diff --git a/layerindex/tasks.py b/layerindex/tasks.py
index 2ad376b..ae62b91 100644
--- a/layerindex/tasks.py
+++ b/layerindex/tasks.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ from . import utils
 import os
 import time
 import subprocess
+import shlex
 from datetime import datetime
 
 try:
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ def run_update_command(self, branch_name, update_command):
     shell = False
     if isinstance(update_command, str):
         update_command = update_command.replace('%update%', str(updateobj.id))
-        update_command = update_command.replace('%branch%', branch_name)
+        update_command = update_command.replace('%branch%', shlex.quote(branch_name))
         shell = True
     try:
         os.makedirs(settings.TASK_LOG_DIR)
diff --git a/layerindex/tools/import_otherdistro.py b/layerindex/tools/import_otherdistro.py
index 691a9c5..f33b824 100755
--- a/layerindex/tools/import_otherdistro.py
+++ b/layerindex/tools/import_otherdistro.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import glob
 import shutil
 import subprocess
 import string
+import shlex
 from distutils.version import LooseVersion
 
 sys.path.insert(0, os.path.realpath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..')))