diff --git a/changelog/unreleased/kong/fix-error-handle-certificate.yml b/changelog/unreleased/kong/fix-error-handle-certificate.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d6f73e00262
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/unreleased/kong/fix-error-handle-certificate.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+message: "Fixed an issue where the error was not thrown when parsing the certificate from vault."
+type: bugfix
+scope: Core
diff --git a/kong/runloop/certificate.lua b/kong/runloop/certificate.lua
index 2ad82919d2f..4aee2689f0c 100644
--- a/kong/runloop/certificate.lua
+++ b/kong/runloop/certificate.lua
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ local function get_certificate(pk, sni_name, ws_id)
                                                           pk, sni_name, ws_id)
 
   if certificate and hit_level ~= 3 and certificate["$refs"] then
-    certificate = parse_key_and_cert(kong.vault.update(certificate))
+    certificate, err = parse_key_and_cert(kong.vault.update(certificate))
   end
 
   return certificate, err