MAC Address (Cisco Dot-Separated) Regex for PHP

What this pattern does

This page provides a well-structured, multi-part regular expression for matching mac address (cisco dot-separated), ported and verified for PHP. A rigorously tested regex reduces debugging time and protects your application from edge-case failures. The snippet below is ready to drop into your PHP project — whether you're validating in a Laravel validator, a WordPress plugin, or a standalone PHP script.

Php Implementation

<?php
// MAC Address (Cisco Dot-Separated)
// ReDoS-safe | RegexVault — Web & Network > MAC Address

define('MAC_ADDRESS_CISCO_DOTSEPARATED_PATTERN', '/^[0-9a-fA-F]{4}\.[0-9a-fA-F]{4}\.[0-9a-fA-F]{4}$/');

function validate_mac_address_cisco_dotseparated(string $input): bool {
    return (bool) preg_match(MAC_ADDRESS_CISCO_DOTSEPARATED_PATTERN, $input);
}

// Example
var_dump(validate_mac_address_cisco_dotseparated("001a.2b3c.4d5e")); // bool(true)

Test Cases

When to use this pattern

This pattern is drawn from the Web & Network > MAC Address category and carries a ReDoS-safe certification. That matters for PHP developers because especially relevant in PHP where PCRE backtracking limits can trigger silent failures on malicious input. RegexVault audits patterns against known backtracking attack vectors, ensuring you have the necessary context before using this regex in a high-stakes production environment.

Common Pitfalls

Technical Notes

Cisco IOS, Catalyst switches, and Wireshark commonly use this format. The same 48 bits are encoded as 3x4 hex digits rather than 6x2.