diff --git a/lib/rubygems/specification.rb b/lib/rubygems/specification.rb
index 6b61e8d2bc..b8006671e9 100644
--- a/lib/rubygems/specification.rb
+++ b/lib/rubygems/specification.rb
@@ -1708,6 +1708,8 @@ class Gem::Specification < Gem::BasicSpecification
         false
       end
     end
+  rescue ArgumentError => e
+    raise e, "#{name} #{version}: #{e.message}"
   end
 
   # The date this gem was created.