item = self.items_node.getTag('item')

         if not item:

             log.warning('Received malformed avatar data via pubsub')

             return

         self.sha = item.getAttr('id')

         data_tag = item.getTag('data', namespace='urn:xmpp:avatar:data')

         if self.sha is None or data_tag is None:

             log.warning('Received malformed avatar data via pubsub')

             return

         self.data = data_tag.getData()

         if self.data is None:

             log.warning('Received malformed avatar data via pubsub')

             return

         try:

             self.data = base64.b64decode(self.data.encode('utf-8'))

         except binascii.Error as err:

             return

         return True