diff --git a/amnet-server/src/utils.rs b/amnet-server/src/utils.rs
index 8bbf556..a6347ba 100644
--- a/amnet-server/src/utils.rs
+++ b/amnet-server/src/utils.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-pub (crate) fn format_hex_bytes(bytes: &[u8]) -> String {
+pub fn format_hex_bytes(bytes: &[u8]) -> String {
     bytes.chunks(2)
         .map(|chunk| chunk.iter().map(|b| format!("{:02X}", b)).collect::<String>())
         .collect::<Vec<_>>()
@@ -6,7 +6,12 @@ pub (crate) fn format_hex_bytes(bytes: &[u8]) -> String {
 }
 
 pub (crate) fn parse_access_code(code: &String) -> Option<[u8; 10]> {
-    let matrix_code = format!("{:0>20}", code.replace(" ", ""));
+    let matrix_code = code.replace(" ", "");
+
+    if code.chars().any(|c| !c.is_ascii_hexdigit() && !c.is_whitespace()) && matrix_code.len() != 20 {
+        return None;
+    }
+
     let mut bytes: [u8; 10] = [0; 10];
 
     for i in 0..bytes.len() {
@@ -20,15 +25,14 @@ pub (crate) fn parse_access_code(code: &String) -> Option<[u8; 10]> {
 }
 
 pub (crate) fn parse_idm_hex(idm_hex: &String) -> Option<[u8; 8]> {
-    if idm_hex.len() > 16 || !idm_hex.chars().all(|c| c.is_ascii_hexdigit()) {
+    if idm_hex.len() != 16 || idm_hex.chars().any(|c| !c.is_ascii_hexdigit()) {
         return None;
     }
 
-    let padded_idm = format!("{:0>16}", idm_hex);
     let mut idm_bytes: [u8; 8] = [0; 8];
 
     for i in 0..idm_bytes.len() {
-        let slice_str = &padded_idm[i*2..i*2+2];
+        let slice_str = &idm_hex[i*2..i*2+2];
         let slice_val = u8::from_str_radix(slice_str, 16).ok()?;
 
         idm_bytes[i] = slice_val;