diff --git a/phpseclib/Net/SFTP.php b/phpseclib/Net/SFTP.php
index 1421ecb4..0e2663d1 100644
--- a/phpseclib/Net/SFTP.php
+++ b/phpseclib/Net/SFTP.php
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ class SFTP extends SSH2
      * Current working directory
      *
      * @var string
-     * @see self::_realpath()
+     * @see self::realpath()
      * @see self::chdir()
      * @access private
      */
@@ -236,6 +236,20 @@ class SFTP extends SSH2
      */
     var $sortOptions = array();
 
+    /**
+     * Canonicalization Flag
+     *
+     * Determines whether or not paths should be canonicalized before being
+     * passed on to the remote server.
+     *
+     * @see self::enablePathCanonicalization()
+     * @see self::disablePathCanonicalization()
+     * @see self::realpath()
+     * @var bool
+     * @access private
+     */
+    var $canonicalize_paths = true;
+
     /**
      * Default Constructor.
      *
@@ -575,6 +589,26 @@ class SFTP extends SSH2
         $this->stat_cache = array();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Enable path canonicalization
+     *
+     * @access public
+     */
+    function enablePathCanonicalization()
+    {
+        $this->canonicalize_paths = true;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Enable path canonicalization
+     *
+     * @access public
+     */
+    function disablePathCanonicalization()
+    {
+        $this->canonicalize_paths = false;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Returns the current directory name
      *
@@ -633,13 +667,20 @@ class SFTP extends SSH2
      * SFTP doesn't provide a mechanism by which the current working directory can be changed, so we'll emulate it.  Returns
      * the absolute (canonicalized) path.
      *
+     * If canonicalize_paths has been disabled using disablePathCanonicalization(), $path is returned as-is.
+     *
      * @see self::chdir()
+     * @see self::disablePathCanonicalization()
      * @param string $path
      * @return mixed
      * @access private
      */
     function _realpath($path)
     {
+        if (!$this->canonicalize_paths) {
+            return $path;
+        }
+
         if ($this->pwd === false) {
             // http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-secsh-filexfer-13#section-8.9
             if (!$this->_send_sftp_packet(NET_SFTP_REALPATH, pack('Na*', strlen($path), $path))) {
@@ -1294,7 +1335,7 @@ class SFTP extends SSH2
     /**
      * Returns general information about a file or symbolic link
      *
-     * Determines information without calling \phpseclib\Net\SFTP::_realpath().
+     * Determines information without calling \phpseclib\Net\SFTP::realpath().
      * The second parameter can be either NET_SFTP_STAT or NET_SFTP_LSTAT.
      *
      * @param string $filename
@@ -1455,7 +1496,7 @@ class SFTP extends SSH2
             return true;
         }
 
-        $filename = $this->_realPath($filename);
+        $filename = $this->realpath($filename);
         // rather than return what the permissions *should* be, we'll return what they actually are.  this will also
         // tell us if the file actually exists.
         // incidentally, SFTPv4+ adds an additional 32-bit integer field - flags - to the following: