diff --git a/public.php b/public.php
index 8ae6deff203..d8cdd347170 100644
--- a/public.php
+++ b/public.php
@@ -89,10 +89,14 @@ try {
 	$baseuri = OC::$WEBROOT . '/public.php/' . $service . '/';
 	require_once $file;
 } catch (Exception $ex) {
-	$status = 500;
-	if ($ex instanceof ServiceUnavailableException) {
+	if ($ex instanceof ServiceUnavailableException && $ex->getCode === 0) {
 		$status = 503;
 	}
+	if ($ex->getCode() > 0) {
+		$status = $ex->getCode();
+	} else {
+		$status = 500;
+	}
 	//show the user a detailed error page
 	Server::get(LoggerInterface::class)->error($ex->getMessage(), ['app' => 'public', 'exception' => $ex]);
 	Server::get(ITemplateManager::class)->printExceptionErrorPage($ex, $status);