diff --git a/modules/swagger-parser-v3/src/main/java/io/swagger/v3/parser/OpenAPIV3Parser.java b/modules/swagger-parser-v3/src/main/java/io/swagger/v3/parser/OpenAPIV3Parser.java
index 5ca34cefff..160c23c161 100644
--- a/modules/swagger-parser-v3/src/main/java/io/swagger/v3/parser/OpenAPIV3Parser.java
+++ b/modules/swagger-parser-v3/src/main/java/io/swagger/v3/parser/OpenAPIV3Parser.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import io.swagger.v3.parser.util.ResolverFully;
 import java.io.InputStream;
 import java.net.URI;
+import java.net.URISyntaxException;
 import java.nio.charset.Charset;
 import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
 import java.nio.file.Files;
@@ -209,6 +210,7 @@ private SwaggerParseResult resolve(SwaggerParseResult result, List<Authorization
             String location) {
         if (location != null) {
             location = location.replace('\\', '/');
+            location = toUriSafeLocation(location);
         }
         try {
             if (options != null) {
@@ -265,6 +267,29 @@ private SwaggerParseResult resolve(SwaggerParseResult result, List<Authorization
         return result;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Normalizes a location that is used as the base URI for reference resolution.
+     * <p>
+     * {@code readLocation} accepts raw local filesystem paths, but reference resolution builds
+     * {@code java.net.URI} instances from that base (e.g. in {@code ReferenceUtils} and {@code Visitor#readURI}).
+     * A raw path containing characters that are illegal in a URI (most commonly a space) makes those
+     * constructions fail with "Illegal character in path", which surfaces as a parse error even for a
+     * self-contained single-file spec. When the location is not already a valid URI, convert it to a proper
+     * {@code file:} URI so the base is URI-safe; valid URIs (including scheme-less relative paths) are left untouched.
+     */
+    private static String toUriSafeLocation(String location) {
+        try {
+            new URI(location);
+            return location;
+        } catch (URISyntaxException e) {
+            try {
+                return Paths.get(location).toUri().toString();
+            } catch (Exception ex) {
+                return location;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     private String getParseErrorMessage(String originalMessage, String location) {
         if (Objects.isNull(originalMessage)) {
             return String.format("Unable to parse `%s`", location);
diff --git a/modules/swagger-parser-v3/src/test/java/io/swagger/v3/parser/test/OpenAPIV31RawPathWithSpacesTest.java b/modules/swagger-parser-v3/src/test/java/io/swagger/v3/parser/test/OpenAPIV31RawPathWithSpacesTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2179a1871c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/swagger-parser-v3/src/test/java/io/swagger/v3/parser/test/OpenAPIV31RawPathWithSpacesTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+package io.swagger.v3.parser.test;
+
+import io.swagger.v3.parser.OpenAPIV3Parser;
+import io.swagger.v3.parser.core.models.ParseOptions;
+import io.swagger.v3.parser.core.models.SwaggerParseResult;
+import org.testng.annotations.Test;
+
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+
+import static org.testng.Assert.assertNotNull;
+import static org.testng.Assert.assertNull;
+
+/**
+ * Regression test for https://github.com/swagger-api/swagger-parser/issues/2365
+ *
+ * A raw local filesystem path accepted by {@link OpenAPIV3Parser#readLocation} must not
+ * produce an "Illegal character in path" error while resolving same-file OpenAPI 3.1 refs,
+ * even when the path contains characters that are illegal in a URI (e.g. spaces).
+ */
+public class OpenAPIV31RawPathWithSpacesTest {
+
+    @Test
+    public void resolveSameFileReferenceFromRawPathWithSpaces() throws Exception {
+        Path directory = Files.createTempDirectory("openapi path with spaces");
+        Path root = directory.resolve("openapi.yaml");
+
+        Files.write(root, (
+                "openapi: 3.1.0\n" +
+                "info:\n" +
+                "  title: Path With Spaces\n" +
+                "  version: 1.0.0\n" +
+                "paths:\n" +
+                "  /examples:\n" +
+                "    get:\n" +
+                "      responses:\n" +
+                "        '200':\n" +
+                "          $ref: '#/components/responses/ExampleResponse'\n" +
+                "components:\n" +
+                "  responses:\n" +
+                "    ExampleResponse:\n" +
+                "      description: OK\n" +
+                "      content:\n" +
+                "        application/json:\n" +
+                "          schema:\n" +
+                "            $ref: '#/components/schemas/Example'\n" +
+                "  schemas:\n" +
+                "    Example:\n" +
+                "      type: object\n" +
+                "      properties:\n" +
+                "        id:\n" +
+                "          type: string\n").getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
+
+        ParseOptions options = new ParseOptions();
+        options.setResolve(true);
+        options.setResolveResponses(true);
+
+        SwaggerParseResult result = new OpenAPIV3Parser().readLocation(root.toString(), null, options);
+
+        assertNotNull(result.getOpenAPI());
+        assertNotNull(result.getOpenAPI().getComponents().getResponses().get("ExampleResponse"));
+
+        String illegalCharMessage = result.getMessages().stream()
+                .filter(message -> message.contains("Illegal character in path"))
+                .findFirst()
+                .orElse(null);
+        assertNull(illegalCharMessage, "unexpected parse error: " + illegalCharMessage);
+    }
+}