diff --git a/Lib/distutils/command/bdist_msi.py b/Lib/distutils/command/bdist_msi.py
index 96451586370..bca98cc23ea 100644
--- a/Lib/distutils/command/bdist_msi.py
+++ b/Lib/distutils/command/bdist_msi.py
@@ -141,6 +141,8 @@ def finalize_options(self):
             bdist_base = self.get_finalized_command('bdist').bdist_base
             self.bdist_dir = os.path.join(bdist_base, 'msi')
         short_version = get_python_version()
+        if (not self.target_version) and self.distribution.has_ext_modules():
+            self.target_version = short_version
         if self.target_version:
             self.versions = [self.target_version]
             if not self.skip_build and self.distribution.has_ext_modules()\
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 110efbeb77d..76f87730835 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -230,6 +230,9 @@ Installation
 Library
 -------
 
+- Issue #5311: bdist_msi can now build packages that do not depend on a
+  specific Python version.
+
 - Issue #5940: distutils.command.build_clib.check_library_list was not doing 
   the right type checkings anymore.