diff --git a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/protobuf/package.py b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/protobuf/package.py
index 295e57850e0..508d16de73f 100644
--- a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/protobuf/package.py
+++ b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/protobuf/package.py
@@ -125,10 +125,11 @@ def cmake_args(self):
         ]
 
         if self.spec.satisfies("@3.22:"):
+            cxxstd = self.spec["abseil-cpp"].variants["cxxstd"].value
             args.extend(
                 [
                     self.define("protobuf_ABSL_PROVIDER", "package"),
-                    self.define("CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD", 14),
+                    self.define("CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD", cxxstd),
                 ]
             )