diff --git a/cmake/thrift.cmake b/cmake/thrift.cmake
index 8a8088676..10763e8ac 100644
--- a/cmake/thrift.cmake
+++ b/cmake/thrift.cmake
@@ -12,7 +12,17 @@ if(WITH_THRIFT STREQUAL "system" OR WITH_THRIFT STREQUAL "auto")
         set(THRIFT_LIBRARY "${THRIFT_LIBRARIES}")
         return()
     elseif(WITH_THRIFT STREQUAL "system")
-        message(FATAL_ERROR "System Thrift requested but not found!")
+        FIND_PACKAGE(PkgConfig REQUIRED)
+        pkg_check_modules(THRIFT REQUIRED thrift)
+        
+        if(THRIFT_FOUND)
+            add_custom_target(external_thrift)
+            set(THRIFT_INCLUDE_DIR "${THRIFT_INCLUDE_DIR}")
+            set(THRIFT_LIBRARY "${THRIFT_LIBRARIES}")
+            return()
+        else()
+            message(FATAL_ERROR "System Thrift requested but not found!")
+        endif()
     endif()
 endif()