsync_path;
+  bool old_args;
   char* temp_dir;
   char* compare_dest;
   char* copy_dest;
diff --git a/src/shared/transport_ssh.c b/src/shared/transport_ssh.c
index 4941526..8261191 100644
--- a/src/shared/transport_ssh.c
+++ b/src/shared/transport_ssh.c
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #include "utils.h"
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdint.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
 #include <sys/socket.h>
@@ -68,7 +69,52 @@ static int parse_remote_dest(const char* dest, RemoteDest* r) {
   return 0;
 }
 
-Client* client_connect_ssh(const char* destination, int port, const char* server_path) {
+char* ssh_build_remote_command(const char* server_path, bool old_args) {
+  const char* path = server_path ? server_path : "fastsync-server";
+  const char* suffix = " --stdio";
+  size_t path_len = strlen(path);
+  size_t suffix_len = strlen(suffix);
+
+  if (old_args) {
+    if (path_len > SIZE_MAX - suffix_len - 1)
+      return NULL;
+    char* command = malloc(path_len + suffix_len + 1);
+    if (!command)
+      return NULL;
+    memcpy(command, path, path_len);
+    memcpy(command + path_len, suffix, suffix_len + 1);
+    return command;
+  }
+
+  /* Quote the executable as one remote-shell word. This is the default safety boundary. */
+  size_t quote_count = 0;
+  for (const char* p = path; *p; p++)
+    if (*p == '\'')
+      quote_count++;
+  if (path_len > SIZE_MAX - suffix_len - 4 ||
+      quote_count > (SIZE_MAX - path_len - suffix_len - 4) / 4)
+    return NULL;
+  size_t command_len = path_len + quote_count * 4 + suffix_len + 4;
+  char* command = malloc(command_len + 1);
+  if (!command)
+    return NULL;
+  char* out = command;
+  *out++ = '\'';
+  for (const char* p = path; *p; p++) {
+    if (*p == '\'') {
+      memcpy(out, "'\\''", 4);
+      out += 4;
+    } else {
+      *out++ = *p;
+    }
+  }
+  *out++ = '\'';
+  memcpy(out, suffix, suffix_len + 1);
+  return command;
+}
+
+Client* client_connect_ssh(const char* destination, int port, const char* server_path,
+                           bool old_args) {
   RemoteDest r;
   if (parse_remote_dest(destination, &r) != 0) {
     fprintf(stderr, "Invalid remote destination: %s\n", destination);
@@ -135,6 +181,9 @@ Client* client_connect_ssh(const char* destination, int port, const char* server
     char* ssh_argv[16];
     int ac = 0;
     char port_str[16];
+    char* remote_command = ssh_build_remote_command(server_path, old_args);
+    if (!remote_command)
+      _exit(1);
     ssh_argv[ac++] = "ssh";
     ssh_argv[ac++] = "-o";
     ssh_argv[ac++] = "Compression=no";
@@ -148,8 +197,7 @@ Client* client_connect_ssh(const char* destination, int port, const char* server
       ssh_argv[ac++] = port_str;
     }
     ssh_argv[ac++] = ssh_user;
-    ssh_argv[ac++] = (char*)(server_path ? server_path : "fastsync-server");
-    ssh_argv[ac++] = "--stdio";
+    ssh_argv[ac++] = remote_command;
     ssh_argv[ac] = NULL;
     execvp("ssh", ssh_argv);
     log_perror("exec of ssh failed");
diff --git a/src/shared/transport_ssh.h b/src/shared/transport_ssh.h
index 315f37d..e46c687 100644
--- a/src/shared/transport_ssh.h
+++ b/src/shared/transport_ssh.h
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 
 #include "transport_tcp.h"
 
-Client* client_connect_ssh(const char* destination, int port, const char* server_path);
+Client* client_connect_ssh(const char* destination, int port, const char* server_path,
+                           bool old_args);
+char* ssh_build_remote_command(const char* server_path, bool old_args);
 
 #endif
diff --git a/tests/test_client_cli.c b/tests/test_client_cli.c
index 656fd40..de0c16e 100644
--- a/tests/test_client_cli.c
+++ b/tests/test_client_cli.c
@@ -339,6 +339,17 @@ static void test_parse_args_archive() {
   config_delete(cfg);
 }
 
+static void test_parse_args_old_args() {
+  Config* cfg = config_create();
+  char* argv[] = {"fastsync", "--old-args", "/src", "/dst"};
+  int positional_args[2];
+  int positional_count = 0;
+
+  EXPECT_EQ_INT(parse_args(cfg, 4, argv, positional_args, &positional_count), 0);
+  EXPECT_TRUE(cfg->old_args);
+  config_delete(cfg);
+}
+
 void test_client_cli() {
   test_validate_config_required_paths();
   test_validate_config_incompatible_options();
@@ -360,4 +371,5 @@ void test_client_cli() {
   test_parse_args_unknown_option();
   test_parse_args_rejects_unimplemented_options();
   test_parse_args_archive();
+  test_parse_args_old_args();
 }
diff --git a/tests/test_transport_ssh.c b/tests/test_transport_ssh.c
index e085cbb..bb83cd9 100644
--- a/tests/test_transport_ssh.c
+++ b/tests/test_transport_ssh.c
@@ -4,13 +4,13 @@
 
 static void test_ssh_connect_invalid_dest_no_colon() {
   /* cppcheck-suppress constVariablePointer */
-  Client* client = client_connect_ssh("invalid-destination-no-colon", 22, NULL);
+  Client* client = client_connect_ssh("invalid-destination-no-colon", 22, NULL, false);
   EXPECT_NULL(client);
 }
 
 static void test_ssh_connect_invalid_dest_empty() {
   /* cppcheck-suppress constVariablePointer */
-  Client* client = client_connect_ssh("", 22, NULL);
+  Client* client = client_connect_ssh("", 22, NULL, false);
   EXPECT_NULL(client);
 }
 
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ static void test_ssh_connect_invalid_dest_empty() {
  * parse_remote_dest succeeds, ssh is exec'd and fails, but the function
  * creates a Client that must be cleaned up. */
 static void test_ssh_connect_malformed() {
-  Client* client = client_connect_ssh(":", 22, NULL);
+  Client* client = client_connect_ssh(":", 22, NULL, false);
   /* ssh binary exists, so exec succeeds; the function returns a Client.
    * We just verify it doesn't crash and clean up properly. */
   if (client != NULL) {
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ static void test_ssh_connect_malformed() {
 /* Test client_connect_ssh with valid format but unreachable host.
  * The function launches ssh which will fail to connect, returns a Client. */
 static void test_ssh_connect_unreachable() {
-  Client* client = client_connect_ssh("nonexistent.invalid:/remote/path", 22, NULL);
+  Client* client = client_connect_ssh("nonexistent.invalid:/remote/path", 22, NULL, false);
   if (client != NULL) {
     client_disconnect(client);
     client_delete(client);
@@ -39,9 +39,24 @@ static void test_ssh_connect_unreachable() {
   EXPECT_TRUE(true);
 }
 
+static void test_ssh_remote_command_argument_modes() {
+  char* command = ssh_build_remote_command("fast sync; touch /tmp/pwned", false);
+  EXPECT_EQ_STR(command, "'fast sync; touch /tmp/pwned' --stdio");
+  free(command);
+
+  command = ssh_build_remote_command("fast'sync", false);
+  EXPECT_EQ_STR(command, "'fast'\\''sync' --stdio");
+  free(command);
+
+  command = ssh_build_remote_command("fast sync; touch /tmp/pwned", true);
+  EXPECT_EQ_STR(command, "fast sync; touch /tmp/pwned --stdio");
+  free(command);
+}
+
 void test_transport_ssh() {
   test_ssh_connect_invalid_dest_no_colon();
   test_ssh_connect_invalid_dest_empty();
   test_ssh_connect_malformed();
   test_ssh_connect_unreachable();
+  test_ssh_remote_command_argument_modes();
 }