diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 686c05e0b02..26b93c5bcb6 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ PHP                                                                        NEWS
     filename causes a NULL pointer dereference). (nielsdos)
   . Fixed bug GH-13833 (Applying zero offset to null pointer in zend_hash.c).
     (nielsdos)
+  . Fix potential NULL pointer dereference before calling EVP_SignInit. (icy17)
 
 - PHPDBG:
   . Fixed bug GH-13827 (Null pointer access of type 'zval' in phpdbg_frame).
diff --git a/ext/phar/util.c b/ext/phar/util.c
index 70b475aa748..04efe89d8fc 100644
--- a/ext/phar/util.c
+++ b/ext/phar/util.c
@@ -1890,6 +1890,13 @@ int phar_create_signature(phar_archive_data *phar, php_stream *fp, char **signat
 			}
 
 			md_ctx = EVP_MD_CTX_create();
+			if (md_ctx == NULL) {
+				EVP_PKEY_free(key);
+				if (error) {
+					spprintf(error, 0, "unable to initialize openssl signature for phar \"%s\"", phar->fname);
+				}
+				return FAILURE;
+			}
 
 			siglen = EVP_PKEY_size(key);
 			sigbuf = emalloc(siglen + 1);