A first-half Matt Somner strike was enough to secure a much-needed victory for Terry Brown's men.
Exeter pounded the Shots with four unanswered goals on Boxing Day, but the difference here was tenacious debutant Ryan Williams, who terrorised the visitors' defence.
Williams was in scintillating form, linking up well with Tim Sills up front and Gary Holloway in the midfield.
A bumper crowd at the Rec ensured a charged atmosphere, with former Shots man Jon Challinor being harshly booed by the home fans with every touch.
Aldershot made a bright start and an early chance fell to Sills, who should have done better than to head Gary Holloway's cross over the bar in the 12th minute.
Four minutes later, however, the hosts took the lead. Brian Tinnion's corner ended up at Sills' feet on the edge of the Exeter area. The striker's shot was blocked, but fell to an alert Somner who found the net with ease.
Buoyed by the lead, Aldershot went looking for a second and should have doubled their advantage on 40 minutes.
Somner and Holloway combined on the right and the chance eventually fell to Somner, but this time his shot went the wrong side of the post.
Williams' industry almost earned a goal before the break but Gary Sawyer cleared his lob off the line, with Grecians keeper Paul Jones beaten.
Exeter came back into the game in the second half with chances for Challinor, Craig Farrell and Chris Todd, who was unfortunate to hit the woodwork from a Billy Jones free-kick.
Shots keeper Nikki Bull blocked Lee Phillips' piledriver from 15 yards and substitute Steve Flack's injury-time header to make sure Aldershot took the points.