diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/spec_parser.py b/lib/spack/spack/spec_parser.py
index eee941c59d9..43152e39e90 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/spec_parser.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/spec_parser.py
@@ -578,8 +578,9 @@ class SpecParsingError(spack.error.SpecSyntaxError):
 
     def __init__(self, message, token, text):
         message += f"\n{text}"
-        underline = f"\n{' '*token.start}{'^'*(token.end - token.start)}"
-        message += color.colorize(f"@*r{{{underline}}}")
+        if token:
+            underline = f"\n{' '*token.start}{'^'*(token.end - token.start)}"
+            message += color.colorize(f"@*r{{{underline}}}")
         super().__init__(message)