diff --git a/src/redis.c b/src/redis.c
index 024403fd22aee488eb132dc5658efdad967b3746..784d56e4873cd1935617c802dc21e37fbacf3239 100644
--- a/src/redis.c
+++ b/src/redis.c
@@ -1667,6 +1667,7 @@ int processCommand(redisClient *c) {
 
     /* Lua script too slow? Only allow commands with REDIS_CMD_STALE flag. */
     if (server.lua_timedout &&
+          c->cmd->proc != authCommand &&
         !(c->cmd->proc == shutdownCommand &&
           c->argc == 2 &&
           tolower(((char*)c->argv[1]->ptr)[0]) == 'n') &&