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    7. Syntax for Regular Expression Data Patterns
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    Syntax for Regular Expression Data Patterns

    When you create a regular expression data pattern, the following general requirements apply:
    • The pattern must have a string of at least 7 bytes with fixed values. The 7 bytes cannot contain a period (
      .
      ), an asterisk (
      *
      ), a plus sign (
      +
      ), or a range (
      [a-z]
      ).
    • When you require that values be case-sensitive, define patterns for all possible strings to match all variations of a term. For example, to match any documents designated as confidential, you must create a pattern that includes “confidential,” “Confidential,” and “CONFIDENTIAL.”
    The regular expression syntax in PAN-OS® is similar to traditional regular expression engines but every engine is unique. The following table describes the syntax supported in PAN-OS.
    Pattern Rules Syntax
    Description
    .
    Match any single character.
    ?
    Match the preceding character or expression 0 or 1 time. You must include the general expression inside parentheses.
    Example: (abc)?
    *
    Match the preceding character or expression 0 or more times. You must include the general expression inside parentheses.
    Example: (abc)*
    +
    Match the preceding character or regular expression one or more times. You must include the general expression inside parentheses.
    Example: (abc)+
    |
    Specify one “or” another.
    Example: ((bif)|(scr)|(exe)) matches “bif,” “scr,” or “exe.”
    You must include alternative substrings in parentheses.
    -
    Specify a range.
    Example: [c-z] matches any character between c and z inclusive.
    [ ]
    Match any specified character.
    Example: [abz] matches any of the characters a, b, or z.
    ^
    Match any character except those specified.
    Example: [^abz] matches any character except a, b, or z.
    { }
    Match a string that contains minimum and maximum.
    Example: {10-20} matches any string that is between 10 and 20 bytes inclusive. You must specify this directly in front of a fixed string and you can use only hyphens (
    -
    ).
    \
    Perform a literal match on any character above. You must precede the specified character with a backslash (
    \
    ).
    &amp
    The ampersand (
    &
    ) is a special character so, to look for
    &
     in a string, you must use
    &amp
    , instead.

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