diff --git a/arch/riscv/Kconfig b/arch/riscv/Kconfig
index 557c4a8c4087..c192bd7305dc 100644
--- a/arch/riscv/Kconfig
+++ b/arch/riscv/Kconfig
@@ -331,6 +331,28 @@ config RISCV_BASE_PMU
 
 endmenu
 
+config TOOLCHAIN_NEEDS_EXPLICIT_ZICSR_ZIFENCEI
+	def_bool y
+	# https://sourceware.org/git/?p=binutils-gdb.git;a=commit;h=aed44286efa8ae8717a77d94b51ac3614e2ca6dc
+	depends on AS_IS_GNU && AS_VERSION >= 23800
+	help
+	  Newer binutils versions default to ISA spec version 20191213 which
+	  moves some instructions from the I extension to the Zicsr and Zifencei
+	  extensions.
+
+config TOOLCHAIN_NEEDS_OLD_ISA_SPEC
+	def_bool y
+	depends on TOOLCHAIN_NEEDS_EXPLICIT_ZICSR_ZIFENCEI
+	# https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/commit/22e199e6afb1263c943c0c0d4498694e15bf8a16
+	depends on CC_IS_CLANG && CLANG_VERSION < 170000
+	help
+	  Certain versions of clang do not support zicsr and zifencei via -march
+	  but newer versions of binutils require it for the reasons noted in the
+	  help text of CONFIG_TOOLCHAIN_NEEDS_EXPLICIT_ZICSR_ZIFENCEI. This
+	  option causes an older ISA spec compatible with these older versions
+	  of clang to be passed to GAS, which has the same result as passing zicsr
+	  and zifencei to -march.
+
 config FPU
 	bool "FPU support"
 	default y
diff --git a/arch/riscv/Makefile b/arch/riscv/Makefile
index 14cdeaa2bb32..daa679440000 100644
--- a/arch/riscv/Makefile
+++ b/arch/riscv/Makefile
@@ -53,10 +53,12 @@ riscv-march-$(CONFIG_ARCH_RV64I)	:= rv64ima
 riscv-march-$(CONFIG_FPU)		:= $(riscv-march-y)fd
 riscv-march-$(CONFIG_RISCV_ISA_C)	:= $(riscv-march-y)c
 
-# Newer binutils versions default to ISA spec version 20191213 which moves some
-# instructions from the I extension to the Zicsr and Zifencei extensions.
-toolchain-need-zicsr-zifencei := $(call cc-option-yn, -march=$(riscv-march-y)_zicsr_zifencei)
-riscv-march-$(toolchain-need-zicsr-zifencei) := $(riscv-march-y)_zicsr_zifencei
+ifdef CONFIG_TOOLCHAIN_NEEDS_OLD_ISA_SPEC
+KBUILD_CFLAGS += -Wa,-misa-spec=2.2
+KBUILD_AFLAGS += -Wa,-misa-spec=2.2
+else
+riscv-march-$(CONFIG_TOOLCHAIN_NEEDS_EXPLICIT_ZICSR_ZIFENCEI) := $(riscv-march-y)_zicsr_zifencei
+endif
 
 KBUILD_CFLAGS += -march=$(subst fd,,$(riscv-march-y))
 KBUILD_AFLAGS += -march=$(riscv-march-y)