diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/UserExtensions.cs b/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/UserExtensions.cs
index 5db36d16ed..d989876607 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/UserExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/UserExtensions.cs
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Globalization;
 using System.Linq;
 using System.Net;
+using System.Security.Cryptography;
 using Umbraco.Core.Cache;
 using Umbraco.Core.Configuration;
 using Umbraco.Core.IO;
@@ -35,9 +36,12 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.Models
         /// A list of 5 different sized avatar URLs
         /// </returns>
         internal static string[] GetUserAvatarUrls(this IUser user, ICacheProvider staticCache)
-        {
-            //check if the user has explicitly removed all avatars including a gravatar, this will be possible and the value will be "none"
-            if (user.Avatar == "none")
+        {
+            // If FIPS is required, never check the Gravatar service as it only supports MD5 hashing.  
+            // Unfortunately, if the FIPS setting is enabled on Windows, using MD5 will throw an exception
+            // and the website will not run.
+            // Also, check if the user has explicitly removed all avatars including a gravatar, this will be possible and the value will be "none"
+            if (user.Avatar == "none" || CryptoConfig.AllowOnlyFipsAlgorithms)
             {
                 return new string[0];
             }