diff --git a/src/pkg/crypto/x509/x509.go b/src/pkg/crypto/x509/x509.go
index 8dae7e7fcf9..c4d85e67f0c 100644
--- a/src/pkg/crypto/x509/x509.go
+++ b/src/pkg/crypto/x509/x509.go
@@ -388,10 +388,10 @@ func (c *Certificate) CheckSignature(algo SignatureAlgorithm, signed, signature
 		return ErrUnsupportedAlgorithm
 	}
 
-	h := hashType.New()
-	if h == nil {
+	if !hashType.Available() {
 		return ErrUnsupportedAlgorithm
 	}
+	h := hashType.New()
 
 	h.Write(signed)
 	digest := h.Sum(nil)