diff --git a/src/ripple/app/ledger/OrderBookDB.cpp b/src/ripple/app/ledger/OrderBookDB.cpp
index a81331d04e..4b598de1b4 100644
--- a/src/ripple/app/ledger/OrderBookDB.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/app/ledger/OrderBookDB.cpp
@@ -62,17 +62,16 @@ OrderBookDB::setup(std::shared_ptr<ReadView const> const& ledger)
         mSeq = seq;
     }
 
-    if (app_.config().PATH_SEARCH_MAX == 0)
+    if (app_.config().PATH_SEARCH_MAX != 0)
     {
-        // nothing to do
+        if (app_.config().standalone())
+            update(ledger);
+        else
+            app_.getJobQueue().addJob(
+                jtUPDATE_PF, "OrderBookDB::update", [this, ledger](Job&) {
+                    update(ledger);
+                });
     }
-    else if (app_.config().standalone())
-        update(ledger);
-    else
-        app_.getJobQueue().addJob(
-            jtUPDATE_PF, "OrderBookDB::update", [this, ledger](Job&) {
-                update(ledger);
-            });
 }
 
 void
diff --git a/src/ripple/core/Config.h b/src/ripple/core/Config.h
index bd49575849..5a2e8b93aa 100644
--- a/src/ripple/core/Config.h
+++ b/src/ripple/core/Config.h
@@ -160,7 +160,18 @@ public:
     std::size_t PEERS_OUT_MAX = 0;
     std::size_t PEERS_IN_MAX = 0;
 
-    // Path searching
+    // Path searching: these were reasonable default values at some point but
+    //                 further research is needed to decide if they still are
+    //                 and whether all of them are needed.
+    //
+    //                 The performance and resource consumption of a server can
+    //                 be dramatically impacted by changing these configuration
+    //                 options; higher values result in exponentially higher
+    //                 resource usage.
+    //
+    //                 Servers operating as validators disable path finding by
+    //                 default by setting the `PATH_SEARCH_MAX` option to 0
+    //                 unless it is explicitly set in the configuration file.
     int PATH_SEARCH_OLD = 7;
     int PATH_SEARCH = 7;
     int PATH_SEARCH_FAST = 2;
diff --git a/src/ripple/core/impl/Config.cpp b/src/ripple/core/impl/Config.cpp
index e588553dd1..be8fda31d7 100644
--- a/src/ripple/core/impl/Config.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/core/impl/Config.cpp
@@ -615,6 +615,11 @@ Config::loadFromString(std::string const& fileContents)
             FETCH_DEPTH = 10;
     }
 
+    // By default, validators don't have pathfinding enabled, unless it is
+    // explicitly requested by the server's admin.
+    if (exists(SECTION_VALIDATION_SEED) || exists(SECTION_VALIDATOR_TOKEN))
+        PATH_SEARCH_MAX = 0;
+
     if (getSingleSection(secConfig, SECTION_PATH_SEARCH_OLD, strTemp, j_))
         PATH_SEARCH_OLD = beast::lexicalCastThrow<int>(strTemp);
     if (getSingleSection(secConfig, SECTION_PATH_SEARCH, strTemp, j_))