diff --git a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
index 5919ae27c8f..b1fc502bfbd 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ https://github.com/elastic/beats/compare/v5.1.1...master[Check the HEAD diff]
 - Change beat generator. Use `$GOPATH/src/github.com/elastic/beats/script/generate.py` to generate a beat. {pull}3452[3452]
 
 *Filebeat*
+- Always use absolute path for event and registry. This can lead to issues when relative paths were used before. {pull}3328[3328]
 
 *Heartbeat*
 
@@ -38,6 +39,7 @@ https://github.com/elastic/beats/compare/v5.1.1...master[Check the HEAD diff]
 - Add `_id`, `_type`, `_index` and `_score` fields in the generated index pattern. {pull}3282[3282]
 
 *Filebeat*
+- Always use absolute path for event and registry. {pull}3328[3328]
 
 *Heartbeat*
 
@@ -47,7 +49,6 @@ https://github.com/elastic/beats/compare/v5.1.1...master[Check the HEAD diff]
 
 *Packetbeat*
 
-
 *Winlogbeat*
 
 
diff --git a/filebeat/_meta/fields.common.yml b/filebeat/_meta/fields.common.yml
index 54a37b7c2ee..c34200224a1 100644
--- a/filebeat/_meta/fields.common.yml
+++ b/filebeat/_meta/fields.common.yml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
       type: keyword
       required: true
       description: >
-        The file from which the line was read. This field contains the full path to the file.
+        The file from which the line was read. This field contains the absolute path to the file.
         For example: `/var/log/system.log`.
 
     - name: offset
diff --git a/filebeat/docs/fields.asciidoc b/filebeat/docs/fields.asciidoc
index d933b336314..069e3b10d44 100644
--- a/filebeat/docs/fields.asciidoc
+++ b/filebeat/docs/fields.asciidoc
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ type: keyword
 
 required: True
 
-The file from which the line was read. This field contains the full path to the file. For example: `/var/log/system.log`.
+The file from which the line was read. This field contains the absolute path to the file. For example: `/var/log/system.log`.
 
 
 [float]
diff --git a/filebeat/prospector/prospector_log.go b/filebeat/prospector/prospector_log.go
index ff4b62a5c61..c255763f3a7 100644
--- a/filebeat/prospector/prospector_log.go
+++ b/filebeat/prospector/prospector_log.go
@@ -215,6 +215,11 @@ func (p *ProspectorLog) scan() {
 		default:
 		}
 
+		var err error
+		path, err = filepath.Abs(path)
+		if err != nil {
+			logp.Err("could not fetch abs path for file %s: %s", path, err)
+		}
 		logp.Debug("prospector", "Check file for harvesting: %s", path)
 
 		// Create new state for comparison