diff --git a/src/cmd/go/internal/get/get.go b/src/cmd/go/internal/get/get.go
index e4148bceb0484..f4b969fcb22c6 100644
--- a/src/cmd/go/internal/get/get.go
+++ b/src/cmd/go/internal/get/get.go
@@ -402,6 +402,10 @@ func downloadPackage(p *load.Package) error {
 		security = web.Insecure
 	}
 
+	if err := CheckImportPath(p.ImportPath); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%s: invalid import path: %v", p.ImportPath, err)
+	}
+
 	if p.Internal.Build.SrcRoot != "" {
 		// Directory exists. Look for checkout along path to src.
 		vcs, rootPath, err = vcsFromDir(p.Dir, p.Internal.Build.SrcRoot)
diff --git a/src/cmd/go/internal/get/path.go b/src/cmd/go/internal/get/path.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..2920fc2085106
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cmd/go/internal/get/path.go
@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+// Copyright 2018 The Go Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+package get
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+	"unicode"
+	"unicode/utf8"
+)
+
+// The following functions are copied verbatim from cmd/go/internal/module/module.go.
+//
+// TODO(bcmills): After the call site for this function is backported,
+// consolidate this back down to a single copy.
+
+// CheckImportPath checks that an import path is valid.
+func CheckImportPath(path string) error {
+	if err := checkPath(path, false); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("malformed import path %q: %v", path, err)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// checkPath checks that a general path is valid.
+// It returns an error describing why but not mentioning path.
+// Because these checks apply to both module paths and import paths,
+// the caller is expected to add the "malformed ___ path %q: " prefix.
+// fileName indicates whether the final element of the path is a file name
+// (as opposed to a directory name).
+func checkPath(path string, fileName bool) error {
+	if !utf8.ValidString(path) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid UTF-8")
+	}
+	if path == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("empty string")
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(path, "..") {
+		return fmt.Errorf("double dot")
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(path, "//") {
+		return fmt.Errorf("double slash")
+	}
+	if path[len(path)-1] == '/' {
+		return fmt.Errorf("trailing slash")
+	}
+	elemStart := 0
+	for i, r := range path {
+		if r == '/' {
+			if err := checkElem(path[elemStart:i], fileName); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			elemStart = i + 1
+		}
+	}
+	if err := checkElem(path[elemStart:], fileName); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// checkElem checks whether an individual path element is valid.
+// fileName indicates whether the element is a file name (not a directory name).
+func checkElem(elem string, fileName bool) error {
+	if elem == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("empty path element")
+	}
+	if strings.Count(elem, ".") == len(elem) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid path element %q", elem)
+	}
+	if elem[0] == '.' && !fileName {
+		return fmt.Errorf("leading dot in path element")
+	}
+	if elem[len(elem)-1] == '.' {
+		return fmt.Errorf("trailing dot in path element")
+	}
+	charOK := pathOK
+	if fileName {
+		charOK = fileNameOK
+	}
+	for _, r := range elem {
+		if !charOK(r) {
+			return fmt.Errorf("invalid char %q", r)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Windows disallows a bunch of path elements, sadly.
+	// See https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/fileio/naming-a-file
+	short := elem
+	if i := strings.Index(short, "."); i >= 0 {
+		short = short[:i]
+	}
+	for _, bad := range badWindowsNames {
+		if strings.EqualFold(bad, short) {
+			return fmt.Errorf("disallowed path element %q", elem)
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// pathOK reports whether r can appear in an import path element.
+// Paths can be ASCII letters, ASCII digits, and limited ASCII punctuation: + - . _ and ~.
+// This matches what "go get" has historically recognized in import paths.
+// TODO(rsc): We would like to allow Unicode letters, but that requires additional
+// care in the safe encoding (see note below).
+func pathOK(r rune) bool {
+	if r < utf8.RuneSelf {
+		return r == '+' || r == '-' || r == '.' || r == '_' || r == '~' ||
+			'0' <= r && r <= '9' ||
+			'A' <= r && r <= 'Z' ||
+			'a' <= r && r <= 'z'
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// fileNameOK reports whether r can appear in a file name.
+// For now we allow all Unicode letters but otherwise limit to pathOK plus a few more punctuation characters.
+// If we expand the set of allowed characters here, we have to
+// work harder at detecting potential case-folding and normalization collisions.
+// See note about "safe encoding" below.
+func fileNameOK(r rune) bool {
+	if r < utf8.RuneSelf {
+		// Entire set of ASCII punctuation, from which we remove characters:
+		//     ! " # $ % & ' ( ) * + , - . / : ; < = > ? @ [ \ ] ^ _ ` { | } ~
+		// We disallow some shell special characters: " ' * < > ? ` |
+		// (Note that some of those are disallowed by the Windows file system as well.)
+		// We also disallow path separators / : and \ (fileNameOK is only called on path element characters).
+		// We allow spaces (U+0020) in file names.
+		const allowed = "!#$%&()+,-.=@[]^_{}~ "
+		if '0' <= r && r <= '9' || 'A' <= r && r <= 'Z' || 'a' <= r && r <= 'z' {
+			return true
+		}
+		for i := 0; i < len(allowed); i++ {
+			if rune(allowed[i]) == r {
+				return true
+			}
+		}
+		return false
+	}
+	// It may be OK to add more ASCII punctuation here, but only carefully.
+	// For example Windows disallows < > \, and macOS disallows :, so we must not allow those.
+	return unicode.IsLetter(r)
+}
+
+// badWindowsNames are the reserved file path elements on Windows.
+// See https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/fileio/naming-a-file
+var badWindowsNames = []string{
+	"CON",
+	"PRN",
+	"AUX",
+	"NUL",
+	"COM1",
+	"COM2",
+	"COM3",
+	"COM4",
+	"COM5",
+	"COM6",
+	"COM7",
+	"COM8",
+	"COM9",
+	"LPT1",
+	"LPT2",
+	"LPT3",
+	"LPT4",
+	"LPT5",
+	"LPT6",
+	"LPT7",
+	"LPT8",
+	"LPT9",
+}
diff --git a/src/cmd/go/testdata/script/get_brace.txt b/src/cmd/go/testdata/script/get_brace.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..36414d7b556c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cmd/go/testdata/script/get_brace.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+[!exec:git] skip
+
+# Set up some empty repositories.
+cd $WORK/_origin/foo
+exec git init
+exec git commit --allow-empty -m 'create master branch'
+
+cd $WORK
+cd '_origin/{confusing}'
+exec git init
+exec git commit --allow-empty -m 'create master branch'
+
+# Clone the empty repositories into GOPATH.
+# This tells the Go command where to find them: it takes the place of a user's meta-tag redirector.
+mkdir $GOPATH/src/example.com
+cd $GOPATH/src/example.com
+exec git clone $WORK/_origin/foo
+exec git clone $WORK/_origin/{confusing}
+
+# Commit contents to the repositories.
+cd $WORK/_origin/foo
+exec git add main.go
+exec git commit -m 'add main'
+
+cd $WORK
+cd '_origin/{confusing}'
+exec git add confusing.go
+exec git commit -m 'just try to delete this!'
+
+# 'go get' should refuse to download or update the confusingly-named repo.
+cd $GOPATH/src/example.com/foo
+! go get -u 'example.com/{confusing}'
+stderr 'invalid char'
+! go get -u example.com/foo
+stderr 'invalid import path'
+! exists example.com/{confusing}
+
+-- $WORK/_origin/foo/main.go --
+package main
+import _ "example.com/{confusing}"
+
+func main() {}
+
+-- $WORK/_origin/{confusing}/confusing.go --
+package confusing
diff --git a/src/cmd/go/testdata/script/get_dotfiles.txt b/src/cmd/go/testdata/script/get_dotfiles.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..c09da8beeb1dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cmd/go/testdata/script/get_dotfiles.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+[!exec:git] skip
+
+# Set up a benign repository and a repository with a dotfile name.
+cd $WORK/_origin/foo
+exec git init
+exec git commit --allow-empty -m 'create master branch'
+
+cd $WORK/_origin/.hidden
+exec git init
+exec git commit --allow-empty -m 'create master branch'
+
+# Clone the empty repositories into GOPATH.
+# This tells the Go command where to find them: it takes the place of a user's meta-tag redirector.
+mkdir $GOPATH/src/example.com
+cd $GOPATH/src/example.com
+exec git clone $WORK/_origin/foo
+exec git clone $WORK/_origin/.hidden
+
+# Add a benign commit.
+cd $WORK/_origin/foo
+cp _ok/main.go main.go
+exec git add main.go
+exec git commit -m 'add ok'
+
+# 'go get' should install the benign commit.
+cd $GOPATH
+go get -u example.com/foo
+
+# Now sneak in an import of a dotfile path.
+cd $WORK/_origin/.hidden
+exec git add hidden.go
+exec git commit -m 'nothing to see here, move along'
+
+cd $WORK/_origin/foo
+cp _sneaky/main.go main.go
+exec git add main.go
+exec git commit -m 'fix typo (heh heh heh)'
+
+# 'go get -u' should refuse to download or update the dotfile-named repo.
+cd $GOPATH/src/example.com/foo
+! go get -u example.com/foo
+stderr 'leading dot'
+! exists example.com/.hidden/hidden.go
+
+-- $WORK/_origin/foo/_ok/main.go --
+package main
+
+func main() {}
+
+-- $WORK/_origin/foo/_sneaky/main.go --
+package main
+import _ "example.com/.hidden"
+
+func main() {}
+
+-- $WORK/_origin/.hidden/hidden.go --
+package hidden