--- a/src/binwalk/core/version.py
+++ b/src/binwalk/core/version.py
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 try:
     from importlib import metadata
-    get_version = lambda : metadata.version("binwalk")
+    def get_version():
+        try:
+            return metadata.version("binwalk")
+        except metadata.PackageNotFoundError:
+            return "unknown"
 except ImportError:
     try:
         # Running on pre-3.8 Python; use importlib-metadata package
