diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 29d388d2..d448cd4c 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ endif
 LD := ld
 
 NM := nm
-PYTHON := python
+PYTHON := $(shell tools/ci/get-python.sh)
 SHELL := bash
 RM := rm
 LN := ln
diff --git a/tools/ci/get-python.sh b/tools/ci/get-python.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..4aa8927c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/ci/get-python.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+#
+# Not all systems ship a 'python' wrapper, try version specific ones if we
+# fail to find the version-agnostic one.
+#
+# Copyright (c) 2023 Open Source Security, Inc.
+
+try_python() {
+	if $1 -c 'exit' 2>/dev/null; then
+		echo "$1"
+		exit 0
+	fi
+}
+
+try_python python
+try_python python3
+try_python python2
+
+echo "error: python interpreter not found!" >&2
+exit 1