diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index e9c306e19a..8676670790 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -735,8 +735,8 @@ if (NOT SED_EXE)
     endif ()
 endif ()
 
-list(APPEND Python_ADDITIONAL_VERSIONS 3)
 set(ZEEK_PYTHON_MIN 3.5.0)
+set(Python_FIND_UNVERSIONED_NAMES FIRST)
 find_package(Python ${ZEEK_PYTHON_MIN} REQUIRED COMPONENTS Interpreter)
 find_package(FLEX REQUIRED)
 find_package(BISON 2.5 REQUIRED)
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 25bde692b6..e74d38280e 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -365,7 +365,7 @@ while [ $# -ne 0 ]; do
             append_cache_entry OPENSSL_ROOT_DIR PATH $optarg
             ;;
         --with-python=*)
-            append_cache_entry PYTHON_EXECUTABLE PATH $optarg
+            append_cache_entry Python_EXECUTABLE PATH $optarg
             ;;
         --with-python-inc=*)
             append_cache_entry PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR PATH $optarg