--- /BinaryCodec.java	2023-07-05 03:13:24.082025420 +0200
+++ /Codec-1/src/java/org/apache/commons/codec/binary/BinaryCodec.java	2023-07-05 03:13:24.086025421 +0200
@@ -110,8 +110,9 @@
      */
     public Object decode(Object ascii) throws DecoderException {
         if (ascii == null) {
-            return EMPTY_BYTE_ARRAY;
-        }
+ 
+ 
+ 
         if (ascii instanceof byte[]) {
             return fromAscii((byte[]) ascii);
         }
