diff --git a/GNUmakefile b/GNUmakefile
index 4d4857cf..1586353d 100755
--- a/GNUmakefile
+++ b/GNUmakefile
@@ -392,6 +392,13 @@ ifeq ($(DETECT_FEATURES),1)
     endif
   endif
 
+  # Drop to SSSE2 if available
+  ifeq ($(SSSE3_FLAG),)
+    ifneq ($(SSE2_FLAG),)
+      GCM_FLAG = $(SSE2_FLAG)
+    endif
+  endif
+
 # DETECT_FEATURES
 endif
 
diff --git a/GNUmakefile-cross b/GNUmakefile-cross
index 0ba83142..425aa242 100755
--- a/GNUmakefile-cross
+++ b/GNUmakefile-cross
@@ -335,6 +335,13 @@ ifeq ($(DETECT_FEATURES),1)
     endif
   endif
 
+  # Drop to SSSE2 if available
+  ifeq ($(SSSE3_FLAG),)
+    ifneq ($(SSE2_FLAG),)
+      GCM_FLAG = $(SSE2_FLAG)
+    endif
+  endif
+
 # DETECT_FEATURES
 endif