diff --git a/pyoxidizer/src/cpython_lib_hacks/distutils/_msvccompiler.py b/pyoxidizer/src/cpython_lib_hacks/distutils/_msvccompiler.py
index 7b9bfa61a..156b18c97 100644
--- a/pyoxidizer/src/cpython_lib_hacks/distutils/_msvccompiler.py
+++ b/pyoxidizer/src/cpython_lib_hacks/distutils/_msvccompiler.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import shutil
 import stat
 import subprocess
+import sys
 import winreg
 
 from distutils.errors import DistutilsExecError, DistutilsPlatformError, \