diff --git a/http/events.go b/http/events.go
index 478f31704250..22dfe35630db 100644
--- a/http/events.go
+++ b/http/events.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package http
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
 	"strconv"
@@ -66,13 +67,25 @@ func handleEventsSubscribeWebsocket(args eventSubscribeArgs) (websocket.StatusCo
 	}
 }
 
-func handleEventsSubscribe(core *vault.Core) http.Handler {
+func handleEventsSubscribe(core *vault.Core, req *logical.Request) http.Handler {
 	return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		logger := core.Logger().Named("events-subscribe")
-
 		logger.Debug("Got request to", "url", r.URL, "version", r.Proto)
 
 		ctx := r.Context()
+
+		// ACL check
+		_, _, err := core.CheckToken(ctx, req, false)
+		if err != nil {
+			if errors.Is(err, logical.ErrPermissionDenied) {
+				respondError(w, http.StatusUnauthorized, logical.ErrPermissionDenied)
+				return
+			}
+			logger.Debug("Error validating token", "error", err)
+			respondError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, fmt.Errorf("error validating token"))
+			return
+		}
+
 		ns, err := namespace.FromContext(ctx)
 		if err != nil {
 			logger.Info("Could not find namespace", "error", err)
diff --git a/http/events_test.go b/http/events_test.go
index d3729781df4c..645ecd403a4a 100644
--- a/http/events_test.go
+++ b/http/events_test.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package http
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"net/http"
 	"strings"
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"testing"
@@ -21,6 +22,15 @@ func TestEventsSubscribe(t *testing.T) {
 	ln, addr := TestServer(t, core)
 	defer ln.Close()
 
+	// unseal the core
+	keys, token := vault.TestCoreInit(t, core)
+	for _, key := range keys {
+		_, err := core.Unseal(key)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+
 	stop := atomic.Bool{}
 
 	eventType := "abc"
@@ -53,7 +63,18 @@ func TestEventsSubscribe(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Cleanup(cancelFunc)
 
 	wsAddr := strings.Replace(addr, "http", "ws", 1)
-	conn, _, err := websocket.Dial(ctx, wsAddr+"/v1/sys/events/subscribe/"+eventType+"?json=true", nil)
+
+	// check that the connection fails if we don't have a token
+	_, _, err := websocket.Dial(ctx, wsAddr+"/v1/sys/events/subscribe/"+eventType+"?json=true", nil)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Error("Expected websocket error but got none")
+	} else if !strings.HasSuffix(err.Error(), "401") {
+		t.Errorf("Expected 401 websocket but got %v", err)
+	}
+
+	conn, _, err := websocket.Dial(ctx, wsAddr+"/v1/sys/events/subscribe/"+eventType+"?json=true", &websocket.DialOptions{
+		HTTPHeader: http.Header{"x-vault-token": []string{token}},
+	})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
diff --git a/http/logical.go b/http/logical.go
index 7dc3ad9e832e..6b12a26f3bfe 100644
--- a/http/logical.go
+++ b/http/logical.go
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
-	uuid "github.com/hashicorp/go-uuid"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/go-uuid"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/vault/helper/experiments"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/vault/helper/namespace"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/vault/sdk/helper/consts"
@@ -359,7 +359,7 @@ func handleLogicalInternal(core *vault.Core, injectDataIntoTopLevel bool, noForw
 				nsPath = ""
 			}
 			if strings.HasPrefix(r.URL.Path, fmt.Sprintf("/v1/%ssys/events/subscribe/", nsPath)) {
-				handler := handleEventsSubscribe(core)
+				handler := handleEventsSubscribe(core, req)
 				handler.ServeHTTP(w, r)
 				return
 			}
diff --git a/vault/request_handling.go b/vault/request_handling.go
index 1d56d488a7ef..ff041838db2a 100644
--- a/vault/request_handling.go
+++ b/vault/request_handling.go
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ func (c *Core) fetchACLTokenEntryAndEntity(ctx context.Context, req *logical.Req
 	return acl, te, entity, identityPolicies, nil
 }
 
-func (c *Core) checkToken(ctx context.Context, req *logical.Request, unauth bool) (*logical.Auth, *logical.TokenEntry, error) {
+func (c *Core) CheckToken(ctx context.Context, req *logical.Request, unauth bool) (*logical.Auth, *logical.TokenEntry, error) {
 	defer metrics.MeasureSince([]string{"core", "check_token"}, time.Now())
 
 	var acl *ACL
@@ -857,7 +857,7 @@ func (c *Core) handleRequest(ctx context.Context, req *logical.Request) (retResp
 	}
 
 	// Validate the token
-	auth, te, ctErr := c.checkToken(ctx, req, false)
+	auth, te, ctErr := c.CheckToken(ctx, req, false)
 	if ctErr == logical.ErrRelativePath {
 		return logical.ErrorResponse(ctErr.Error()), nil, ctErr
 	}
@@ -1272,7 +1272,7 @@ func (c *Core) handleLoginRequest(ctx context.Context, req *logical.Request) (re
 	// Do an unauth check. This will cause EGP policies to be checked
 	var auth *logical.Auth
 	var ctErr error
-	auth, _, ctErr = c.checkToken(ctx, req, true)
+	auth, _, ctErr = c.CheckToken(ctx, req, true)
 	if ctErr == logical.ErrPerfStandbyPleaseForward {
 		return nil, nil, ctErr
 	}