diff --git a/backend/app/models/ban.py b/backend/app/models/ban.py
index 17f05e7..23187a7 100644
--- a/backend/app/models/ban.py
+++ b/backend/app/models/ban.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ Request, response, and domain models used by the ban router and service.
 
 from typing import Literal
 
-from pydantic import Field
+from pydantic import Field, field_validator
 
 from app.models.response import BanGuiBaseModel, CollectionResponse, PaginatedListResponse
 
@@ -67,6 +67,18 @@ class Ban(BanGuiBaseModel):
         description="Whether this ban came from a blocklist import or fail2ban itself.",
     )
 
+    @field_validator("country")
+    @classmethod
+    def _normalize_empty_country(cls, v: str | None) -> str | None:
+        """Coerce empty strings to None for country.
+
+        Geo enrichment may produce an empty string instead of None for
+        unresolved IPs, which breaks frontend truthiness checks.
+        """
+        if v == "":
+            return None
+        return v
+
 class BanResponse(BanGuiBaseModel):
     """Response containing a single ban record."""
 
@@ -97,6 +109,18 @@ class ActiveBan(BanGuiBaseModel):
     ban_count: int = Field(default=1, ge=1, description="Running ban count for this IP.")
     country: str | None = Field(default=None, description="ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code.")
 
+    @field_validator("country")
+    @classmethod
+    def _normalize_empty_country(cls, v: str | None) -> str | None:
+        """Coerce empty strings to None for country.
+
+        Geo enrichment may produce an empty string instead of None for
+        unresolved IPs, which breaks frontend truthiness checks.
+        """
+        if v == "":
+            return None
+        return v
+
 class ActiveBanListResponse(CollectionResponse[ActiveBan]):
     """List of all currently active bans across all jails.
 
@@ -154,6 +178,20 @@ class DashboardBanItem(BanGuiBaseModel):
         description="Whether this ban came from a blocklist import or fail2ban itself.",
     )
 
+    @field_validator("country_code")
+    @classmethod
+    def _normalize_empty_country_code(cls, v: str | None) -> str | None:
+        """Coerce empty strings to None for country_code.
+
+        The geo enrichment layer may produce an empty string instead of None
+        for unresolved IPs.  Frontend type narrowing uses truthiness, so an
+        empty string would slip through ``if (ban.country_code)`` checks and
+        appear as a falsy-but-not-null value — breaking UI rendering.
+        """
+        if v == "":
+            return None
+        return v
+
 class DashboardBanListResponse(PaginatedListResponse[DashboardBanItem]):
     """Paginated dashboard ban-list response.
 
diff --git a/backend/app/utils/regex_validator.py b/backend/app/utils/regex_validator.py
index 68610b6..9ab43bd 100644
--- a/backend/app/utils/regex_validator.py
+++ b/backend/app/utils/regex_validator.py
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ from contextlib import contextmanager
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
 import structlog
+from regexploit.ast.sre import SreOpParser
+from regexploit.redos import Redos, find
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from collections.abc import Generator
@@ -22,6 +24,10 @@ logger = structlog.get_logger()
 MAX_REGEX_LENGTH = 1000
 REGEX_COMPILE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 2
 
+# Minimum starriness threshold for flagging as ReDoS
+# Higher values = more severe/numerous nested quantifiers
+_MINIMUM_STARRINESS = 3
+
 
 class RegexTimeoutError(Exception):
     """Raised when regex compilation exceeds the timeout limit."""
@@ -41,25 +47,67 @@ class RegexTimeoutError(Exception):
         )
 
 
+class ReDoSDetectedError(Exception):
+    """Raised when a regex pattern is detected to have catastrophic backtracking."""
+
+    def __init__(self, pattern: str, redos: Redos) -> None:
+        """Initialize with the pattern and detection reason.
+
+        Args:
+            pattern: The regex pattern that was detected as dangerous.
+            redos: The Redos object containing details about the vulnerability.
+        """
+        self.pattern = pattern
+        self.starriness = redos.starriness
+        self.reason = redos.example()
+        super().__init__(
+            f"ReDoS pattern detected (starriness={redos.starriness}): {self.reason}"
+        )
+
+
+def _check_redos(pattern: str) -> Redos | None:
+    """Check if a pattern has catastrophic backtracking.
+
+    Args:
+        pattern: The regex pattern string to check.
+
+    Returns:
+        A Redos object if vulnerability detected, None otherwise.
+    """
+    try:
+        parsed = SreOpParser().parse_sre(pattern, 0)
+    except re.error:
+        # Invalid regex - will be caught by re.compile() later
+        return None
+
+    redos_list = find(parsed)
+    for redos in redos_list:
+        if redos.starriness >= _MINIMUM_STARRINESS:
+            return redos
+    return None
+
+
 def validate_regex_pattern(pattern: str) -> None:
-    """Validate a regex pattern with length and timeout checks.
+    """Validate a regex pattern with length and ReDoS checks.
 
     Validates a regex pattern by:
     1. Checking length does not exceed MAX_REGEX_LENGTH characters
-    2. Attempting compilation with a timeout to prevent ReDoS attacks
+    2. Checking for known catastrophic backtracking patterns (ReDoS)
+    3. Attempting compilation with a timeout to prevent ReDoS attacks
 
     Args:
         pattern: The regex pattern string to validate.
 
     Raises:
         ValueError: If the pattern exceeds maximum length.
+        ReDoSDetectedError: If the pattern is detected as a ReDoS vulnerability.
         RegexTimeoutError: If compilation exceeds the timeout.
         re.error: If the pattern is syntactically invalid.
 
     Example:
         >>> validate_regex_pattern(r'^[a-z]+$')  # OK
         >>> validate_regex_pattern('a' * 1001)   # Raises ValueError
-        >>> validate_regex_pattern(r'(a+)+b')    # May raise RegexTimeoutError
+        >>> validate_regex_pattern(r'(a+)+b')    # Raises ReDoSDetectedError
     """
     # Check length first (fast, no timeout needed)
     if len(pattern) > MAX_REGEX_LENGTH:
@@ -67,6 +115,16 @@ def validate_regex_pattern(pattern: str) -> None:
         logger.warning("regex_validation_length_exceeded", max_length=MAX_REGEX_LENGTH, actual_length=len(pattern))
         raise ValueError(msg)
 
+    # Check for ReDoS patterns before compilation
+    redos = _check_redos(pattern)
+    if redos is not None:
+        logger.warning(
+            "regex_redos_detected",
+            starriness=redos.starriness,
+            pattern_preview=pattern[:100],
+        )
+        raise ReDoSDetectedError(pattern, redos)
+
     # Attempt compilation with timeout
     try:
         with _timeout_context(REGEX_COMPILE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS):
diff --git a/backend/pyproject.toml b/backend/pyproject.toml
index 173ea99..44cbfc5 100644
--- a/backend/pyproject.toml
+++ b/backend/pyproject.toml
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "bcrypt>=4.2.0",
     "geoip2>=4.8.0",
     "prometheus-client>=0.21.0",
+    "regexploit>=1.0.0",
 ]
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_models.py b/backend/tests/test_models.py
index 0a5ffb8..42bfe6b 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_models.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_models.py
@@ -3,12 +3,13 @@
 import pytest
 from pydantic import ValidationError
 
-from app.models.config import GlobalConfigUpdate, GlobalConfigResponse
+from app.models.config import GlobalConfigResponse, GlobalConfigUpdate
+
 
 def test_add_log_path_request_default_tail_is_true() -> None:
     """Tail defaults to True."""
     from app.models.config import AddLogPathRequest
-    
+
     req = AddLogPathRequest(log_path="/var/log/app.log")
     assert req.tail is True
 
@@ -16,7 +17,7 @@ def test_add_log_path_request_default_tail_is_true() -> None:
 def test_add_log_path_request_can_be_created() -> None:
     """AddLogPathRequest can be created with valid data (no validators in model)."""
     from app.models.config import AddLogPathRequest
-    
+
     req = AddLogPathRequest(log_path="/etc/passwd", tail=True)
     # Note: path validation is now in the router layer, not in the model
     assert req.log_path == "/etc/passwd"
@@ -188,3 +189,132 @@ def test_setup_request_master_password_complexity_still_enforced() -> None:
     with pytest.raises(ValidationError) as exc_info:
         SetupRequest(master_password="Password1")
     assert "special character" in str(exc_info.value)
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# DashboardBanItem country_code validator
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_dashboard_ban_item_country_code_null() -> None:
+    """DashboardBanItem accepts None for country_code."""
+    from app.models.ban import DashboardBanItem
+
+    item = DashboardBanItem(
+        ip="1.2.3.4",
+        jail="sshd",
+        banned_at="2026-04-28T07:00:00+00:00",
+        ban_count=1,
+        origin="selfblock",
+        country_code=None,
+    )
+    assert item.country_code is None
+
+
+def test_dashboard_ban_item_country_code_valid() -> None:
+    """DashboardBanItem accepts a valid 2-char uppercase country code."""
+    from app.models.ban import DashboardBanItem
+
+    item = DashboardBanItem(
+        ip="1.2.3.4",
+        jail="sshd",
+        banned_at="2026-04-28T07:00:00+00:00",
+        ban_count=1,
+        origin="selfblock",
+        country_code="US",
+    )
+    assert item.country_code == "US"
+
+
+def test_dashboard_ban_item_country_code_empty_string_coerced_to_none() -> None:
+    """DashboardBanItem coerces empty-string country_code to None."""
+    from app.models.ban import DashboardBanItem
+
+    item = DashboardBanItem(
+        ip="1.2.3.4",
+        jail="sshd",
+        banned_at="2026-04-28T07:00:00+00:00",
+        ban_count=1,
+        origin="selfblock",
+        country_code="",
+    )
+    assert item.country_code is None
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# ActiveBan country validator
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_active_ban_country_null() -> None:
+    """ActiveBan accepts None for country."""
+    from app.models.ban import ActiveBan
+
+    ban = ActiveBan(ip="1.2.3.4", jail="sshd", country=None)
+    assert ban.country is None
+
+
+def test_active_ban_country_valid() -> None:
+    """ActiveBan accepts a valid country code."""
+    from app.models.ban import ActiveBan
+
+    ban = ActiveBan(ip="1.2.3.4", jail="sshd", country="DE")
+    assert ban.country == "DE"
+
+
+def test_active_ban_country_empty_string_coerced_to_none() -> None:
+    """ActiveBan coerces empty-string country to None."""
+    from app.models.ban import ActiveBan
+
+    ban = ActiveBan(ip="1.2.3.4", jail="sshd", country="")
+    assert ban.country is None
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Ban country validator
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_ban_country_null() -> None:
+    """Ban accepts None for country."""
+    from app.models.ban import Ban
+
+    ban = Ban(
+        ip="1.2.3.4",
+        jail="sshd",
+        banned_at="2026-04-28T07:00:00+00:00",
+        ban_count=1,
+        origin="selfblock",
+        country=None,
+    )
+    assert ban.country is None
+
+
+def test_ban_country_valid() -> None:
+    """Ban accepts a valid country code."""
+    from app.models.ban import Ban
+
+    ban = Ban(
+        ip="1.2.3.4",
+        jail="sshd",
+        banned_at="2026-04-28T07:00:00+00:00",
+        ban_count=1,
+        origin="selfblock",
+        country="FR",
+    )
+    assert ban.country == "FR"
+
+
+def test_ban_country_empty_string_coerced_to_none() -> None:
+    """Ban coerces empty-string country to None."""
+    from app.models.ban import Ban
+
+    ban = Ban(
+        ip="1.2.3.4",
+        jail="sshd",
+        banned_at="2026-04-28T07:00:00+00:00",
+        ban_count=1,
+        origin="selfblock",
+        country="",
+    )
+    assert ban.country is None
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_utils/test_regex_validator.py b/backend/tests/test_utils/test_regex_validator.py
index 2395433..73e54aa 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_utils/test_regex_validator.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_utils/test_regex_validator.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import pytest
 
 from app.utils.regex_validator import (
     MAX_REGEX_LENGTH,
-    REGEX_COMPILE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS,
+    ReDoSDetectedError,
     RegexTimeoutError,
     validate_regex_pattern,
 )
@@ -116,6 +116,61 @@ class TestRegexTimeoutError:
         assert exc.timeout_seconds == timeout_seconds
 
 
+class TestReDoSDetection:
+    """Tests for ReDoS pattern detection via regexploit."""
+
+    def test_redos_pattern_raises_error(self) -> None:
+        """Known catastrophic backtracking patterns should raise ReDoSDetectedError."""
+        redos_patterns = [
+            r"(a+)+b",
+            r"([a-zA-Z]+)*d",
+            r"(x+)+y",
+        ]
+        for pattern in redos_patterns:
+            with pytest.raises(ReDoSDetectedError, match="ReDoS pattern detected"):
+                validate_regex_pattern(pattern)
+
+    def test_redos_error_message_contains_reason(self) -> None:
+        """ReDoSDetectedError should include the detection reason."""
+        pattern = r"(a+)+b"
+        from regexploit.ast.sre import SreOpParser
+        from regexploit.redos import find
+        parsed = SreOpParser().parse_sre(pattern, 0)
+        redos_obj = list(find(parsed))[0]
+        exc = ReDoSDetectedError(pattern, redos_obj)
+        assert "ReDoS pattern detected" in str(exc)
+        assert str(redos_obj.starriness) in str(exc)  # starriness is included
+
+    def test_redos_error_attributes(self) -> None:
+        """ReDoSDetectedError should store pattern and starriness."""
+        pattern = r"(x+)+y"
+        from regexploit.ast.sre import SreOpParser
+        from regexploit.redos import find
+        parsed = SreOpParser().parse_sre(pattern, 0)
+        redos_obj = list(find(parsed))[0]
+        exc = ReDoSDetectedError(pattern, redos_obj)
+        assert exc.pattern == pattern
+        assert exc.starriness == redos_obj.starriness
+        assert exc.reason is not None
+
+    def test_non_redos_complex_pattern_passes(self) -> None:
+        """Complex but safe patterns should pass validation."""
+        safe_patterns = [
+            r"[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}",
+            r"^(?:25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|[01]?[0-9][0-9]?)$",
+            r"(?:foo|bar|baz)",
+        ]
+        for pattern in safe_patterns:
+            validate_regex_pattern(pattern)
+
+    def test_redos_detection_before_timeout(self) -> None:
+        """ReDoS detection should occur before timeout check."""
+        # This pattern is detected as ReDoS by regexploit
+        redos_pattern = r"(a+)+b"
+        with pytest.raises(ReDoSDetectedError):
+            validate_regex_pattern(redos_pattern)
+
+
 class TestValidateRegexPatternEdgeCases:
     """Test edge cases and boundary conditions."""