diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/security/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/authc/TokenService.java b/x-pack/plugin/security/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/authc/TokenService.java
index 3a41b1b1ccf2b..601ba6bd42921 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/security/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/authc/TokenService.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/security/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/authc/TokenService.java
@@ -523,7 +523,7 @@ void decodeToken(String token, ActionListener<UserToken> listener) {
                     listener.onResponse(null);
                 }
             }
-        } catch (IOException e) {
+        } catch (Exception e) {
             // could happen with a token that is not ours
             if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) {
                logger.debug("built in token service unable to decode token", e);