diff --git a/net/wireless/nl80211.c b/net/wireless/nl80211.c
index dd9a092b6bab..ab6d98cdac13 100644
--- a/net/wireless/nl80211.c
+++ b/net/wireless/nl80211.c
@@ -20132,9 +20132,26 @@ int cfg80211_external_auth_request(struct net_device *dev,
 	if (!hdr)
 		goto nla_put_failure;
 
+	/* Some historical mistakes in drivers <-> userspace interface (notably
+	 * between drivers and wpa_supplicant) led to a big-endian conversion
+	 * being needed on NL80211_ATTR_AKM_SUITES _only_ when its value is
+	 * WLAN_AKM_SUITE_SAE. This is now fixed on userspace side, but for the
+	 * benefit of older wpa_supplicant versions, send this particular value
+	 * in big-endian. Note that newer wpa_supplicant will also detect this
+	 * particular value in big endian still, so it all continues to work.
+	 */
+	if (params->key_mgmt_suite == WLAN_AKM_SUITE_SAE) {
+		if (nla_put_be32(msg, NL80211_ATTR_AKM_SUITES,
+				 cpu_to_be32(WLAN_AKM_SUITE_SAE)))
+			goto nla_put_failure;
+	} else {
+		if (nla_put_u32(msg, NL80211_ATTR_AKM_SUITES,
+				params->key_mgmt_suite))
+			goto nla_put_failure;
+	}
+
 	if (nla_put_u32(msg, NL80211_ATTR_WIPHY, rdev->wiphy_idx) ||
 	    nla_put_u32(msg, NL80211_ATTR_IFINDEX, dev->ifindex) ||
-	    nla_put_u32(msg, NL80211_ATTR_AKM_SUITES, params->key_mgmt_suite) ||
 	    nla_put_u32(msg, NL80211_ATTR_EXTERNAL_AUTH_ACTION,
 			params->action) ||
 	    nla_put(msg, NL80211_ATTR_BSSID, ETH_ALEN, params->bssid) ||