diff --git a/shell/hush.c b/shell/hush.c
index b264bde1c..0f1251fb6 100644
--- a/shell/hush.c
+++ b/shell/hush.c
@@ -1813,11 +1813,11 @@ static void hush_exit(int exitcode)
 	}
 #endif
 
-#if ENABLE_HUSH_JOB
 	fflush_all();
+#if ENABLE_HUSH_JOB
 	sigexit(- (exitcode & 0xff));
 #else
-	exit(exitcode);
+	_exit(exitcode);
 #endif
 }
 
@@ -6912,7 +6912,23 @@ static void dump_cmd_in_x_mode(char **argv)
  * Never returns.
  * Don't exit() here.  If you don't exec, use _exit instead.
  * The at_exit handlers apparently confuse the calling process,
- * in particular stdin handling.  Not sure why? -- because of vfork! (vda) */
+ * in particular stdin handling. Not sure why? -- because of vfork! (vda)
+ * Also, it was observed that on exit(), fgetc'ed buffered data
+ * gets "unwound" by some libcs, via lseek(fd, -NUM, SEEK_CUR).
+ * With the net effect that even after fork(), not vfork(),
+ * exit() in NOEXECed applet in "sh SCRIPT":
+ *	noexec_applet_here
+ *	echo END_OF_SCRIPT
+ * lseeks fd in input FILE object from EOF to "e" in "echo END_OF_SCRIPT".
+ * This makes "echo END_OF_SCRIPT" executed twice. exexit() is the fix.
+ */
+#if ENABLE_FEATURE_SH_STANDALONE
+static void exexit(void)
+{
+	fflush_all();
+	_exit(xfunc_error_retval);
+}
+#endif
 static void pseudo_exec_argv(nommu_save_t *nommu_save,
 		char **argv, int assignment_cnt,
 		char **argv_expanded) NORETURN;
@@ -6993,6 +7009,7 @@ static NOINLINE void pseudo_exec_argv(nommu_save_t *nommu_save,
 # if BB_MMU /* see above why on NOMMU it is not allowed */
 			if (APPLET_IS_NOEXEC(a)) {
 				debug_printf_exec(("running applet '%s'\n", argv[0]));
+				die_func = exexit;
 				run_applet_no_and_exit(a, argv);
 			}
 # endif
diff --git a/shell/hush_test/run-all b/shell/hush_test/run-all
index cfb66bffb..3cbd3c2ff 100755
--- a/shell/hush_test/run-all
+++ b/shell/hush_test/run-all
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ do_test()
 	echo -n "$1/$x:"
 	(
 		"$THIS_SH" "./$x" >"$name.xx" 2>&1
+		r=$?
 		# filter C library differences
 		sed \
 			-e "/: invalid option /s:'::g" \
@@ -81,7 +82,7 @@ do_test()
 		else
 			ln -s "$name.right" "$name.rt"
 		fi
-		test $? -eq 77 && rm -f "../$1/${x%%.tests}.fail" && exit 77
+		test $r -eq 77 && rm -f "../$1/${x%%.tests}.fail" && exit 77
 		diff -u "$name.xx" "$name.rt" >"../$1/${x%%.tests}.fail" && rm -f "$name.xx" "../$1/${x%%.tests}.fail"
 	)
 	case $? in