diff --git a/vault_oidc_ssh_cert_action.py b/vault_oidc_ssh_cert_action.py
index 346ce8e..b919fee 100644
--- a/vault_oidc_ssh_cert_action.py
+++ b/vault_oidc_ssh_cert_action.py
@@ -60,8 +60,13 @@ def _issue_ssh_cert(
     headers = {"X-Vault-Token": vault_token}
     payload = {"public_key": pubkey}
 
-    response = requests.post(issue_url, headers=headers, data=payload, timeout=10)
-    response.raise_for_status()
+    try:
+        response = requests.post(issue_url, headers=headers, data=payload, timeout=10)
+        response.raise_for_status()
+    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as request_error:
+        message = f"{type(request_error).__name__}: {str(request_error)}"
+        _set_error_message("Vault SSH certificate signing error", message)
+        raise VoscaError from request_error
 
     ssh_cert: str = response.json()["data"]["signed_key"]
     return ssh_cert