diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index a31c01b397..3c4529ec92 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -147,19 +147,18 @@ set_property (GLOBAL PROPERTY OCC_VERSION_MAJOR ${OCC_VERSION_MAJOR})
 set_property (GLOBAL PROPERTY OCC_VERSION_MINOR ${OCC_VERSION_MINOR})
 set_property (GLOBAL PROPERTY OCC_VERSION_MAINTENANCE ${OCC_VERSION_MAINTENANCE})
 
-# set soversion variable determining compatibility version on platforms with symlinks
-# 0 - for empty, 1 - for major, 2 - for major.minor, 3 - for major.minor.maintenance
-if (NOT BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS)
-  set (BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS "0" CACHE STRING "${BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS_DESCR}" FORCE)
-  SET_PROPERTY(CACHE BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS PROPERTY STRINGS 0 1 2 3)
-
+# set the number of version components in shared library names and SONAME
+# 0 - for none, 1 - for major, 2 - for major.minor, 3 - for major.minor.maintenance
+if ("${BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS}" STREQUAL "")
   # update default state of soversion on different platforms
   if (WIN32 OR ANDROID OR EMSCRIPTEN)
-    set (BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS 0)
+    set (BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS "0")
   else()
-    set (BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS 2)
+    set (BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS "2")
   endif()
 endif()
+set (BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS "${BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS}" CACHE STRING "${BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS_DESCR}" FORCE)
+set_property (CACHE BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS PROPERTY STRINGS 0 1 2 3)
 
 set (INSTALL_TEST_CASES OFF CACHE BOOL "${INSTALL_TEST_CASES_DESCR}")
 
diff --git a/adm/cmake/occt_toolkit.cmake b/adm/cmake/occt_toolkit.cmake
index 0722d35863..fe0c85dc52 100644
--- a/adm/cmake/occt_toolkit.cmake
+++ b/adm/cmake/occt_toolkit.cmake
@@ -204,9 +204,12 @@ elseif (BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS GREATER 0)
   set (OCC_SOVERSION "${OCC_VERSION_MAJOR}")
 endif()
 
-set_target_properties (${PROJECT_NAME} PROPERTIES COMPILE_FLAGS "${PRECOMPILED_DEFS}"
-                                                  SOVERSION     "${OCC_SOVERSION}"
-                                                  VERSION       "${OCC_VERSION_MAJOR}.${OCC_VERSION_MINOR}.${OCC_VERSION_MAINTENANCE}")
+set_target_properties (${PROJECT_NAME} PROPERTIES COMPILE_FLAGS "${PRECOMPILED_DEFS}")
+if (BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS GREATER 0 OR WIN32)
+  set_target_properties (${PROJECT_NAME} PROPERTIES
+                          SOVERSION "${OCC_SOVERSION}"
+                          VERSION   "${OCC_VERSION_MAJOR}.${OCC_VERSION_MINOR}.${OCC_VERSION_MAINTENANCE}")
+endif()
 
 set (USED_TOOLKITS_BY_CURRENT_PROJECT)
 set (USED_EXTERNLIB_AND_TOOLKITS)
diff --git a/adm/cmake/vardescr.cmake b/adm/cmake/vardescr.cmake
index f63b8ca039..bdec79ec27 100644
--- a/adm/cmake/vardescr.cmake
+++ b/adm/cmake/vardescr.cmake
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@ set (BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY_NAME_POSTFIX_DESCR
 "Append the postfix to names of output libraries")
 
 set (BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS_DESCR
-"Version numbers to put into SONAME: 0 - for empty, 1 - for major, 2 - for major.minor, 3 - for major.minor.maintenance")
+"Number of version components in shared library names and SONAME: 0 - for none,
+1 - for major, 2 - for major.minor, 3 - for major.minor.maintenance")
 
 set (BUILD_RELEASE_DISABLE_EXCEPTIONS_DESCR
 "Disables exceptions like Standard_OutOfRange in Release builds.
diff --git a/dox/build/build_occt/building_occt.md b/dox/build/build_occt/building_occt.md
index 1a87ed5653..f174d2a84c 100644
--- a/dox/build/build_occt/building_occt.md
+++ b/dox/build/build_occt/building_occt.md
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ The following table gives the full list of environment variables used at the con
 | BUILD_RELEASE_DISABLE_EXCEPTIONS | Boolean | Disables exceptions like Standard_OutOfRange in Release builds. Defines No_Exception macros for Release builds when enabled (default). These exceptions are always enabled in Debug builds, but disabled in Release for better performance |
 | BUILD_RESOURCES | Boolean | Enables regeneration of OCCT resource files |
 | BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY_NAME_POSTFIX | String | Appends the postfix to names of output libraries |
-| BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS | String | Version numbers to put into SONAME: 0 for empty, 1 for major, 2 for major.minor, 3 for major.minor.maintenance |
+| BUILD_SOVERSION_NUMBERS | String | Number of version components in shared library names and SONAME: 0 for none, 1 for major, 2 for major.minor, 3 for major.minor.maintenance |
 | CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES | String | Semicolon-separated CMake configurations |
 | USE_MMGR_TYPE | String | Select memory manager (NATIVE, FLEXIBLE, TBB, or JEMALLOC) |
 | USE_GIT_HASH | Boolean | Include the git hash in the OCCT version string |