diff --git a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/cpio/package.py b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/cpio/package.py
index 56e84a00617..5a351d9dc0f 100644
--- a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/cpio/package.py
+++ b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/cpio/package.py
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ def flag_handler(self, name, flags):
         spec = self.spec
 
         if name == 'cflags':
-            if '%intel@:18.999' in spec:
+            if '%intel@:17.999' in spec:
                 flags.append('-no-gcc')
 
             elif '%clang' in spec or '%fj' in spec: