diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index b880616..3e0d11b 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -420,8 +420,12 @@ AC_TRY_LINK(
 AC_CHECK_HEADERS(sys/socket.h net/if_dl.h net/if6.h regex.h)
 
 # find an MD5 library
+saved_LIBS="$LIBS"
+LIBS=""
 AC_SEARCH_LIBS(MD5_Init, [crypto])
 AC_SEARCH_LIBS(MD5Init, [crypto])
+CRYPTO_LIBS="$LIBS"
+LIBS="$saved_LIBS"
 
 # Solaris needs some libraries for functions
 AC_SEARCH_LIBS(socket, [socket])