gistfile1.txt

diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/connections/ssh.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/connections/ssh.py
index 5b2ed99..1b553b4 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/connections/ssh.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/connections/ssh.py
@@ -360,14 +360,6 @@ class Connection(ConnectionBase):
         display_cmd = map(pipes.quote, cmd[:-1]) + [cmd[-1]]
         self._display.vvv('SSH: EXEC {0}'.format(' '.join(display_cmd)), host=self.host)
 
-        # We begin by acquiring the connection lock, so that if ssh issues a
-        # host key verification prompt, output from other connections doesn't
-        # obscure it. The lock can be released once we know that the host key
-        # has been accepted (either because of known_hosts or the prompt).
-
-        self.connection_lock()
-        self._unlocked = False
-
         # Start the given command. If we don't need to pipeline data, we can try
         # to use a pseudo-tty (ssh will have been invoked with -tt). If we are
         # pipelining data, or can't create a pty, we fall back to using plain
@@ -388,6 +380,14 @@ class Connection(ConnectionBase):
             p = subprocess.Popen(cmd, stdin=subprocess.PIPE, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE)
             stdin = p.stdin
 
+        # We begin by acquiring the connection lock, so that if ssh issues a
+        # host key verification prompt, output from other connections doesn't
+        # obscure it. The lock can be released once we know that the host key
+        # has been accepted (either because of known_hosts or the prompt).
+
+        self.connection_lock()
+        self._unlocked = False
+
         # If we are using SSH password authentication, write the password into
         # the pipe we opened in _build_command.