diff --git a/cpack/CMakeLists.txt b/cpack/CMakeLists.txt
index 549f0d61..6df0ba3c 100644
--- a/cpack/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/cpack/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-include (../vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/cmake.cmake)
-
 # Fix debfiles permissions. Unfortunately, git doesn't store file permissions.
 # When installing the .deb package and these files have the wrong permissions, the package manager complains.
 execute_process(COMMAND /bin/bash -c "chmod 0755 ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/debfiles/*")
@@ -36,4 +34,4 @@ set(CPACK_DEBIAN_PACKAGE_HOMEPAGE "https://www.cryfs.org")
 set(CPACK_RPM_PACKAGE_LICENSE "LGPLv3")
 set(CPACK_DEBIAN_PACKAGE_CONTROL_EXTRA "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/debfiles/postinst;${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/debfiles/postrm")
 
-include(CPack)
\ No newline at end of file
+include(CPack)
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/CMakeLists.txt b/vendor/gitversion/CMakeLists.txt
index 505483cf..0ab18ccd 100644
--- a/vendor/gitversion/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/vendor/gitversion/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-include(gitversion-1.8/cmake.cmake)
+include(gitversion-1.9/cmake.cmake)
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/.gitignore b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/.gitignore
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/.gitignore
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/.gitignore
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/LICENSE b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/LICENSE
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/LICENSE
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/LICENSE
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/README.md b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/README.md
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/README.md
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/README.md
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/cmake.cmake b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/cmake.cmake
similarity index 57%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/cmake.cmake
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/cmake.cmake
index 587196ef..ee0b2da6 100644
--- a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/cmake.cmake
+++ b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/cmake.cmake
@@ -1,14 +1,6 @@
 set(DIR_OF_GITVERSION_TOOL "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}" CACHE INTERNAL "DIR_OF_GITVERSION_TOOL")
 
-#################################################
-# Add git version information 
-# Uses:      
-#   TARGET_GIT_VERSION_INIT(buildtarget)
-# Then, you can write in your source file:
-#   #include <gitversion/version.h>
-#   cout << gitversion::VERSION.toString() << endl;
-#################################################
-function(TARGET_GIT_VERSION_INIT TARGET)
+function (_CREATE_GIT_VERSION_FILE)
   FILE(MAKE_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/messmer_gitversion")
   FILE(MAKE_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/messmer_gitversion/gitversion")
 
@@ -18,11 +10,38 @@ function(TARGET_GIT_VERSION_INIT TARGET)
   IF(NOT ${result} EQUAL 0)
     MESSAGE(FATAL_ERROR "Error running messmer/git-version tool. Return code is: ${result}")
   ENDIF()
-  TARGET_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES(${TARGET} PUBLIC "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/messmer_gitversion")
+endfunction (_CREATE_GIT_VERSION_FILE)
 
+function(_SET_GITVERSION_CMAKE_VARIABLE OUTPUT_VARIABLE)
   # Load version string and write it to a cmake variable so it can be accessed from cmake.
   FILE(READ "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/messmer_gitversion/gitversion/version.h" VERSION_H_FILE_CONTENT)
   STRING(REGEX REPLACE ".*VERSION_STRING = \"([^\"]*)\".*" "\\1" VERSION_STRING "${VERSION_H_FILE_CONTENT}")
   MESSAGE(STATUS "Version from git: ${VERSION_STRING}")
-  SET(GITVERSION_VERSION_STRING "${VERSION_STRING}" PARENT_SCOPE)
+  SET(${OUTPUT_VARIABLE} "${VERSION_STRING}" CACHE INTERNAL "${OUTPUT_VARIABLE}")
+  MESSAGE(STATUS "Output: ${OUTPUT_VARIABLE}: ${${OUTPUT_VARIABLE}}")
+endfunction(_SET_GITVERSION_CMAKE_VARIABLE)
+
+######################################################
+# Add git version information
+# Uses:
+#   TARGET_GIT_VERSION_INIT(buildtarget)
+# Then, you can write in your source file:
+#   #include <gitversion/version.h>
+#   cout << gitversion::VERSION.toString() << endl;
+######################################################
+function(TARGET_GIT_VERSION_INIT TARGET)
+  _CREATE_GIT_VERSION_FILE()
+  TARGET_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES(${TARGET} PUBLIC "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/messmer_gitversion")
+  _SET_GITVERSION_CMAKE_VARIABLE(GITVERSION_VERSION_STRING)
 endfunction(TARGET_GIT_VERSION_INIT)
+
+######################################################
+# Load git version information into a cmake variable
+# Uses:
+#  GET_GIT_VERSION(OUTPUT_VARIABLE)
+#  MESSAGE(STATUS "The version is ${OUTPUT_VARIABLE}")
+######################################################
+function(GET_GIT_VERSION OUTPUT_VARIABLE)
+  _CREATE_GIT_VERSION_FILE()
+  _SET_GITVERSION_CMAKE_VARIABLE(${OUTPUT_VARIABLE})
+endfunction(GET_GIT_VERSION OUTPUT_VARIABLE)
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/DummyVersion.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/DummyVersion.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/DummyVersion.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/DummyVersion.py
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/__init__.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/__init__.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/__init__.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/__init__.py
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/__main__.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/__main__.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/__main__.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/__main__.py
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/main.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/main.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/main.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/main.py
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/utils.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/utils.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/utils.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/utils.py
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/versioninfo.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/versioninfo.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/versioninfo.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/versioninfo.py
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/versioninfooutputter.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/versioninfooutputter.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/versioninfooutputter.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/versioninfooutputter.py
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/versioninforeader.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/versioninforeader.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/gitversionbuilder/versioninforeader.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/gitversionbuilder/versioninforeader.py
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/setup.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/setup.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/setup.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/setup.py
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/test/__init__.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/test/__init__.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/test/__init__.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/test/__init__.py
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/test/main_test.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/test/main_test.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/test/main_test.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/test/main_test.py
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/test/test_utils.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/test/test_utils.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/test/test_utils.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/test/test_utils.py
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/test/utils_test.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/test/utils_test.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/test/utils_test.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/test/utils_test.py
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/test/versioninfo_test.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/test/versioninfo_test.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/test/versioninfo_test.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/test/versioninfo_test.py
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/test/versioninfooutputter_test.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/test/versioninfooutputter_test.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/test/versioninfooutputter_test.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/test/versioninfooutputter_test.py
diff --git a/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/test/versioninforeader_test.py b/vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/test/versioninforeader_test.py
similarity index 100%
rename from vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.8/src/test/versioninforeader_test.py
rename to vendor/gitversion/gitversion-1.9/src/test/versioninforeader_test.py