diff --git a/lib/roken/hex.c b/lib/roken/hex.c
index f5c5c268f..2daf247e9 100644
--- a/lib/roken/hex.c
+++ b/lib/roken/hex.c
@@ -91,7 +91,13 @@ hex_decode(const char *str, void *data, size_t len)
     if ((l/2) + (l&1) > len)
 	return -1;
 
+    i = 0;
+    if (l & 1) {
+	p[0] = pos(str[0]);
+	str++;
+	p++;
+    }
     for (i = 0; i < l / 2; i++)
 	p[i] = pos(str[i * 2]) << 4 | pos(str[(i * 2) + 1]);
-    return i;
+    return i + (l & 1);
 }