diff --git a/cmake/CPackOptions.cmake.in b/cmake/CPackOptions.cmake.in
index 4858f338..6d4fd97f 100644
--- a/cmake/CPackOptions.cmake.in
+++ b/cmake/CPackOptions.cmake.in
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ if (${CPACK_GENERATOR} STREQUAL "RPM")
   set (CPACK_RPM_FILE_NAME "RPM-DEFAULT")
   set (CPACK_RPM_PACKAGE_RELEASE "1")
   # next variable for RHEL, CentOS, Fedora
-  set (CPACK_RPM_PACKAGE_RELEASE_DIST "")
+  set (CPACK_RPM_PACKAGE_RELEASE_DIST "el8")
   set (CPACK_RPM_PACKAGE_LICENSE "GPLv2")
   set (CPACK_RPM_PACKAGE_VENDOR "Paul Scherrer Institute - LMU - LEM")
   set (CPACK_RPM_CHANGELOG_FILE "@PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR@/cmake/ChangeLogRPM")