PCI-DSS Requirement Reference Regex for Go

What this pattern does

This page provides a comprehensive, battle-tested regular expression for matching pci-dss requirement reference, ported and verified for Go. In security-sensitive code, using an unverified regex can open the door to both false positives and denial-of-service attacks. The snippet below is ready to drop into your Go project — whether you're validating in a Gin handler, a gRPC service, or a command-line tool.

Go Implementation

// PCI-DSS Requirement Reference
// ReDoS-safe | RegexVault — Security > Audit & Compliance

package validation

import "regexp"

var pcidssRequirementReferenceRe = regexp.MustCompile(`^Req(?:uirement)?\s*([1-9]|1[0-2])(?:\.([1-9]|[1-9][0-9])(?:\.([1-9]|[1-9][0-9]))?)?$`)

func ValidatePcidssRequirementReference(s string) bool {
    return pcidssRequirementReferenceRe.MatchString(s)
}

// Example
// fmt.Println(ValidatePcidssRequirementReference("Requirement 3")) // true

Test Cases

When to use this pattern

This pattern is drawn from the Security > Audit & Compliance category and carries a ReDoS-safe certification. That matters for Go developers because Go's RE2 engine is inherently safe from catastrophic backtracking, but this pattern has been additionally verified for correctness. 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

PCI-DSS v4.0 (released March 2022, mandatory from March 2025) has 12 requirements. Key requirements: 3 (Protect stored cardholder data), 4 (Encrypt transmission), 6 (Develop/maintain secure systems), 10 (Log and monitor), 12 (Information security policy). v4.0 adds 64 new requirements vs v3.2.1.