diff --git a/src/network/kernel/qauthenticator.cpp b/src/network/kernel/qauthenticator.cpp
index f7e8a205a1e..ba61f661155 100644
--- a/src/network/kernel/qauthenticator.cpp
+++ b/src/network/kernel/qauthenticator.cpp
@@ -443,6 +443,21 @@ bool QAuthenticatorPrivate::isMethodSupported(QByteArrayView method)
     return std::any_of(methods, methods + std::size(methods), isSupported);
 }
 
+static bool verifyDigestMD5(QByteArrayView value)
+{
+    auto opts = QAuthenticatorPrivate::parseDigestAuthenticationChallenge(value.toByteArray());
+    if (auto it = opts.constFind("algorithm"); it != opts.cend()) {
+        QByteArray alg = it.value();
+        if (alg.size() < 3)
+            return false;
+        // Just compare the first 3 characters, that way we match other subvariants as well, such as
+        // "MD5-sess"
+        auto view = QByteArrayView(alg).first(3);
+        return view.compare("MD5", Qt::CaseInsensitive) == 0;
+    }
+    return true; // assume it's ok if algorithm is not specified
+}
+
 void QAuthenticatorPrivate::parseHttpResponse(const QList<QPair<QByteArray, QByteArray> > &values, bool isProxy, const QString &host)
 {
 #if !QT_CONFIG(gssapi)
@@ -474,6 +489,10 @@ void QAuthenticatorPrivate::parseHttpResponse(const QList<QPair<QByteArray, QByt
             method = Ntlm;
             headerVal = current.second.mid(5);
         } else if (method < DigestMd5 && str.startsWith("digest")) {
+            // Make sure the algorithm is actually MD5 before committing to it:
+            if (!verifyDigestMD5(QByteArrayView(current.second).sliced(7)))
+                continue;
+
             method = DigestMd5;
             headerVal = current.second.mid(7);
         } else if (method < Negotiate && str.startsWith("negotiate")) {
diff --git a/tests/auto/network/kernel/qauthenticator/tst_qauthenticator.cpp b/tests/auto/network/kernel/qauthenticator/tst_qauthenticator.cpp
index 529386f50f6..8e573d7ded8 100644
--- a/tests/auto/network/kernel/qauthenticator/tst_qauthenticator.cpp
+++ b/tests/auto/network/kernel/qauthenticator/tst_qauthenticator.cpp
@@ -48,6 +48,8 @@ private Q_SLOTS:
     void ntlmAuth_data();
     void ntlmAuth();
 
+    void sha256AndMd5Digest();
+
     void equalityOperators();
 
     void isMethodSupported();
@@ -151,6 +153,35 @@ void tst_QAuthenticator::ntlmAuth()
     QVERIFY(priv->calculateResponse("GET", "/", "").startsWith("NTLM "));
 }
 
+// We don't (currently) support SHA256. So, when presented with the option of MD5 or SHA256,
+// we should always pick MD5.
+void tst_QAuthenticator::sha256AndMd5Digest()
+{
+    QByteArray md5 = "Digest realm=\"\", nonce=\"\", algorithm=MD5, qop=\"auth\"";
+    QByteArray sha256 = "Digest realm=\"\", nonce=\"\", algorithm=SHA-256, qop=\"auth\"";
+
+    QAuthenticator auth;
+    auth.setUser("unimportant");
+    auth.setPassword("unimportant");
+
+    QAuthenticatorPrivate *priv = QAuthenticatorPrivate::getPrivate(auth);
+    QVERIFY(priv->isMethodSupported("digest")); // sanity check
+
+    QCOMPARE(priv->phase, QAuthenticatorPrivate::Start);
+    QList<QPair<QByteArray, QByteArray>> headers;
+    // Put sha256 first, so that its parsed first...
+    headers.emplace_back("WWW-Authenticate", sha256);
+    headers.emplace_back("WWW-Authenticate", md5);
+    priv->parseHttpResponse(headers, false, QString());
+
+    QByteArray response = priv->calculateResponse("GET", "/index", {});
+    QCOMPARE(priv->phase, QAuthenticatorPrivate::Done);
+
+    QVERIFY(!response.isEmpty());
+    QVERIFY(!response.contains("algorithm=SHA-256"));
+    QVERIFY(response.contains("algorithm=MD5"));
+}
+
 void tst_QAuthenticator::equalityOperators()
 {
     QAuthenticator s1, s2;