By default /bin/login will set a users $PATH to: /usr/local/bin:/bin:/usr/bin This way the small/crippled versions of programs will be used by default. So I suggest that the default $PATH is changed to: /usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin The $PATH for root should be changed from /sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin to /usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin accordingly. The best place to change this would be in /bin/login, though I've just changed /etc/skel/.bash_profile for now. But the latter may break login scripts if anything changes.
This bug was misassigned to dkl. Since dkl is in QA, it is no wonder the bug never got seen. ;o) This is not a bug. The path is as it is expected to be. Users desiring an alternate default path, are free to reconfigure to their taste.