diff --git a/core/misc.py b/core/misc.py
index e4adc1c..0975e94 100644
--- a/core/misc.py
+++ b/core/misc.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 
 import copy
 import imp
+import io
 import math
 import os
 import sys
@@ -96,13 +97,15 @@ def hexdump(data, indent=0, offset=16, show_header=True, show_offsets=True, show
 	If show_offsets is True, each line is prefixed with the address of the first byte of that line.
 	If show_ascii is True, each line is suffixed with its ASCII representation. Unprintable characters
 	are replaced with a dot.
-	The 'output' must implement a .write(str) method.
+	The 'output' must implement a .write(str) method. If 'output' is None, the string is returned instead.
 	"""
 	
+	output_io = io.StringIO() if not output else output
+	
 	if type(data) is not bytes:
 		raise ValueError('data must be bytes')
 	
-	offset_figures = math.ceil(math.log2(len(data)) / 8) * 2
+	offset_figures = math.ceil(math.log2(len(data)) / 8) * 2 if data else 2
 	format_str = '%%0%dx   ' %(offset_figures)
 	ptr = 0
 	
@@ -118,14 +121,14 @@ def hexdump(data, indent=0, offset=16, show_header=True, show_offsets=True, show
 		if show_ascii:
 			line.append('   ASCII')
 		
-		output.write(' '.join(line) + '\n')
+		output_io.write(' '.join(line) + '\n')
 	
 	while data[ptr:]:
 		if indent:
-			output.write(' ' * indent)
+			output_io.write(' ' * indent)
 		
 		if show_offsets:
-			output.write(format_str %(ptr))
+			output_io.write(format_str %(ptr))
 		
 		hex_bytes = []
 		ascii_bytes = []
@@ -142,11 +145,15 @@ def hexdump(data, indent=0, offset=16, show_header=True, show_offsets=True, show
 			elif i == len(data):
 				hex_bytes.extend(['  '] * (offset - local_i))
 		
-		output.write(' '.join(hex_bytes))
+		output_io.write(' '.join(hex_bytes))
 		
 		if show_ascii:
-			output.write('   |' + ''.join(ascii_bytes) + '|')
+			output_io.write('   |' + ''.join(ascii_bytes) + '|')
 		
-		output.write('\n')
+		output_io.write('\n')
 		
 		ptr += offset
+	
+	if not output:
+		output_io.seek(0)
+		return output_io.read()