log.exception() without arguments in old Python versions?

[cthart]

I have inherited some very old Python code:

import logging
_log = logging.getLogger('blah')

and later:

try:
   <snip>
except:
   _log.exception()

This call to exception() without arguments fails on Python 2.7 (the oldest version I have available to me) and 3.10 (which I'm targeting).

Was this syntax supported in a really old version of Python? If so, with what should I replace it now to get the same semantics?