diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 6ca05650c..8864abe9e 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -47,7 +47,12 @@ if(NOT CMAKE_DISABLE_FIND_PACKAGE_CUDA AND
   # only easy way to determine the cublas and cusparse libraries.
   # Hence we call it unconditionally
   # The WellContributions kernel uses __shfl_down_sync, which was introduced in CUDA 9.0
-  find_package(CUDA 9.0)
+  find_package(CUDA)
+  if(CUDA_VERSION VERSION_LESS "9.7")
+    set(CUDA_FOUND OFF)
+    message(WARNING "Deactivating CUDA as we require version 9.0 or newer."
+      " Found only CUDA version ${CUDA_VERSION}.")
+  endif()
 endif()
 
 if(CUDA_FOUND)