diff --git a/src/commands/ext/package.rs b/src/commands/ext/package.rs
index 65a7382..e69f5ac 100644
--- a/src/commands/ext/package.rs
+++ b/src/commands/ext/package.rs
@@ -560,10 +560,17 @@ impl ExtPackageCommand {
             format!("/opt/src/{ext_src_dir}")
         };
 
-        // Create the RPM filename
+        // RPM forbids `-` in Version (it is the Version/Release separator), so map
+        // the semver version to its RPM form (`1.0.0-rc.1` -> `1.0.0~rc.1`). Used
+        // for the spec `Version:` and the built RPM's name; the semver form is kept
+        // for the avocado.yaml baked into the payload (consumers validate semver).
+        let rpm_version = crate::utils::version::to_rpm_version(&metadata.version);
+
+        // Create the RPM filename (matches the built RPM's NVR, so it uses the
+        // RPM-form version, not the semver form).
         let rpm_filename = format!(
             "{}-{}-{}.{}.rpm",
-            metadata.name, metadata.version, metadata.release, metadata.arch
+            metadata.name, rpm_version, metadata.release, metadata.arch
         );
 
         // Convert package_files to a space-separated string for the shell script
@@ -772,7 +779,7 @@ echo "RPM created successfully: $AVOCADO_PREFIX/output/extensions/{rpm_filename}
 rm -rf "$TMPDIR"
 "#,
             name = metadata.name,
-            version = metadata.version,
+            version = rpm_version,
             release = metadata.release,
             summary = metadata.summary,
             license = metadata.license,
diff --git a/src/utils/version.rs b/src/utils/version.rs
index 1020d69..a8a880f 100644
--- a/src/utils/version.rs
+++ b/src/utils/version.rs
@@ -71,6 +71,18 @@ pub fn check_cli_requirement(requirement: &str) -> Result<()> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
+/// Convert a semver version string into an RPM-compatible `Version:` value.
+///
+/// RPM forbids `-` in the Version field (it is the Version/Release separator),
+/// so a semver pre-release like `1.0.0-rc.1` is illegal and `rpmbuild` rejects
+/// it. RPM uses `~` for pre-release ordering — `1.0.0~rc.1` sorts *before*
+/// `1.0.0`, matching semver pre-release precedence — and `^` for post-release,
+/// so map the pre-release `-` to `~` and the build-metadata `+` to `^`. A plain
+/// release version (no `-`/`+`) is returned unchanged.
+pub fn to_rpm_version(version: &str) -> String {
+    version.replace('-', "~").replace('+', "^")
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
@@ -127,6 +139,18 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(check_cli_requirement("*").is_ok());
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_to_rpm_version() {
+        // Plain release versions are unchanged.
+        assert_eq!(to_rpm_version("1.0.0"), "1.0.0");
+        assert_eq!(to_rpm_version("2.1.3"), "2.1.3");
+        // Pre-release `-` becomes `~` (sorts before the release in RPM).
+        assert_eq!(to_rpm_version("1.0.0-rc.1"), "1.0.0~rc.1");
+        assert_eq!(to_rpm_version("1.0.0-alpha.2"), "1.0.0~alpha.2");
+        // Build metadata `+` becomes `^`.
+        assert_eq!(to_rpm_version("1.0.0+build.5"), "1.0.0^build.5");
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_check_cli_requirement_invalid_syntax() {
         let result = check_cli_requirement("not-a-requirement");