diff --git a/openssl/src/cipher_ctx.rs b/openssl/src/cipher_ctx.rs
index a4d1c461c5..b946961b07 100644
--- a/openssl/src/cipher_ctx.rs
+++ b/openssl/src/cipher_ctx.rs
@@ -379,6 +379,49 @@ impl CipherCtxRef {
         unsafe { ffi::EVP_CIPHER_CTX_num(self.as_ptr()) as usize }
     }
 
+    /// Returns number of bytes cached in partial block update.
+    #[cfg(ossl110)]
+    fn used_block_size(&self) -> usize {
+        self.num()
+    }
+
+    /// Returns maximum number of bytes that could be cached.
+    #[cfg(not(ossl110))]
+    fn used_block_size(&self) -> usize {
+        self.block_size()
+    }
+
+    /// Calculate the minimal size of the output buffer given the
+    /// input buffer size.
+    ///
+    /// For streaming ciphers the minimal output size is the same as
+    /// the input size. For block ciphers the minimal output size
+    /// additionally depends on the partial blocks that might have
+    /// been written in previous calls to [`Self::cipher_update`].
+    ///
+    /// This function takes into account the number of partially
+    /// written blocks for block ciphers for supported targets
+    /// (OpenSSL >= 1.1). For unsupported targets the number of
+    /// partially written bytes is assumed to contain one full block
+    /// (pessimistic case).
+    ///
+    /// # Panics
+    ///
+    /// Panics if the context has not been initialized with a cipher.
+    pub fn minimal_output_size(&self, inlen: usize) -> usize {
+        let block_size = self.block_size();
+        if block_size > 1 {
+            // block cipher
+            let num = self.used_block_size();
+            let total_size = inlen + num;
+            let num_blocks = total_size / block_size;
+            num_blocks * block_size
+        } else {
+            // streaming cipher
+            inlen
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Sets the length of the IV expected by this context.
     ///
     /// Only some ciphers support configurable IV lengths.
@@ -517,33 +560,61 @@ impl CipherCtxRef {
     ///
     /// # Panics
     ///
-    /// Panics if `output.len()` is less than `input.len()` plus the cipher's block size.
+    /// Panics if `output` doesn't contain enough space for data to be
+    /// written as specified by [`Self::minimal_output_size`].
     #[corresponds(EVP_CipherUpdate)]
     pub fn cipher_update(
         &mut self,
         input: &[u8],
         output: Option<&mut [u8]>,
     ) -> Result<usize, ErrorStack> {
-        let inlen = c_int::try_from(input.len()).unwrap();
-
         if let Some(output) = &output {
-            let mut block_size = self.block_size();
-            if block_size == 1 {
-                block_size = 0;
-            }
-            assert!(output.len() >= input.len() + block_size);
+            let min_output_size = self.minimal_output_size(input.len());
+            assert!(
+                output.len() >= min_output_size,
+                "Output buffer size should be at least {} bytes.",
+                min_output_size
+            );
         }
 
+        unsafe { self.unchecked_cipher_update(input, output) }
+    }
+
+    /// Writes data into the context.
+    ///
+    /// Providing no output buffer will cause the input to be considered additional authenticated data (AAD).
+    ///
+    /// Returns the number of bytes written to `output`.
+    ///
+    /// This function is the same as [`Self::cipher_update`] but with the
+    /// output size check removed. It can be used when the exact
+    /// buffer size control is maintained by the caller and the
+    /// underlying cryptographic library doesn't expose exact block
+    /// cache data (e.g. OpenSSL < 1.1, BoringSSL, LibreSSL).
+    ///
+    /// SAFETY: The caller is expected to provide `output` buffer
+    /// large enough to contain correct number of bytes. For streaming
+    /// ciphers the output buffer size should be at least as big as
+    /// the input buffer. For block ciphers the size of the output
+    /// buffer depends on the state of partially updated blocks (see
+    /// [`Self::minimal_output_size`]).
+    #[corresponds(EVP_CipherUpdate)]
+    pub unsafe fn unchecked_cipher_update(
+        &mut self,
+        input: &[u8],
+        output: Option<&mut [u8]>,
+    ) -> Result<usize, ErrorStack> {
+        let inlen = c_int::try_from(input.len()).unwrap();
+
         let mut outlen = 0;
-        unsafe {
-            cvt(ffi::EVP_CipherUpdate(
-                self.as_ptr(),
-                output.map_or(ptr::null_mut(), |b| b.as_mut_ptr()),
-                &mut outlen,
-                input.as_ptr(),
-                inlen,
-            ))?;
-        }
+
+        cvt(ffi::EVP_CipherUpdate(
+            self.as_ptr(),
+            output.map_or(ptr::null_mut(), |b| b.as_mut_ptr()),
+            &mut outlen,
+            input.as_ptr(),
+            inlen,
+        ))?;
 
         Ok(outlen as usize)
     }
@@ -604,7 +675,7 @@ impl CipherCtxRef {
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod test {
     use super::*;
-    use crate::cipher::Cipher;
+    use crate::{cipher::Cipher, rand::rand_bytes};
     #[cfg(not(boringssl))]
     use std::slice;
 
@@ -685,4 +756,201 @@ mod test {
         let cipher = Cipher::aes_128_cbc();
         aes_128_cbc(cipher);
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    #[cfg(ossl110)]
+    fn partial_block_updates() {
+        test_block_cipher_for_partial_block_updates(Cipher::aes_128_cbc());
+        test_block_cipher_for_partial_block_updates(Cipher::aes_256_cbc());
+        test_block_cipher_for_partial_block_updates(Cipher::des_ede3_cbc());
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(ossl110)]
+    fn test_block_cipher_for_partial_block_updates(cipher: &'static CipherRef) {
+        let mut key = vec![0; cipher.key_length()];
+        rand_bytes(&mut key).unwrap();
+        let mut iv = vec![0; cipher.iv_length()];
+        rand_bytes(&mut iv).unwrap();
+
+        let mut ctx = CipherCtx::new().unwrap();
+
+        ctx.encrypt_init(Some(cipher), Some(&key), Some(&iv))
+            .unwrap();
+        ctx.set_padding(false);
+
+        let block_size = cipher.block_size();
+        assert!(block_size > 1, "Need a block cipher, not a stream cipher");
+
+        // update cipher with non-full block
+        // expect no output until a block is complete
+        let outlen = ctx
+            .cipher_update(&vec![0; block_size - 1], Some(&mut [0; 0]))
+            .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(0, outlen);
+
+        // update cipher with missing bytes from the previous block
+        // and one additional block, output should contain two blocks
+        let mut two_blocks = vec![0; block_size * 2];
+        let outlen = ctx
+            .cipher_update(&vec![0; block_size + 1], Some(&mut two_blocks))
+            .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(block_size * 2, outlen);
+
+        ctx.cipher_final_vec(&mut vec![0; 0]).unwrap();
+
+        // try to decrypt
+        ctx.decrypt_init(Some(cipher), Some(&key), Some(&iv))
+            .unwrap();
+        ctx.set_padding(false);
+
+        // update cipher with non-full block
+        // expect no output until a block is complete
+        let outlen = ctx
+            .cipher_update(&two_blocks[0..block_size - 1], Some(&mut [0; 0]))
+            .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(0, outlen);
+
+        // update cipher with missing bytes from the previous block
+        // and one additional block, output should contain two blocks
+        let mut two_blocks_decrypted = vec![0; block_size * 2];
+        let outlen = ctx
+            .cipher_update(
+                &two_blocks[block_size - 1..],
+                Some(&mut two_blocks_decrypted),
+            )
+            .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(block_size * 2, outlen);
+
+        ctx.cipher_final_vec(&mut vec![0; 0]).unwrap();
+        // check if the decrypted blocks are the same as input (all zeros)
+        assert_eq!(two_blocks_decrypted, vec![0; block_size * 2]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_stream_ciphers() {
+        test_stream_cipher(Cipher::aes_192_ctr());
+        test_stream_cipher(Cipher::aes_256_ctr());
+    }
+
+    fn test_stream_cipher(cipher: &'static CipherRef) {
+        let mut key = vec![0; cipher.key_length()];
+        rand_bytes(&mut key).unwrap();
+        let mut iv = vec![0; cipher.iv_length()];
+        rand_bytes(&mut iv).unwrap();
+
+        let mut ctx = CipherCtx::new().unwrap();
+
+        ctx.encrypt_init(Some(cipher), Some(&key), Some(&iv))
+            .unwrap();
+        ctx.set_padding(false);
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            1,
+            cipher.block_size(),
+            "Need a stream cipher, not a block cipher"
+        );
+
+        // update cipher with non-full block
+        // this is a streaming cipher so the number of output bytes
+        // will be the same as the number of input bytes
+        let mut output = vec![0; 32];
+        let outlen = ctx
+            .cipher_update(&[1; 15], Some(&mut output[0..15]))
+            .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(15, outlen);
+
+        // update cipher with missing bytes from the previous block
+        // as previously it will output the same number of bytes as
+        // the input
+        let outlen = ctx
+            .cipher_update(&[1; 17], Some(&mut output[15..]))
+            .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(17, outlen);
+
+        ctx.cipher_final_vec(&mut vec![0; 0]).unwrap();
+
+        // try to decrypt
+        ctx.decrypt_init(Some(cipher), Some(&key), Some(&iv))
+            .unwrap();
+        ctx.set_padding(false);
+
+        // update cipher with non-full block
+        // expect that the output for stream cipher will contain
+        // the same number of bytes as the input
+        let mut output_decrypted = vec![0; 32];
+        let outlen = ctx
+            .cipher_update(&output[0..15], Some(&mut output_decrypted[0..15]))
+            .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(15, outlen);
+
+        let outlen = ctx
+            .cipher_update(&output[15..], Some(&mut output_decrypted[15..]))
+            .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(17, outlen);
+
+        ctx.cipher_final_vec(&mut vec![0; 0]).unwrap();
+        // check if the decrypted blocks are the same as input (all ones)
+        assert_eq!(output_decrypted, vec![1; 32]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    #[should_panic(expected = "Output buffer size should be at least 16 bytes.")]
+    #[cfg(ossl110)]
+    fn full_block_updates_aes_128() {
+        output_buffer_too_small(Cipher::aes_128_cbc());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    #[should_panic(expected = "Output buffer size should be at least 16 bytes.")]
+    #[cfg(ossl110)]
+    fn full_block_updates_aes_256() {
+        output_buffer_too_small(Cipher::aes_256_cbc());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    #[should_panic(expected = "Output buffer size should be at least 8 bytes.")]
+    #[cfg(ossl110)]
+    fn full_block_updates_3des() {
+        output_buffer_too_small(Cipher::des_ede3_cbc());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    #[should_panic(expected = "Output buffer size should be at least 32 bytes.")]
+    #[cfg(not(ossl110))]
+    fn full_block_updates_aes_128() {
+        output_buffer_too_small(Cipher::aes_128_cbc());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    #[should_panic(expected = "Output buffer size should be at least 32 bytes.")]
+    #[cfg(not(ossl110))]
+    fn full_block_updates_aes_256() {
+        output_buffer_too_small(Cipher::aes_256_cbc());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    #[should_panic(expected = "Output buffer size should be at least 16 bytes.")]
+    #[cfg(not(ossl110))]
+    fn full_block_updates_3des() {
+        output_buffer_too_small(Cipher::des_ede3_cbc());
+    }
+
+    fn output_buffer_too_small(cipher: &'static CipherRef) {
+        let mut key = vec![0; cipher.key_length()];
+        rand_bytes(&mut key).unwrap();
+        let mut iv = vec![0; cipher.iv_length()];
+        rand_bytes(&mut iv).unwrap();
+
+        let mut ctx = CipherCtx::new().unwrap();
+
+        ctx.encrypt_init(Some(cipher), Some(&key), Some(&iv))
+            .unwrap();
+        ctx.set_padding(false);
+
+        let block_size = cipher.block_size();
+        assert!(block_size > 1, "Need a block cipher, not a stream cipher");
+
+        ctx.cipher_update(&vec![0; block_size + 1], Some(&mut vec![0; block_size - 1]))
+            .unwrap();
+    }
 }