diff --git a/utils/gen-common-flags b/utils/gen-common-flags
index 4688ee107..2593031f9 100755
--- a/utils/gen-common-flags
+++ b/utils/gen-common-flags
@@ -24,6 +24,10 @@ if command -v dpkg-parsechangelog >/dev/null; then
   have_dpkg_parsechangelog=yes
 fi
 
+if [ -z "${RTPENGINE_VERSION}" ] && [ -f .release-version ]; then
+  RTPENGINE_VERSION=$(<.release-version)
+fi
+
 if [ -z "${RTPENGINE_VERSION}" ]; then
   if [ "${have_dpkg_parsechangelog}" = yes ]; then
     deb_version="$(dpkg-parsechangelog -l"${top_srcdir}"/debian/changelog | awk '/^Version: / { print $2 }')"