diff --git a/include/vk_mem_alloc.h b/include/vk_mem_alloc.h
index d090864..6a2223e 100644
--- a/include/vk_mem_alloc.h
+++ b/include/vk_mem_alloc.h
@@ -2745,11 +2745,17 @@ static void* vma_aligned_alloc(size_t alignment, size_t size)
 {
     return _aligned_malloc(size, alignment);
 }
-#else
+#elif __cplusplus >= 201703L // Compiler conforms to C++17.
 static void* vma_aligned_alloc(size_t alignment, size_t size)
 {
     return aligned_alloc(alignment, size);
 }
+#else
+static void* vma_aligned_alloc(size_t alignment, size_t size)
+{
+    VMA_ASSERT(0 && "Could not implement aligned_alloc automatically. Please enable C++17 or later in your compiler or provide custom implementation of macro VMA_SYSTEM_ALIGNED_MALLOC (and VMA_SYSTEM_ALIGNED_FREE if needed) using the API of your system.");
+    return VMA_NULL;
+}
 #endif
 
 #if defined(_WIN32)