diff --git a/src/Composer/Console/Application.php b/src/Composer/Console/Application.php
index 7a298756e876..d60a3bb86ae7 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Console/Application.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Console/Application.php
@@ -419,7 +419,8 @@ public function getComposer($required = true, $disablePlugins = null)
             } catch (\InvalidArgumentException $e) {
                 if ($required) {
                     $this->io->writeError($e->getMessage());
-                    if ($this->catchExceptions) {
+                    // TODO composer 2.3 simplify to $this->areExceptionsCaught()
+                    if (!method_exists($this, 'areExceptionsCaught') || $this->areExceptionsCaught()) {
                         exit(1);
                     }
                     throw $e;