diff --git a/docs/changes.txt b/docs/changes.txt
index b3defa74b..f5f46ca37 100644
--- a/docs/changes.txt
+++ b/docs/changes.txt
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 ##
 
 - Fixed a problem where --keyspace combined with custom charsets incorrectly displayed an error message
+- Fixed a problem where --stdout combined with custom charsets incorrectly displayed an error message
 - Fixed a typo that resulted in the minimum password length not being correctly initialized
 - Fixed a problem with parsing and displaying -m 7000 = Fortigate (FortiOS) hashes
 
diff --git a/src/user_options.c b/src/user_options.c
index 938e7d49c..f5362bff1 100644
--- a/src/user_options.c
+++ b/src/user_options.c
@@ -821,14 +821,28 @@ int user_options_sanity (hashcat_ctx_t *hashcat_ctx)
       return -1;
     }
 
-    if (user_options->hc_argc < 2)
+    // detect if mask was specified:
+
+    bool mask_is_missing = true;
+
+    if (user_options->keyspace == true) // special case if --keyspace was used: we need the mask but no hash file
     {
-      if (user_options->keyspace == false) // --keyspace would be a special case, i.e. we do not need a hash file
-      {
-        event_log_error (hashcat_ctx, "You need to specify a mask if you specify a custom-charset");
+      if (user_options->hc_argc > 0) mask_is_missing = false;
+    }
+    else if (user_options->stdout_flag == true) // special case if --stdout was used: we need the mask but no hash file
+    {
+      if (user_options->hc_argc > 0) mask_is_missing = false;
+    }
+    else
+    {
+      if (user_options->hc_argc > 1) mask_is_missing = false;
+    }
 
-        return -1;
-      }
+    if (mask_is_missing == true)
+    {
+      event_log_error (hashcat_ctx, "You need to specify a mask if you specify a custom-charset");
+
+      return -1;
     }
   }