diff --git a/Lib/distutils/tests/support.py b/Lib/distutils/tests/support.py
index a2190c0214f..4e6058d0ec0 100644
--- a/Lib/distutils/tests/support.py
+++ b/Lib/distutils/tests/support.py
@@ -200,6 +200,9 @@ def fixup_build_ext(cmd):
         cmd = build_ext(dist)
         support.fixup_build_ext(cmd)
         cmd.ensure_finalized()
+
+    Unlike most other Unix platforms, Mac OS X embeds absolute paths
+    to shared libraries into executables, so the fixup is not needed there.
     """
     if os.name == 'nt':
         cmd.debug = sys.executable.endswith('_d.exe')
@@ -211,5 +214,8 @@ def fixup_build_ext(cmd):
         if runshared is None:
             cmd.library_dirs = ['.']
         else:
-            name, equals, value = runshared.partition('=')
-            cmd.library_dirs = value.split(os.pathsep)
+            if sys.platform == 'darwin':
+                cmd.library_dirs = []
+            else:
+                name, equals, value = runshared.partition('=')
+                cmd.library_dirs = value.split(os.pathsep)
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index d7eb5d92ff0..36b4f0a7142 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -90,6 +90,8 @@ Core and Builtins
 Library
 -------
 
+- Issue #13901: Prevent test_distutils failures on OS X with --enable-shared.
+
 - Issue #13676: Handle strings with embedded zeros correctly in sqlite3.
 
 - Issue #13506: Add '' to path for IDLE Shell when started and restarted with Restart Shell.