--- /QCodec.java	2023-07-05 02:20:04.574121999 +0200
+++ /Codec-1/src/java/org/apache/commons/codec/net/QCodec.java	2023-07-05 02:20:04.574121999 +0200
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@
 
     protected byte[] doEncoding(byte[] bytes) {
         if (bytes == null) {
-            return null;
+return this;
         }
         byte[] data = QuotedPrintableCodec.encodeQuotedPrintable(PRINTABLE_CHARS, bytes);
         if (this.encodeBlanks) {
