diff --git a/include/net/mac80211.h b/include/net/mac80211.h
index 275ee56152ad..33b87c50a4cf 100644
--- a/include/net/mac80211.h
+++ b/include/net/mac80211.h
@@ -1634,6 +1634,12 @@ struct ieee80211_tx_control {
  *	be created.  It is expected user-space will create vifs as
  *	desired (and thus have them named as desired).
  *
+ * @IEEE80211_HW_SW_CRYPTO_CONTROL: The driver wants to control which of the
+ *	crypto algorithms can be done in software - so don't automatically
+ *	try to fall back to it if hardware crypto fails, but do so only if
+ *	the driver returns 1. This also forces the driver to advertise its
+ *	supported cipher suites.
+ *
  * @IEEE80211_HW_QUEUE_CONTROL: The driver wants to control per-interface
  *	queue mapping in order to use different queues (not just one per AC)
  *	for different virtual interfaces. See the doc section on HW queue
@@ -1681,6 +1687,7 @@ enum ieee80211_hw_flags {
 	IEEE80211_HW_MFP_CAPABLE			= 1<<13,
 	IEEE80211_HW_WANT_MONITOR_VIF			= 1<<14,
 	IEEE80211_HW_NO_AUTO_VIF			= 1<<15,
+	IEEE80211_HW_SW_CRYPTO_CONTROL			= 1<<16,
 	/* free slots */
 	IEEE80211_HW_REPORTS_TX_ACK_STATUS		= 1<<18,
 	IEEE80211_HW_CONNECTION_MONITOR			= 1<<19,
@@ -1955,6 +1962,11 @@ void ieee80211_free_txskb(struct ieee80211_hw *hw, struct sk_buff *skb);
  * added; if you return 0 then hw_key_idx must be assigned to the
  * hardware key index, you are free to use the full u8 range.
  *
+ * Note that in the case that the @IEEE80211_HW_SW_CRYPTO_CONTROL flag is
+ * set, mac80211 will not automatically fall back to software crypto if
+ * enabling hardware crypto failed. The set_key() call may also return the
+ * value 1 to permit this specific key/algorithm to be done in software.
+ *
  * When the cmd is %DISABLE_KEY then it must succeed.
  *
  * Note that it is permissible to not decrypt a frame even if a key
diff --git a/net/mac80211/key.c b/net/mac80211/key.c
index f8d9f0ee59bf..760fedc08f42 100644
--- a/net/mac80211/key.c
+++ b/net/mac80211/key.c
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ static int ieee80211_key_enable_hw_accel(struct ieee80211_key *key)
 		return 0;
 	}
 
-	if (ret != -ENOSPC && ret != -EOPNOTSUPP)
+	if (ret != -ENOSPC && ret != -EOPNOTSUPP && ret != 1)
 		sdata_err(sdata,
 			  "failed to set key (%d, %pM) to hardware (%d)\n",
 			  key->conf.keyidx,
@@ -163,7 +163,11 @@ static int ieee80211_key_enable_hw_accel(struct ieee80211_key *key)
 	case WLAN_CIPHER_SUITE_TKIP:
 	case WLAN_CIPHER_SUITE_CCMP:
 	case WLAN_CIPHER_SUITE_AES_CMAC:
-		/* all of these we can do in software */
+		/* all of these we can do in software - if driver can */
+		if (ret == 1)
+			return 0;
+		if (key->local->hw.flags & IEEE80211_HW_SW_CRYPTO_CONTROL)
+			return -EINVAL;
 		return 0;
 	default:
 		return -EINVAL;
diff --git a/net/mac80211/main.c b/net/mac80211/main.c
index 46264cb6604b..ea6b82ac4f0b 100644
--- a/net/mac80211/main.c
+++ b/net/mac80211/main.c
@@ -658,7 +658,6 @@ static int ieee80211_init_cipher_suites(struct ieee80211_local *local)
 	bool have_wep = !(IS_ERR(local->wep_tx_tfm) ||
 			  IS_ERR(local->wep_rx_tfm));
 	bool have_mfp = local->hw.flags & IEEE80211_HW_MFP_CAPABLE;
-	const struct ieee80211_cipher_scheme *cs = local->hw.cipher_schemes;
 	int n_suites = 0, r = 0, w = 0;
 	u32 *suites;
 	static const u32 cipher_suites[] = {
@@ -672,12 +671,38 @@ static int ieee80211_init_cipher_suites(struct ieee80211_local *local)
 		WLAN_CIPHER_SUITE_AES_CMAC
 	};
 
-	/* Driver specifies the ciphers, we have nothing to do... */
-	if (local->hw.wiphy->cipher_suites && have_wep)
-		return 0;
+	if (local->hw.flags & IEEE80211_HW_SW_CRYPTO_CONTROL ||
+	    local->hw.wiphy->cipher_suites) {
+		/* If the driver advertises, or doesn't support SW crypto,
+		 * we only need to remove WEP if necessary.
+		 */
+		if (have_wep)
+			return 0;
+
+		/* well if it has _no_ ciphers ... fine */
+		if (!local->hw.wiphy->n_cipher_suites)
+			return 0;
+
+		/* Driver provides cipher suites, but we need to exclude WEP */
+		suites = kmemdup(local->hw.wiphy->cipher_suites,
+				 sizeof(u32) * local->hw.wiphy->n_cipher_suites,
+				 GFP_KERNEL);
+		if (!suites)
+			return -ENOMEM;
 
-	/* Set up cipher suites if driver relies on mac80211 cipher defs */
-	if (!local->hw.wiphy->cipher_suites && !cs) {
+		for (r = 0; r < local->hw.wiphy->n_cipher_suites; r++) {
+			u32 suite = local->hw.wiphy->cipher_suites[r];
+
+			if (suite == WLAN_CIPHER_SUITE_WEP40 ||
+			    suite == WLAN_CIPHER_SUITE_WEP104)
+				continue;
+			suites[w++] = suite;
+		}
+	} else if (!local->hw.cipher_schemes) {
+		/* If the driver doesn't have cipher schemes, there's nothing
+		 * else to do other than assign the (software supported and
+		 * perhaps offloaded) cipher suites.
+		 */
 		local->hw.wiphy->cipher_suites = cipher_suites;
 		local->hw.wiphy->n_cipher_suites = ARRAY_SIZE(cipher_suites);
 
@@ -689,12 +714,16 @@ static int ieee80211_init_cipher_suites(struct ieee80211_local *local)
 			local->hw.wiphy->n_cipher_suites -= 2;
 		}
 
+		/* not dynamically allocated, so just return */
 		return 0;
-	}
+	} else {
+		const struct ieee80211_cipher_scheme *cs;
 
-	if (!local->hw.wiphy->cipher_suites) {
-		/*
-		 * Driver specifies cipher schemes only
+		cs = local->hw.cipher_schemes;
+
+		/* Driver specifies cipher schemes only (but not cipher suites
+		 * including the schemes)
+		 *
 		 * We start counting ciphers defined by schemes, TKIP and CCMP
 		 */
 		n_suites = local->hw.n_cipher_schemes + 2;
@@ -724,22 +753,6 @@ static int ieee80211_init_cipher_suites(struct ieee80211_local *local)
 
 		for (r = 0; r < local->hw.n_cipher_schemes; r++)
 			suites[w++] = cs[r].cipher;
-	} else {
-		/* Driver provides cipher suites, but we need to exclude WEP */
-		suites = kmemdup(local->hw.wiphy->cipher_suites,
-				 sizeof(u32) * local->hw.wiphy->n_cipher_suites,
-				 GFP_KERNEL);
-		if (!suites)
-			return -ENOMEM;
-
-		for (r = 0; r < local->hw.wiphy->n_cipher_suites; r++) {
-			u32 suite = local->hw.wiphy->cipher_suites[r];
-
-			if (suite == WLAN_CIPHER_SUITE_WEP40 ||
-			    suite == WLAN_CIPHER_SUITE_WEP104)
-				continue;
-			suites[w++] = suite;
-		}
 	}
 
 	local->hw.wiphy->cipher_suites = suites;
