diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/util/concurrent/EsExecutors.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/util/concurrent/EsExecutors.java
index fbb9f65414a..2dad4663dc4 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/util/concurrent/EsExecutors.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/util/concurrent/EsExecutors.java
@@ -25,7 +25,10 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
 import org.elasticsearch.node.Node;
 
 import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.concurrent.AbstractExecutorService;
 import java.util.concurrent.BlockingQueue;
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
 import java.util.concurrent.LinkedTransferQueue;
 import java.util.concurrent.ThreadFactory;
 import java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor;
@@ -75,6 +78,50 @@ public class EsExecutors {
         return new EsThreadPoolExecutor(name, size, size, 0, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS, queue, threadFactory, new EsAbortPolicy(), contextHolder);
     }
 
+    private static final ExecutorService DIRECT_EXECUTOR_SERVICE = new AbstractExecutorService() {
+
+        @Override
+        public void shutdown() {
+            throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public List<Runnable> shutdownNow() {
+            throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean isShutdown() {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean isTerminated() {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean awaitTermination(long timeout, TimeUnit unit) throws InterruptedException {
+            throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void execute(Runnable command) {
+            command.run();
+        }
+
+    };
+
+    /**
+     * Returns an {@link ExecutorService} that executes submitted tasks on the current thread. This executor service does not support being
+     * shutdown.
+     *
+     * @return an {@link ExecutorService} that executes submitted tasks on the current thread
+     */
+    public static ExecutorService newDirectExecutorService() {
+        return DIRECT_EXECUTOR_SERVICE;
+    }
+
     public static String threadName(Settings settings, String ... names) {
         String namePrefix =
                 Arrays
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/threadpool/FixedExecutorBuilder.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/threadpool/FixedExecutorBuilder.java
index 9e5469fd16a..0ba7b2d100a 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/threadpool/FixedExecutorBuilder.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/threadpool/FixedExecutorBuilder.java
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.node.Node;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Locale;
-import java.util.concurrent.Executor;
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
 import java.util.concurrent.ThreadFactory;
 
 /**
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ public final class FixedExecutorBuilder extends ExecutorBuilder<FixedExecutorBui
         int size = settings.size;
         int queueSize = settings.queueSize;
         final ThreadFactory threadFactory = EsExecutors.daemonThreadFactory(EsExecutors.threadName(settings.nodeName, name()));
-        Executor executor = EsExecutors.newFixed(name(), size, queueSize, threadFactory, threadContext);
+        final ExecutorService executor = EsExecutors.newFixed(name(), size, queueSize, threadFactory, threadContext);
         final ThreadPool.Info info =
             new ThreadPool.Info(name(), ThreadPool.ThreadPoolType.FIXED, size, size, null, queueSize < 0 ? null : new SizeValue(queueSize));
         return new ThreadPool.ExecutorHolder(executor, info);
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/threadpool/ScalingExecutorBuilder.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/threadpool/ScalingExecutorBuilder.java
index 6ab108e94b4..96dceb8c912 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/threadpool/ScalingExecutorBuilder.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/threadpool/ScalingExecutorBuilder.java
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.node.Node;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Locale;
-import java.util.concurrent.Executor;
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
 import java.util.concurrent.ThreadFactory;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ public final class ScalingExecutorBuilder extends ExecutorBuilder<ScalingExecuto
         int max = settings.max;
         final ThreadPool.Info info = new ThreadPool.Info(name(), ThreadPool.ThreadPoolType.SCALING, core, max, keepAlive, null);
         final ThreadFactory threadFactory = EsExecutors.daemonThreadFactory(EsExecutors.threadName(settings.nodeName, name()));
-        final Executor executor =
+        final ExecutorService executor =
             EsExecutors.newScaling(name(), core, max, keepAlive.millis(), TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS, threadFactory, threadContext);
         return new ThreadPool.ExecutorHolder(executor, info);
     }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/threadpool/ThreadPool.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/threadpool/ThreadPool.java
index 849c2d52692..15d3995950b 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/threadpool/ThreadPool.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/threadpool/ThreadPool.java
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ public class ThreadPool extends AbstractComponent implements Closeable {
 
     private final EstimatedTimeThread estimatedTimeThread;
 
-    static final Executor DIRECT_EXECUTOR = command -> command.run();
+    static final ExecutorService DIRECT_EXECUTOR = EsExecutors.newDirectExecutorService();
 
     private final ThreadContext threadContext;
 
@@ -278,23 +278,26 @@ public class ThreadPool extends AbstractComponent implements Closeable {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Get the generic executor. This executor's {@link Executor#execute(Runnable)} method will run the Runnable it is given in
-     * the {@link ThreadContext} of the thread that queues it.
+     * Get the generic executor service. This executor service {@link Executor#execute(Runnable)} method will run the {@link Runnable} it
+     * is given in the {@link ThreadContext} of the thread that queues it.
      */
-    public Executor generic() {
+    public ExecutorService generic() {
         return executor(Names.GENERIC);
     }
 
     /**
-     * Get the executor with the given name. This executor's {@link Executor#execute(Runnable)} method will run the Runnable it is given in
-     * the {@link ThreadContext} of the thread that queues it.
+     * Get the executor service with the given name. This executor service's {@link Executor#execute(Runnable)} method will run the
+     * {@link Runnable} it is given in the {@link ThreadContext} of the thread that queues it.
+     *
+     * @param name the name of the executor service to obtain
+     * @throws IllegalArgumentException if no executor service with the specified name exists
      */
-    public Executor executor(String name) {
-        Executor executor = executors.get(name).executor();
-        if (executor == null) {
-            throw new IllegalArgumentException("No executor found for [" + name + "]");
+    public ExecutorService executor(String name) {
+        final ExecutorHolder holder = executors.get(name);
+        if (holder == null) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("no executor service found for [" + name + "]");
         }
-        return executor;
+        return holder.executor();
     }
 
     public ScheduledExecutorService scheduler() {
@@ -515,16 +518,16 @@ public class ThreadPool extends AbstractComponent implements Closeable {
     }
 
     static class ExecutorHolder {
-        private final Executor executor;
+        private final ExecutorService executor;
         public final Info info;
 
-        ExecutorHolder(Executor executor, Info info) {
+        ExecutorHolder(ExecutorService executor, Info info) {
             assert executor instanceof EsThreadPoolExecutor || executor == DIRECT_EXECUTOR;
             this.executor = executor;
             this.info = info;
         }
 
-        Executor executor() {
+        ExecutorService executor() {
             return executor;
         }
     }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/ingest/IngestActionFilterTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/ingest/IngestActionFilterTests.java
index 9dbef147c01..68a79c345e6 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/ingest/IngestActionFilterTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/action/ingest/IngestActionFilterTests.java
@@ -29,13 +29,14 @@ import org.elasticsearch.action.index.IndexRequest;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.support.ActionFilterChain;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.update.UpdateRequest;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.util.concurrent.EsExecutors;
+import org.elasticsearch.ingest.CompoundProcessor;
 import org.elasticsearch.ingest.IngestService;
+import org.elasticsearch.ingest.Pipeline;
 import org.elasticsearch.ingest.PipelineExecutionService;
 import org.elasticsearch.ingest.PipelineStore;
-import org.elasticsearch.ingest.TestProcessor;
-import org.elasticsearch.ingest.CompoundProcessor;
-import org.elasticsearch.ingest.Pipeline;
 import org.elasticsearch.ingest.Processor;
+import org.elasticsearch.ingest.TestProcessor;
 import org.elasticsearch.node.service.NodeService;
 import org.elasticsearch.tasks.Task;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.ESTestCase;
@@ -43,6 +44,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.threadpool.ThreadPool;
 import org.junit.Before;
 import org.mockito.stubbing.Answer;
 
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
 import java.util.function.Consumer;
 
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.equalTo;
@@ -158,7 +160,8 @@ public class IngestActionFilterTests extends ESTestCase {
     public void testApplyWithBulkRequest() throws Exception {
         Task task = mock(Task.class);
         ThreadPool threadPool = mock(ThreadPool.class);
-        when(threadPool.executor(any())).thenReturn(Runnable::run);
+        final ExecutorService executorService = EsExecutors.newDirectExecutorService();
+        when(threadPool.executor(any())).thenReturn(executorService);
         PipelineStore store = mock(PipelineStore.class);
 
         Processor processor = new TestProcessor(ingestDocument -> ingestDocument.setFieldValue("field2", "value2"));
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/cluster/IndicesClusterStateServiceRandomUpdatesTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/cluster/IndicesClusterStateServiceRandomUpdatesTests.java
index 86e2a35f1b5..fdbd2d0548a 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/cluster/IndicesClusterStateServiceRandomUpdatesTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/cluster/IndicesClusterStateServiceRandomUpdatesTests.java
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Map.Entry;
 import java.util.Set;
-import java.util.concurrent.Executor;
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
 import java.util.function.Supplier;
 
@@ -364,8 +364,7 @@ public class IndicesClusterStateServiceRandomUpdatesTests extends AbstractIndice
     private IndicesClusterStateService createIndicesClusterStateService(DiscoveryNode discoveryNode,
                                                                         final Supplier<MockIndicesService> indicesServiceSupplier) {
         final ThreadPool threadPool = mock(ThreadPool.class);
-        final Executor executor = mock(Executor.class);
-        when(threadPool.generic()).thenReturn(executor);
+        when(threadPool.generic()).thenReturn(mock(ExecutorService.class));
         final MockIndicesService indicesService = indicesServiceSupplier.get();
         final Settings settings = Settings.builder().put("node.name", discoveryNode.getName()).build();
         final TransportService transportService = new TransportService(settings, null, threadPool,
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/ingest/PipelineExecutionServiceTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/ingest/PipelineExecutionServiceTests.java
index b9426b83e66..947cb3f18d1 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/ingest/PipelineExecutionServiceTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/ingest/PipelineExecutionServiceTests.java
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.action.index.IndexRequest;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.update.UpdateRequest;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesArray;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.unit.TimeValue;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.util.concurrent.EsExecutors;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.ESTestCase;
 import org.elasticsearch.threadpool.ThreadPool;
 import org.hamcrest.CustomTypeSafeMatcher;
@@ -39,6 +40,7 @@ import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Objects;
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
 import java.util.function.BiConsumer;
 import java.util.function.Consumer;
 
@@ -68,7 +70,8 @@ public class PipelineExecutionServiceTests extends ESTestCase {
     public void setup() {
         store = mock(PipelineStore.class);
         ThreadPool threadPool = mock(ThreadPool.class);
-        when(threadPool.executor(anyString())).thenReturn(Runnable::run);
+        final ExecutorService executorService = EsExecutors.newDirectExecutorService();
+        when(threadPool.executor(anyString())).thenReturn(executorService);
         executionService = new PipelineExecutionService(store, threadPool);
     }
 
diff --git a/modules/reindex/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/remote/RemoteScrollableHitSourceTests.java b/modules/reindex/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/remote/RemoteScrollableHitSourceTests.java
index 5c2278f59eb..351f9392656 100644
--- a/modules/reindex/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/remote/RemoteScrollableHitSourceTests.java
+++ b/modules/reindex/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/remote/RemoteScrollableHitSourceTests.java
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.io.Streams;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.unit.ByteSizeUnit;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.unit.ByteSizeValue;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.unit.TimeValue;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.util.concurrent.EsExecutors;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.util.concurrent.EsRejectedExecutionException;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.reindex.ScrollableHitSource.Response;
 import org.elasticsearch.rest.RestStatus;
@@ -64,7 +65,7 @@ import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.InputStreamReader;
 import java.net.URL;
 import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
-import java.util.concurrent.Executor;
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
 import java.util.concurrent.Future;
 import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledFuture;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
@@ -90,10 +91,11 @@ public class RemoteScrollableHitSourceTests extends ESTestCase {
     @Override
     public void setUp() throws Exception {
         super.setUp();
+        final ExecutorService directExecutor = EsExecutors.newDirectExecutorService();
         threadPool = new TestThreadPool(getTestName()) {
             @Override
-            public Executor executor(String name) {
-                return Runnable::run;
+            public ExecutorService executor(String name) {
+                return directExecutor;
             }
 
             @Override