diff --git a/src/CMake/protobuf.cmake b/src/CMake/protobuf.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..cb06071dc0c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/CMake/protobuf.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+# Copyright (C) 2026 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved.
+#
+# Generic Protobuf setup: find Protobuf (CONFIG or MODULE), resolve
+# protoc, and provide a function to generate C++ from .proto files.
+
+# Set CMP0144 early for consistent ROOT variable behavior
+if(POLICY CMP0144)
+  cmake_policy(SET CMP0144 NEW)
+endif()
+
+# Now Protobuf_ROOT works reliably across CMake versions
+set(Protobuf_ROOT "" CACHE PATH "Path to Protobuf installation")
+
+# Prefer config mode for Protobuf, fallback to module mode.
+# Do not use REQUIRED so callers can skip (e.g. xbtracer) when Protobuf is not
+# available (common on Windows if Protobuf is not installed or not in PATH).
+set(CMAKE_FIND_PACKAGE_PREFER_CONFIG TRUE)
+find_package(Protobuf QUIET)
+unset(CMAKE_FIND_PACKAGE_PREFER_CONFIG)
+
+if(NOT Protobuf_FOUND)
+  return()
+endif()
+
+# Check if we're in config mode and enable module-compatible functions if needed
+if(TARGET protobuf::libprotobuf)
+  set(PROTOBUF_CONFIG_MODE TRUE)
+  set(protobuf_MODULE_COMPATIBLE TRUE)
+  message(STATUS "Protobuf found in CONFIG mode")
+
+  # CRITICAL: Ensure protobuf::protoc exists for Yocto cross-compilation
+  if(NOT TARGET protobuf::protoc)
+    if(NOT Protobuf_PROTOC_EXECUTABLE)
+      find_program(Protobuf_PROTOC_EXECUTABLE protoc 
+        PATHS ${CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH}/usr/bin 
+        NO_DEFAULT_PATH
+      )
+    endif()
+    if(Protobuf_PROTOC_EXECUTABLE)
+      add_executable(protobuf::protoc IMPORTED)
+      set_target_properties(protobuf::protoc PROPERTIES
+        IMPORTED_LOCATION "${Protobuf_PROTOC_EXECUTABLE}"
+      )
+      message(STATUS "Created protobuf::protoc target: ${Protobuf_PROTOC_EXECUTABLE}")
+    endif()
+  endif()
+elseif(Protobuf_LIBRARIES)
+  set(PROTOBUF_CONFIG_MODE FALSE)
+  add_library(protobuf::libprotobuf UNKNOWN IMPORTED)
+  set_target_properties(protobuf::libprotobuf PROPERTIES
+    IMPORTED_LOCATION "${Protobuf_LIBRARIES}"
+    INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${Protobuf_INCLUDE_DIRS}"
+    INTERFACE_COMPILE_DEFINITIONS "${Protobuf_DEFINITIONS}"
+  )
+  if(Protobuf_PROTOC_EXECUTABLE)
+    add_executable(protobuf::protoc IMPORTED)
+    set_target_properties(protobuf::protoc PROPERTIES
+      IMPORTED_LOCATION "${Protobuf_PROTOC_EXECUTABLE}"
+    )
+  endif()
+  message(STATUS "Protobuf found in MODULE mode - created compatibility targets")
+else()
+  set(Protobuf_FOUND FALSE)
+  return()
+endif()
+
+# Set global compatibility flag for config mode (enables legacy functions)
+set(protobuf_MODULE_COMPATIBLE TRUE CACHE BOOL "Enable module-compatible functions in config mode" FORCE)
+
+# Function to generate C++ headers and sources from .proto files
+# Usage: protobuf_generate_cpp(<target> <proto_files>...)
+# Adds generated sources/headers to <target> and depends on them
+function(protobuf_generate_cpp target)
+  if(NOT Protobuf_FOUND)
+    message(FATAL_ERROR "Protobuf not found")
+  endif()
+
+  set(proto_files ${ARGN})
+  if(NOT proto_files)
+    message(FATAL_ERROR "No proto files provided to protobuf_generate_cpp")
+  endif()
+
+  if(PROTOBUF_CONFIG_MODE)
+    # Use modern protobuf_generate with TARGET
+    message("-- Use modern protobuf_generate with TARGET")
+    protobuf_generate(
+      TARGET ${target}
+      PROTOS ${proto_files}
+      LANGUAGE cpp
+    )
+  else()
+    # Module mode: use legacy protobuf_generate_cpp
+    message("-- Module mode: use legacy protobuf_generate_cpp")
+    set(proto_sources)
+    set(proto_headers)
+    protobuf_generate_cpp(
+      proto_sources
+      proto_headers
+      ${proto_files}
+    )
+    target_sources(${target} PRIVATE ${proto_sources} ${proto_headers})
+  endif()
+endfunction()
diff --git a/src/runtime_src/core/tools/xbtracer/CMakeLists.txt b/src/runtime_src/core/tools/xbtracer/CMakeLists.txt
index fe69b12fbd0..93af3d97736 100644
--- a/src/runtime_src/core/tools/xbtracer/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/runtime_src/core/tools/xbtracer/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -2,114 +2,98 @@
 # Copyright (C) 2025 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved.
 
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10...4.0)
-if (POLICY CMP0144)
-  message("--using CMP0144 for Protobuf checking")
-  cmake_policy(SET CMP0144 NEW)
-else (POLICY CMP0144)
-  message("--CMP0144 is not supported, skipping xbtracer")
-  return()
-endif ()
 
-find_package(Protobuf)
+include(${XRT_SOURCE_DIR}/CMake/protobuf.cmake)
 if (NOT Protobuf_FOUND)
-  message("Protobuf is not found, skipping xbtracer")
+  message("Protobuf was not found, skip xbtracer.")
   return()
-endif (NOT Protobuf_FOUND)
-
-# Protobuf 22+ uses abseil for logging, need to link against it
-# Note: Protobuf versioning changed - version 22.0 may report as 4.22.0 or 6.22.0
-# We check for abseil linking if protobuf version >= 4.0 (corresponds to protobuf 22+)
-find_package(absl QUIET)
-if (absl_FOUND AND Protobuf_VERSION VERSION_GREATER_EQUAL 4.0)
-  set(XBTRACER_ABSL_LIBS absl::log_internal_check_op absl::log_internal_message)
-  message(STATUS "Found abseil, will link xbtracer against abseil logging libraries")
-endif()
-message("Protobuf version is ${Protobuf_VERSION}.")
+endif ()
 if (Protobuf_VERSION VERSION_LESS 3.0)
-  # we use timestamp feature of protobuf
-  message("Protobuf version ${Protobuf_VERSION} is less than 3.0, skip xbtracer.")
+  message("Protobuf ${Protobuf_VERSION} < 3.0, skip xbtracer.")
   return()
-endif (Protobuf_VERSION VERSION_LESS 3.0)
-
-# Imported targets should link the .lib (not the .dll) when compiling with MSVC
-set(XBTRACER_PROTOBUF_LINK "")
-if (TARGET protobuf::libprotobuf)
-  set(XBTRACER_PROTOBUF_LINK protobuf::libprotobuf)
-elseif (TARGET Protobuf::libprotobuf)
-  set(XBTRACER_PROTOBUF_LINK Protobuf::libprotobuf)
-else()
-  set(XBTRACER_PROTOBUF_LINK ${Protobuf_LIBRARIES})
-endif()
-
-include_directories (
-${Protobuf_INCLUDE_DIR}
-${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}
-)
-# Generate Cpp files from Proto file
-file(GLOB PROTO_SRC_FILES
-  "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/*.proto"
-)
-
-PROTOBUF_GENERATE_CPP(ProtoSources ProtoHeaders ${PROTO_SRC_FILES})
-
-add_custom_target(xbtracer_generated_code DEPENDS ${ProtoSources} ${ProtoHeaders})
+endif ()
 
-add_library(xbtracer_protobuf STATIC ${ProtoSources} ${ProtoHeaders})
-add_dependencies(xbtracer_protobuf xbtracer_generated_code)
+################################################################
+# Generate C++ from .proto and create xbtracer proto library
+################################################################
+set(XBTRACER_PROTO_FILES ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/func.proto)
+add_library(xbtracer_protobuf STATIC)
+protobuf_generate_cpp(xbtracer_protobuf ${XBTRACER_PROTO_FILES})
+target_include_directories(xbtracer_protobuf PRIVATE
+  ${Protobuf_INCLUDE_DIR}
+  ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}
+  ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/src
+  )
 if (MSVC)
-  target_compile_options(xbtracer_protobuf PRIVATE /wd4244 /wd4267 /wd4100)
-endif(MSVC)
-# Link protobuf static library against abseil if needed
-if (XBTRACER_ABSL_LIBS)
-  target_link_libraries(xbtracer_protobuf PUBLIC ${XBTRACER_ABSL_LIBS})
-endif()
-
-include_directories(
-  "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src"
-  ${XRT_BINARY_DIR}/gen
-)
-
-file(GLOB XBTRACER_COMMON_SRC_FILES
-  "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/common/*.cpp"
-)
+  target_compile_options(xbtracer_protobuf PRIVATE /wd4244 /wd4267 /wd4100 /wd4141 /wd4189)
+endif ()
+target_link_libraries(xbtracer_protobuf PUBLIC protobuf::libprotobuf)
 
+################################################################
+# Create xbtracer common library
+################################################################
+file(GLOB XBTRACER_COMMON_SRC_FILES ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/common/*.cpp)
 add_library(xbtracer_common STATIC ${XBTRACER_COMMON_SRC_FILES})
+target_include_directories(xbtracer_common PRIVATE
+  ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src
+  )
 if (NOT WIN32)
   target_link_libraries(xbtracer_common PRIVATE dl)
 endif (NOT WIN32)
 
-file(GLOB XBTRACER_WRAPPER_SRC_FILES
-  "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/wrapper/*.cpp"
-)
-
-add_library(xrt_trace SHARED ${XBTRACER_WRAPPER_SRC_FILES} ${ProtoHeaders})
+################################################################
+# Create xbtracer wrapper library
+################################################################
+file(GLOB XBTRACER_WRAPPER_SRC_FILES ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/wrapper/*.cpp)
+add_library(xrt_trace SHARED ${XBTRACER_WRAPPER_SRC_FILES})
 set_target_properties(xrt_trace PROPERTIES VERSION ${XRT_VERSION_STRING} SOVERSION ${XRT_SOVERSION})
 target_compile_definitions(xrt_trace PRIVATE XRT_ABI_VERSION=${XRT_VERSION_MAJOR})
-
-target_link_libraries(xrt_trace PRIVATE xbtracer_common xbtracer_protobuf ${XBTRACER_PROTOBUF_LINK} xrt_coreutil)
+target_include_directories(xrt_trace PRIVATE
+  ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src
+  ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}
+  ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/src
+  )
+target_link_libraries(xrt_trace PRIVATE xbtracer_common xbtracer_protobuf protobuf::libprotobuf xrt_coreutil)
 add_dependencies(xrt_trace xbtracer_common xbtracer_protobuf xrt_coreutil)
 
+################################################################
+# Create xbtracer tracer executable
+################################################################
 file(GLOB XBTRACER_CAPTURE_SRC_FILES
   "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/capture/*.cpp"
 )
 
 add_executable(xrt-tracer ${XBTRACER_CAPTURE_SRC_FILES})
 target_link_libraries(xrt-tracer PRIVATE xbtracer_common)
+target_include_directories(xrt-tracer PRIVATE
+  ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src
+ )
 add_dependencies(xrt-tracer xbtracer_common)
 
+################################################################
+# Create xbtracer replay executable
+################################################################
 file(GLOB XBREPLAY_SRC_FILES
   "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/replay/*.cpp"
 )
 add_executable(xrt-replay ${XBREPLAY_SRC_FILES})
-target_link_libraries(xrt-replay PRIVATE xbtracer_common xbtracer_protobuf ${XBTRACER_PROTOBUF_LINK} xrt_coreutil)
+target_include_directories(xrt-replay PRIVATE
+  ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src
+  ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR} 
+  ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/src
+ )
+target_link_libraries(xrt-replay PRIVATE xbtracer_common xbtracer_protobuf protobuf::libprotobuf xrt_coreutil)
 if (NOT WIN32)
   target_link_libraries(xrt-replay PRIVATE pthread)
 endif (NOT WIN32)
 add_dependencies(xrt-replay xbtracer_common xbtracer_protobuf xrt_coreutil)
-# TODO: when buiding with yocto for APU in CI, the status return from message to jason convertion function
-# provided from protobuf built from yocto doesn't match the one in the absl library, which results in
-# build failure. After fixing this issue in yocto APU build, we can always print message as JSON.
-# for now, we by default disable it, as it is not the key feature in the tracer/replay prototype, and replay
+
+# TODO: when buiding with yocto for APU in CI, the status return from
+# message to jason convertion function provided from protobuf built
+# from yocto doesn't match the one in the absl library, which results
+# in build failure. After fixing this issue in yocto APU build, we can
+# always print message as JSON.  for now, we by default disable it, as
+# it is not the key feature in the tracer/replay prototype, and replay
 # only tries to dump JSON message when it fails to replay a function.
 if (XRT_XBTRACER_ENABLE_JSON)
   target_compile_options(xrt-replay PRIVATE XBTRACER_PROTOBUF_HAS_JASON)
@@ -117,7 +101,7 @@ if (XRT_XBTRACER_ENABLE_JSON)
   add_executable(xbtracer_dump
     src/misc/xbtracer_dump.cpp
   )
-  target_link_libraries(xbtracer_dump PRIVATE xbtracer_common xbtracer_protobuf ${XBTRACER_PROTOBUF_LINK})
+  target_link_libraries(xbtracer_dump PRIVATE xbtracer_common xbtracer_protobuf protobuf::libprotobuf)
   add_dependencies(xbtracer_dump xbtracer_common xbtracer_protobuf xrt_coreutil)
 endif (XRT_XBTRACER_ENABLE_JSON)