diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/security/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/authc/ApiKeyService.java b/x-pack/plugin/security/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/authc/ApiKeyService.java
index 9fa5934a887f5..4d1bd3b0c1c38 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/security/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/authc/ApiKeyService.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/security/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/security/authc/ApiKeyService.java
@@ -2342,7 +2342,7 @@ private record VersionedApiKeyDoc(ApiKeyDoc doc, String id, long seqNo, long pri
 
     private RemovalListener<String, ListenableFuture<CachedApiKeyHashResult>> getAuthCacheRemovalListener(int maximumWeight) {
         return notification -> {
-            if (RemovalReason.EVICTED == notification.getRemovalReason() && getApiKeyAuthCache().count() >= maximumWeight) {
+            if (RemovalReason.EVICTED == notification.getRemovalReason() && getApiKeyAuthCache().weight() >= maximumWeight) {
                 evictionCounter.increment();
                 logger.trace(
                     "API key with ID [{}] was evicted from the authentication cache, " + "possibly due to cache size limit",