diff --git a/backbone.js b/backbone.js
index 5bfd974cd..822566a9c 100644
--- a/backbone.js
+++ b/backbone.js
@@ -1764,13 +1764,21 @@
 
     // Given a route, and a URL fragment that it matches, return the array of
     // extracted decoded parameters. Empty or unmatched parameters will be
-    // treated as `null` to normalize cross-browser behavior.
+    // treated as `null` to normalize cross-browser behavior. A malformed
+    // percent-encoding (e.g. `%foo`) would otherwise throw a `URIError` and
+    // crash the router (#3440); such parameters fall back to the raw value.
     _extractParameters: function(route, fragment) {
       var params = route.exec(fragment).slice(1);
       return _.map(params, function(param, i) {
         // Don't decode the search params.
         if (i === params.length - 1) return param || null;
-        return param ? decodeURIComponent(param) : null;
+        if (!param) return null;
+        try {
+          return decodeURIComponent(param);
+        } catch (e) {
+          if (e instanceof URIError) return param;
+          throw e;
+        }
       });
     }
 
diff --git a/test/router.js b/test/router.js
index 9b5bdbdf2..91a790fcf 100644
--- a/test/router.js
+++ b/test/router.js
@@ -958,6 +958,19 @@
     Backbone.history.start({pushState: true});
   });
 
+  QUnit.test('#3440 - Malformed param does not throw URIError.', function(assert) {
+    assert.expect(2);
+    var myRouter = new Backbone.Router;
+    var route = /^search\/([^\/]+)$/;
+    var params;
+    // Should not throw on malformed percent-encoding.
+    params = myRouter._extractParameters(route, 'search/malformed%query');
+    assert.ok(params, 'extract did not throw');
+    // The malformed value falls back to the raw, undecoded string so the
+    // route can still match and the application can handle it.
+    assert.strictEqual(params[0], 'malformed%query');
+  });
+
   QUnit.test('Router#execute receives callback, args, name.', function(assert) {
     assert.expect(3);
     location.replace('http://example.com#foo/123/bar?x=y');