diff --git a/deps/rabbit_common/src/rabbit_misc.erl b/deps/rabbit_common/src/rabbit_misc.erl
index 05ef76bfc243..b5d817cbf549 100644
--- a/deps/rabbit_common/src/rabbit_misc.erl
+++ b/deps/rabbit_common/src/rabbit_misc.erl
@@ -1099,8 +1099,8 @@ rabbitmq_and_erlang_versions() ->
 which_applications() ->
     try
         application:which_applications(10000)
-    catch
-        exit:{timeout, _} -> []
+    catch _:_:_Stacktrace ->
+        []
     end.
 
 sequence_error([T])                      -> T;