diff --git a/.github/workflows/python-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/python-tests.yml
index d5d1956..f00d4f8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/python-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/python-tests.yml
@@ -62,6 +62,46 @@ jobs:
       - name: Upload coverage
         uses: codecov/codecov-action@v5
 
+  tests_no_extras:
+    name: "py3.14 no extras"
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
+
+      - name: Set up Python 3.14
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+        with:
+          python-version: "3.14"
+
+      - name: Get full Python version
+        id: full-python-version
+        run: echo ::set-output name=version::$(python -c "import sys; print('-'.join(str(v) for v in sys.version_info))")
+
+      - name: Set up poetry
+        uses: Gr1N/setup-poetry@v9
+
+      - name: Configure poetry
+        run: poetry config virtualenvs.in-project true
+
+      - name: Set up cache
+        uses: actions/cache@v5
+        id: cache
+        with:
+          path: .venv
+          key: venv-no-extras-${{ steps.full-python-version.outputs.version }}-${{ hashFiles('**/poetry.lock') }}
+
+      - name: Ensure cache is healthy
+        if: steps.cache.outputs.cache-hit == 'true'
+        run: timeout 10s poetry run pip --version || rm -rf .venv
+
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: poetry install
+
+      - name: Test fallback regex behavior
+        env:
+          PYTEST_ADDOPTS: "--color=yes"
+        run: poetry run pytest tests/integration/test_validators.py -k pattern
+
   static_checks:
     name: "Static checks"
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 03f826e..02ba301 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -50,7 +50,24 @@ Alternatively you can download the code and install from the repository:
 Usage
 #####
 
-To validate an OpenAPI v3.1 schema:
+``validate`` call signature is:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   validate(instance, schema, cls=OAS32Validator, allow_remote_references=False, **kwargs)
+
+The first argument is always the value you want to validate.
+The second argument is always the OpenAPI schema object.
+The ``cls`` keyword argument is optional and defaults to ``OAS32Validator``.
+Use ``cls`` when you need a specific validator version/behavior.
+Common forwarded keyword arguments include ``registry`` (reference context)
+and ``format_checker`` (format validation behavior).
+By default, ``validate`` uses a local-only empty registry to avoid implicit
+remote ``$ref`` retrieval. To resolve external references, pass an explicit
+``registry``. Set ``allow_remote_references=True`` only if you explicitly
+accept jsonschema's default remote retrieval behavior.
+
+To validate an OpenAPI schema:
 
 .. code-block:: python
 
@@ -100,6 +117,9 @@ To validate an OpenAPI v3.1 schema:
 
 By default, the latest OpenAPI schema syntax is expected.
 
+Default dialect resolution
+--------------------------
+
 The OpenAPI 3.1 and 3.2 base dialect URIs are registered for
 ``jsonschema.validators.validator_for`` resolution.
 Schemas declaring ``"$schema"`` as either
@@ -127,53 +147,79 @@ unresolved-metaschema fallback warnings.
    assert validator_for(schema) is OAS31Validator
    assert validator_for(schema32) is OAS32Validator
 
+Binary Data Semantics
+=====================
+
+The handling of binary-like payloads differs between OpenAPI versions.
 
-Strict vs Pragmatic Validators
-==============================
+OpenAPI 3.0
+-----------
 
-OpenAPI 3.0 has two validator variants with different behaviors for binary format:
+OpenAPI 3.0 keeps historical ``format: binary`` / ``format: byte`` usage on
+``type: string``.
 
-**OAS30Validator (default - pragmatic)**
-   - Accepts Python ``bytes`` for ``type: string`` with ``format: binary``
-   - More lenient for Python use cases where binary data is common
-   - Use when validating Python objects directly
+**OAS30Validator (default - compatibility behavior)**
+   - ``type: string`` accepts ``str``
+   - ``type: string, format: binary`` accepts Python ``bytes`` and strings
+   - useful when validating Python-native runtime data
 
 **OAS30StrictValidator**
-   - Follows OAS spec strictly: only accepts ``str`` for ``type: string``
-   - For ``format: binary``, only accepts base64-encoded strings
-   - Use when strict spec compliance is required
+   - ``type: string`` accepts ``str`` only
+   - ``type: string, format: binary`` uses strict format validation
+   - use when you want strict, spec-oriented behavior for 3.0 schemas
+
+OpenAPI 3.1+
+------------
+
+OpenAPI 3.1+ follows JSON Schema semantics for string typing in this library.
+
+- ``type: string`` accepts ``str`` only (not ``bytes``)
+- ``format: binary`` and ``format: byte`` are not treated as built-in formats
+- for base64-in-JSON, model with ``contentEncoding: base64`` (optionally
+  ``contentMediaType``)
+- for raw binary payloads, model via media type (for example
+  ``application/octet-stream``) rather than schema string formats
 
-Comparison Matrix
------------------
+Quick Reference
+---------------
 
 .. list-table::
    :header-rows: 1
-   :widths: 35 20 22 23
-
-   * - Schema
-     - Value
-     - OAS30Validator (default)
-     - OAS30StrictValidator
-   * - ``type: string``
-     - ``"test"`` (str)
-     - Pass
-     - Pass
-   * - ``type: string``
-     - ``b"test"`` (bytes)
-     - **Fail**
-     - **Fail**
-   * - ``type: string, format: binary``
-     - ``b"test"`` (bytes)
+   :widths: 28 24 24 24
+
+   * - Context
+     - ``"text"`` (str)
+     - ``b"text"`` (bytes)
+     - Notes
+   * - OAS 3.0 + ``OAS30Validator``
      - Pass
-     - **Fail**
-   * - ``type: string, format: binary``
-     - ``"dGVzdA=="`` (base64)
+     - Pass for ``format: binary``
+     - Compatibility behavior for Python runtime payloads
+   * - OAS 3.0 + ``OAS30StrictValidator``
      - Pass
+     - Fail
+     - Strict 3.0 validation mode
+   * - OAS 3.1 + ``OAS31Validator``
      - Pass
-   * - ``type: string, format: binary``
-     - ``"test"`` (plain str)
+     - Fail
+     - Use ``contentEncoding``/``contentMediaType`` and media types
+   * - OAS 3.2 + ``OAS32Validator``
      - Pass
-     - **Fail**
+     - Fail
+     - Same semantics as OAS 3.1
+
+
+Regex Behavior
+==============
+
+By default, ``pattern`` handling follows host Python regex behavior.
+For ECMAScript-oriented regex validation and matching (via ``regress``),
+install the optional extra:
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+   pip install "openapi-schema-validator[ecma-regex]"
+
 
 For more details read about `Validation <https://openapi-schema-validator.readthedocs.io/en/latest/validation.html>`__.
 
diff --git a/SECURITY.md b/SECURITY.md
index 8ffe77b..6f3ebdc 100644
--- a/SECURITY.md
+++ b/SECURITY.md
@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@ If you believe you have found a security vulnerability in the repository, please
 
 **Please do not report security vulnerabilities through public GitHub issues.**
 
-Instead, please report them directly to the repository maintainer.
+Instead, please report them directly to the repository maintainers or use GitHub's private vulnerability reporting flow
+(``Security Advisories``) to report security issues privately:
+https://docs.github.com/en/code-security/how-tos/report-and-fix-vulnerabilities/report-a-vulnerability/privately-reporting-a-security-vulnerability
 
 Please include the requested information listed below (as much as you can provide) to help us better understand the nature and scope of the possible issue:
 
diff --git a/docs/references.rst b/docs/references.rst
index c6bc1f8..abec15e 100644
--- a/docs/references.rst
+++ b/docs/references.rst
@@ -1,7 +1,13 @@
 References
 ==========
 
-You can resolve JSON Schema references by passing registry
+You can resolve JSON Schema references by passing registry.
+The ``validate(instance, schema, ...)`` shortcut resolves local references
+(``#/...``) against the provided ``schema`` mapping.
+By default, the shortcut uses a local-only empty registry and does not
+implicitly retrieve remote references.
+If needed, ``allow_remote_references=True`` enables jsonschema's default
+remote retrieval behavior.
 
 .. code-block:: python
 
diff --git a/docs/validation.rst b/docs/validation.rst
index c93aa69..7d3b00d 100644
--- a/docs/validation.rst
+++ b/docs/validation.rst
@@ -6,7 +6,29 @@ The simplest way to validate an instance under OAS schema is to use the ``valida
 Validate
 --------
 
-To validate an OpenAPI v3.1 schema:
+``validate`` call signature is:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   validate(instance, schema, cls=OAS32Validator, allow_remote_references=False, **kwargs)
+
+The first argument is always the value you want to validate.
+The second argument is always the OpenAPI schema object.
+The ``cls`` keyword argument is optional and defaults to ``OAS32Validator``.
+Use ``cls`` when you need a specific validator version/behavior.
+The ``allow_remote_references`` keyword argument is optional and defaults to
+``False``.
+Common forwarded keyword arguments include:
+
+- ``registry`` for explicit external reference resolution context
+- ``format_checker`` to control format validation behavior
+
+By default, ``validate`` uses a local-only empty registry to avoid implicit
+remote ``$ref`` retrieval.
+Set ``allow_remote_references=True`` only if you explicitly accept
+jsonschema's default remote retrieval behavior.
+
+To validate an OpenAPI schema:
 
 .. code-block:: python
 
@@ -56,6 +78,21 @@ To validate an OpenAPI v3.1 schema:
 
 By default, the latest OpenAPI schema syntax is expected.
 
+Common pitfalls
+---------------
+
+- argument order matters: call ``validate(instance, schema)``, not
+  ``validate(schema, instance)``
+- ``validate`` does not load files from a path; load your OpenAPI document
+  first and pass the parsed schema mapping
+- ``validate`` treats the provided ``schema`` as the reference root; local
+  references like ``#/components/...`` must exist within that mapping
+- when a schema uses external references (for example ``urn:...``), provide
+  reference context via ``registry=...`` as shown in :doc:`references`
+- for schema fragments containing local references (for example,
+  ``paths/.../responses/.../schema``), use a validator built from the full
+  schema root and then validate the fragment via ``validator.evolve(...)``
+
 Validators
 ----------
 
@@ -67,32 +104,6 @@ if you want to disambiguate the expected schema version, import and use ``OAS31V
 
    validate({"name": "John", "age": 23}, schema, cls=OAS31Validator)
 
-The OpenAPI 3.1 and 3.2 base dialect URIs are registered for
-``jsonschema.validators.validator_for`` resolution.
-If your schema declares
-``"$schema": "https://spec.openapis.org/oas/3.1/dialect/base"`` or
-``"$schema": "https://spec.openapis.org/oas/3.2/dialect/2025-09-17"``,
-``validator_for`` resolves directly to ``OAS31Validator`` or
-``OAS32Validator`` without unresolved-metaschema fallback warnings.
-
-.. code-block:: python
-
-   from jsonschema.validators import validator_for
-
-   from openapi_schema_validator import OAS31Validator
-   from openapi_schema_validator import OAS32Validator
-
-   schema = {
-       "$schema": "https://spec.openapis.org/oas/3.1/dialect/base",
-       "type": "object",
-   }
-   schema32 = {
-       "$schema": "https://spec.openapis.org/oas/3.2/dialect/2025-09-17",
-       "type": "object",
-   }
-   assert validator_for(schema) is OAS31Validator
-   assert validator_for(schema32) is OAS32Validator
-
 For OpenAPI 3.2, use ``OAS32Validator``.
 
 In order to validate OpenAPI 3.0 schema, import and use ``OAS30Validator`` instead of ``OAS31Validator``.
@@ -127,6 +138,52 @@ In order to validate OpenAPI 3.0 schema, import and use ``OAS30Validator`` inste
 
    validate({"name": "John", "age": None}, schema, cls=OAS30Validator)
 
+Default dialect resolution
+--------------------------
+
+The OpenAPI 3.1 and 3.2 base dialect URIs are registered for
+``jsonschema.validators.validator_for`` resolution.
+If your schema declares
+``"$schema": "https://spec.openapis.org/oas/3.1/dialect/base"`` or
+``"$schema": "https://spec.openapis.org/oas/3.2/dialect/2025-09-17"``,
+``validator_for`` resolves directly to ``OAS31Validator`` or
+``OAS32Validator`` without unresolved-metaschema fallback warnings.
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   from jsonschema.validators import validator_for
+
+   from openapi_schema_validator import OAS31Validator
+   from openapi_schema_validator import OAS32Validator
+
+   schema = {
+       "$schema": "https://spec.openapis.org/oas/3.1/dialect/base",
+       "type": "object",
+   }
+   schema32 = {
+       "$schema": "https://spec.openapis.org/oas/3.2/dialect/2025-09-17",
+       "type": "object",
+   }
+   assert validator_for(schema) is OAS31Validator
+   assert validator_for(schema32) is OAS32Validator
+
+Schema errors vs instance errors
+--------------------------------
+
+The high-level ``validate(...)`` helper checks schema validity before instance
+validation, following ``jsonschema.validate(...)`` behavior.
+Malformed schema values (for example an invalid regex in ``pattern``) raise
+``SchemaError``.
+
+If you instantiate a validator class directly and call ``.validate(...)``,
+schema checking is not performed automatically, matching
+``jsonschema`` validator-class behavior.
+For malformed regex patterns this may raise a lower-level regex error
+(default mode) or ``ValidationError`` from the validator (ECMAScript mode).
+
+Use ``<ValidatorClass>.check_schema(schema)`` first when you need deterministic
+schema-validation errors with direct validator usage.
+
 Read/write context
 ------------------
 
@@ -166,54 +223,83 @@ OpenAPI 3.0 schema comes with ``readOnly`` and ``writeOnly`` keywords. In order
        ...
    ValidationError: Tried to write read-only property with 23
 
-Strict vs Pragmatic Validators
-------------------------------
+Binary Data Semantics
+---------------------
 
-OpenAPI 3.0 has two validator variants with different behaviors for binary format:
+The handling of binary-like payloads differs between OpenAPI versions.
 
-**OAS30Validator (default - pragmatic)**
+OpenAPI 3.0
+~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-- Accepts Python ``bytes`` for ``type: string`` with ``format: binary``
-- More lenient for Python use cases where binary data is common
-- Use when validating Python objects directly
+OpenAPI 3.0 keeps historical ``format: binary`` / ``format: byte`` usage on
+``type: string``.
+
+**OAS30Validator (default - compatibility behavior)**
+
+- ``type: string`` accepts ``str``
+- ``type: string, format: binary`` accepts Python ``bytes`` and strings
+- useful when validating Python-native runtime data
 
 **OAS30StrictValidator**
 
-- Follows OAS spec strictly: only accepts ``str`` for ``type: string``
-- For ``format: binary``, only accepts base64-encoded strings
-- Use when strict spec compliance is required
+- ``type: string`` accepts ``str`` only
+- ``type: string, format: binary`` uses strict format validation
+- use when you want strict, spec-oriented behavior for 3.0 schemas
+
+OpenAPI 3.1+
+~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+OpenAPI 3.1+ follows JSON Schema semantics for string typing in this library.
+
+- ``type: string`` accepts ``str`` only (not ``bytes``)
+- ``format: binary`` and ``format: byte`` are not treated as built-in formats
+- for base64-in-JSON, model with ``contentEncoding: base64`` (optionally
+  ``contentMediaType``)
+- for raw binary payloads, model via media type (for example
+  ``application/octet-stream``) rather than schema string formats
 
-Comparison Matrix
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+Quick Reference
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 .. list-table::
    :header-rows: 1
-   :widths: 35 20 22 23
-
-   * - Schema
-     - Value
-     - OAS30Validator (default)
-     - OAS30StrictValidator
-   * - ``type: string``
-     - ``"test"`` (str)
-     - Pass
-     - Pass
-   * - ``type: string``
-     - ``b"test"`` (bytes)
-     - **Fail**
-     - **Fail**
-   * - ``type: string, format: binary``
-     - ``b"test"`` (bytes)
+   :widths: 28 24 24 24
+
+   * - Context
+     - ``"text"`` (str)
+     - ``b"text"`` (bytes)
+     - Notes
+   * - OAS 3.0 + ``OAS30Validator``
      - Pass
-     - **Fail**
-   * - ``type: string, format: binary``
-     - ``"dGVzdA=="`` (base64)
+     - Pass for ``format: binary``
+     - Compatibility behavior for Python runtime payloads
+   * - OAS 3.0 + ``OAS30StrictValidator``
      - Pass
+     - Fail
+     - Strict 3.0 validation mode
+   * - OAS 3.1 + ``OAS31Validator``
      - Pass
-   * - ``type: string, format: binary``
-     - ``"test"`` (plain str)
+     - Fail
+     - Use ``contentEncoding``/``contentMediaType`` and media types
+   * - OAS 3.2 + ``OAS32Validator``
      - Pass
-     - **Fail**
+     - Fail
+     - Same semantics as OAS 3.1
+
+Regex Behavior
+--------------
+
+Pattern validation follows one of two modes:
+
+- default installation: follows host Python regex behavior
+- ``ecma-regex`` extra installed: uses ``regress`` for ECMAScript-oriented
+  regex validation and matching
+
+Install optional ECMAScript regex support with:
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+   pip install "openapi-schema-validator[ecma-regex]"
 
 Example usage:
 
diff --git a/openapi_schema_validator/__init__.py b/openapi_schema_validator/__init__.py
index 50d9441..9fea9db 100644
--- a/openapi_schema_validator/__init__.py
+++ b/openapi_schema_validator/__init__.py
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 
 __author__ = "Artur Maciag"
 __email__ = "maciag.artur@gmail.com"
-__version__ = "0.7.2"
+__version__ = "0.7.3"
 __url__ = "https://github.com/python-openapi/openapi-schema-validator"
 __license__ = "3-clause BSD License"
 
diff --git a/openapi_schema_validator/_format.py b/openapi_schema_validator/_format.py
index 6653b81..a4544d1 100644
--- a/openapi_schema_validator/_format.py
+++ b/openapi_schema_validator/_format.py
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 
 from jsonschema._format import FormatChecker
 
+from openapi_schema_validator._regex import is_valid_regex
+
 
 def is_int32(instance: object) -> bool:
     # bool inherits from int, so ensure bools aren't reported as ints
@@ -68,10 +70,13 @@ def is_byte(instance: object) -> bool:
     if not isinstance(instance, (str, bytes)):
         return True
     if isinstance(instance, str):
-        instance = instance.encode()
+        instance = instance.encode("ascii", errors="strict")
 
-    encoded = b64encode(b64decode(instance))
-    return encoded == instance
+    try:
+        b64decode(instance, validate=True)
+    except (binascii.Error, ValueError):
+        return False
+    return True
 
 
 def is_password(instance: object) -> bool:
@@ -79,6 +84,12 @@ def is_password(instance: object) -> bool:
     return True
 
 
+def is_regex(instance: object) -> bool:
+    if not isinstance(instance, str):
+        return True
+    return is_valid_regex(instance)
+
+
 oas30_format_checker = FormatChecker()
 oas30_format_checker.checks("int32")(is_int32)
 oas30_format_checker.checks("int64")(is_int64)
@@ -87,6 +98,7 @@ def is_password(instance: object) -> bool:
 oas30_format_checker.checks("binary")(is_binary_pragmatic)
 oas30_format_checker.checks("byte", (binascii.Error, TypeError))(is_byte)
 oas30_format_checker.checks("password")(is_password)
+oas30_format_checker.checks("regex")(is_regex)
 
 oas30_strict_format_checker = FormatChecker()
 oas30_strict_format_checker.checks("int32")(is_int32)
@@ -98,6 +110,7 @@ def is_password(instance: object) -> bool:
     is_byte
 )
 oas30_strict_format_checker.checks("password")(is_password)
+oas30_strict_format_checker.checks("regex")(is_regex)
 
 oas31_format_checker = FormatChecker()
 oas31_format_checker.checks("int32")(is_int32)
@@ -105,6 +118,7 @@ def is_password(instance: object) -> bool:
 oas31_format_checker.checks("float")(is_float)
 oas31_format_checker.checks("double")(is_double)
 oas31_format_checker.checks("password")(is_password)
+oas31_format_checker.checks("regex")(is_regex)
 
 # OAS 3.2 uses the same format checks as OAS 3.1
 oas32_format_checker = FormatChecker()
@@ -113,3 +127,4 @@ def is_password(instance: object) -> bool:
 oas32_format_checker.checks("float")(is_float)
 oas32_format_checker.checks("double")(is_double)
 oas32_format_checker.checks("password")(is_password)
+oas32_format_checker.checks("regex")(is_regex)
diff --git a/openapi_schema_validator/_keywords.py b/openapi_schema_validator/_keywords.py
index 144d4d5..7ebe467 100644
--- a/openapi_schema_validator/_keywords.py
+++ b/openapi_schema_validator/_keywords.py
@@ -6,12 +6,17 @@
 from jsonschema._keywords import allOf as _allOf
 from jsonschema._keywords import anyOf as _anyOf
 from jsonschema._keywords import oneOf as _oneOf
+from jsonschema._keywords import pattern as _pattern
 from jsonschema._utils import extras_msg
 from jsonschema._utils import find_additional_properties
 from jsonschema.exceptions import FormatError
 from jsonschema.exceptions import ValidationError
 from jsonschema.exceptions import _WrappedReferencingError
 
+from openapi_schema_validator._regex import ECMARegexSyntaxError
+from openapi_schema_validator._regex import has_ecma_regex
+from openapi_schema_validator._regex import search as regex_search
+
 
 def handle_discriminator(
     validator: Any, _: Any, instance: Any, schema: Mapping[str, Any]
@@ -159,6 +164,34 @@ def strict_type(
         yield ValidationError(f"{instance!r} is not of type {data_repr}")
 
 
+def pattern(
+    validator: Any,
+    patrn: str,
+    instance: Any,
+    schema: Mapping[str, Any],
+) -> Iterator[ValidationError]:
+    if not has_ecma_regex():
+        yield from cast(
+            Iterator[ValidationError],
+            _pattern(validator, patrn, instance, schema),
+        )
+        return
+
+    if not validator.is_type(instance, "string"):
+        return
+
+    try:
+        matches = regex_search(patrn, instance)
+    except ECMARegexSyntaxError as exc:
+        yield ValidationError(
+            f"{patrn!r} is not a valid regular expression ({exc})"
+        )
+        return
+
+    if not matches:
+        yield ValidationError(f"{instance!r} does not match {patrn!r}")
+
+
 def format(
     validator: Any,
     format: str,
diff --git a/openapi_schema_validator/_regex.py b/openapi_schema_validator/_regex.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..df50e02
--- /dev/null
+++ b/openapi_schema_validator/_regex.py
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import re
+from typing import Any
+
+_REGEX_CLASS: Any = None
+_REGRESS_ERROR: type[Exception] = Exception
+
+try:
+    from regress import Regex as _REGEX_CLASS
+    from regress import RegressError as _REGRESS_ERROR
+except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover - optional dependency
+    pass
+
+
+class ECMARegexSyntaxError(ValueError):
+    pass
+
+
+def has_ecma_regex() -> bool:
+    return _REGEX_CLASS is not None
+
+
+def is_valid_regex(pattern: str) -> bool:
+    if _REGEX_CLASS is None:
+        try:
+            re.compile(pattern)
+        except re.error:
+            return False
+        return True
+
+    try:
+        _REGEX_CLASS(pattern)
+    except _REGRESS_ERROR:
+        return False
+    return True
+
+
+def search(pattern: str, instance: str) -> bool:
+    if _REGEX_CLASS is None:
+        return re.search(pattern, instance) is not None
+
+    try:
+        return _REGEX_CLASS(pattern).find(instance) is not None
+    except _REGRESS_ERROR as exc:
+        raise ECMARegexSyntaxError(str(exc)) from exc
diff --git a/openapi_schema_validator/shortcuts.py b/openapi_schema_validator/shortcuts.py
index bb486ba..adf35b8 100644
--- a/openapi_schema_validator/shortcuts.py
+++ b/openapi_schema_validator/shortcuts.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 from jsonschema.exceptions import best_match
 from jsonschema.protocols import Validator
+from referencing import Registry
 
 from openapi_schema_validator._dialects import OAS31_BASE_DIALECT_ID
 from openapi_schema_validator._dialects import OAS32_BASE_DIALECT_ID
@@ -16,10 +17,35 @@ def validate(
     schema: Mapping[str, Any],
     cls: type[Validator] = OAS32Validator,
     *args: Any,
+    allow_remote_references: bool = False,
     **kwargs: Any
 ) -> None:
     """
-    Validate an instance against a given schema using the specified validator class.
+    Validate an instance against a given schema using the specified
+    validator class.
+
+    Unlike direct ``Validator(schema).validate(instance)`` usage, this helper
+    checks schema validity first.
+    Invalid schemas therefore raise ``SchemaError`` before any instance
+    validation occurs.
+
+    Args:
+        instance: Value to validate against ``schema``.
+        schema: OpenAPI schema mapping used for validation. Local references
+            (``#/...``) are resolved against this mapping.
+        cls: Validator class to use. Defaults to ``OAS32Validator``.
+        *args: Positional arguments forwarded to ``cls`` constructor.
+        allow_remote_references: If ``True`` and no explicit ``registry`` is
+            provided, allow jsonschema's default remote reference retrieval
+            behavior.
+        **kwargs: Keyword arguments forwarded to ``cls`` constructor
+            (for example ``registry`` and ``format_checker``). If omitted,
+            a local-only empty ``Registry`` is used to avoid implicit remote
+            reference retrieval.
+
+    Raises:
+        jsonschema.exceptions.SchemaError: If ``schema`` is invalid.
+        jsonschema.exceptions.ValidationError: If ``instance`` is invalid.
     """
     schema_dict = cast(dict[str, Any], schema)
 
@@ -35,7 +61,11 @@ def validate(
     else:
         cls.check_schema(schema_dict)
 
-    validator = cls(schema_dict, *args, **kwargs)
+    validator_kwargs = kwargs.copy()
+    if not allow_remote_references:
+        validator_kwargs.setdefault("registry", Registry())
+
+    validator = cls(schema_dict, *args, **validator_kwargs)
     error = best_match(
         validator.evolve(schema=schema_dict).iter_errors(instance)
     )
diff --git a/openapi_schema_validator/validators.py b/openapi_schema_validator/validators.py
index 6d82006..e6be03b 100644
--- a/openapi_schema_validator/validators.py
+++ b/openapi_schema_validator/validators.py
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ def _oas30_id_of(schema: Any) -> str:
         "minimum": _legacy_keywords.minimum_draft3_draft4,
         "maxLength": _keywords.maxLength,
         "minLength": _keywords.minLength,
-        "pattern": _keywords.pattern,
+        "pattern": oas_keywords.pattern,
         "maxItems": _keywords.maxItems,
         "minItems": _keywords.minItems,
         "uniqueItems": _keywords.uniqueItems,
@@ -118,6 +118,7 @@ def _build_oas31_validator() -> Any:
             "allOf": oas_keywords.allOf,
             "oneOf": oas_keywords.oneOf,
             "anyOf": oas_keywords.anyOf,
+            "pattern": oas_keywords.pattern,
             "description": oas_keywords.not_implemented,
             # fixed OAS fields
             "discriminator": oas_keywords.not_implemented,
@@ -180,5 +181,11 @@ def _build_oas32_validator() -> Any:
 OAS31Validator = _build_oas31_validator()
 OAS32Validator = _build_oas32_validator()
 
+# These validator classes are generated via jsonschema create/extend, so there
+# is no simpler hook to inject registry-aware schema checking while preserving
+# each class's FORMAT_CHECKER. Override check_schema on each class to keep
+# OpenAPI metaschema resolution local and to apply optional ecma-regex
+# behavior consistently across OAS 3.0/3.1/3.2.
+OAS30Validator.check_schema = classmethod(check_openapi_schema)
 OAS31Validator.check_schema = classmethod(check_openapi_schema)
 OAS32Validator.check_schema = classmethod(check_openapi_schema)
diff --git a/poetry.lock b/poetry.lock
index c811dfd..6c5964b 100644
--- a/poetry.lock
+++ b/poetry.lock
@@ -1506,6 +1506,136 @@ attrs = ">=22.2.0"
 rpds-py = ">=0.7.0"
 typing-extensions = {version = ">=4.4.0", markers = "python_version < \"3.13\""}
 
+[[package]]
+name = "regress"
+version = "2025.10.1"
+description = "Python bindings to Rust's regress ECMA regular expressions library"
+optional = true
+python-versions = ">=3.10"
+groups = ["main"]
+markers = "extra == \"ecma-regex\""
+files = [
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp310-cp310-macosx_10_12_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:590abc9fa10255dcf84b4469f08cad9787001c38600080a033cd7a71f51cae02"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp310-cp310-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:dc9046f25971e9d6dc3b57028de8991d0d7c346efcb0c15acbfecbfb8e4c1813"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:81733f0e7f583d181bc9fc187b3d766489bcf7e0c85eff26f1e067c942e4e45a"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_17_armv7l.manylinux2014_armv7l.whl", hash = "sha256:3d48ae257483ff7da43c15b8071b132a1e75e4be2242a44e2587b8492afae32e"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_17_ppc64le.manylinux2014_ppc64le.whl", hash = "sha256:30e70b966015beef7e9287feaf37ed9606744ceaa88be24b10824f5b4c354498"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_17_s390x.manylinux2014_s390x.whl", hash = "sha256:6c1c968ee4dca933e0cd6cea51d9c6494c3d82650ce826e7a5d007c9de720da2"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:212fe8c4f823730d1578d0fe8b5edf21b393074b90a8ec704d6d6c1c96ffe7dc"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_5_i686.manylinux1_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:cb23c4ab28e75e35f033e4e392f01f6a9344a961e2f4ded56af5520b5841fe8d"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:fdcd839a87fae1e47bf376248589ebcb2e58d3a0fad66837d69856ae99ef3c93"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:1809ac971207bb2e098a46e08c2f241a259ac3bda48228f295a3c2cba49c6c0e"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:cbf1371ae2cfe1a2d6e1bb21f73a557138bc45347021f1701f196b484789639a"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp310-cp310-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:8a9c00ede347a5a431e36d4fcf75e2ec9094feac2f6170f2ffbd5e32f7f7a4b4"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp310-cp310-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:cba77808a756f1f117916c0afb0e79f01be1cb46ee51c77780e8afc59ddac76b"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp311-cp311-macosx_10_12_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:02da99e41c6a97f6d2146d326541b4035ed2139c92b2f56ca7e464ceb84fe24f"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp311-cp311-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:5d961e81b169fce4f6c0e35f52bbfca9e20abf9674dd391c75708f0665ef4f6f"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:c34b13e7785554997e18725b896d404ba992cee5b691768476f14b48de0c393a"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_17_armv7l.manylinux2014_armv7l.whl", hash = "sha256:15efcb8d568e712919cb56b78fffe08a09d5ed1844b43cccc3235c2da90d0e59"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_17_ppc64le.manylinux2014_ppc64le.whl", hash = "sha256:5a2ddb0d1c0821b70dd50daa773c5f3fbb2155398c57809a2f54447958c9569f"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_17_s390x.manylinux2014_s390x.whl", hash = "sha256:70c78c6cf679da47fbde85b75407fdfb4642477315ee94d6cdd62a0606941b83"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:707e2846e784ecef666a6892753cf5d8441e4cf02bcc7fa10fd21527429815fc"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_5_i686.manylinux1_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:5c147e4d3799022bac9fc49fd042a51b7f746c41ed231fa6b496720dab0d2f9d"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp311-cp311-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:148f15530807a63e24ca2dea3795546723d84c0b3a8e4152a24b58318f841b3c"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp311-cp311-musllinux_1_2_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:9670d957d156fa90e5582c4337ca1757b643859780896c8d853b015cd01456dc"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp311-cp311-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:af290cfb3b7d4b14319a88feab4e86f54a2c43bd8189be5a0dcd8f847f832847"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp311-cp311-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:7343ef7eae795e1449308d6d05131195f5af31ab1b2b6b405ff9370b64c1e7e1"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp311-cp311-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:8f42578d920fc878fe19ed8e2fbe38edd212c451bb2fc5e0084716d5acd26c4c"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp311-cp311-win_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:a6f0320f53e8fd8722211c0620fcd9bfecc0db05bf0d59385ee301f86b815671"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp312-cp312-macosx_10_12_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:45695cd7ddc6a919863f243a09a9e737257f958c0d2af0e71e349c9d0f3048ad"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp312-cp312-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:63503a8f601a10e5d9d72ea6efb415a2838a4766736775322578ce5fe18cb233"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:28941c80252119ef051ad67195fa8d155a0c8dc9ecb801786d94eeea6738e4c3"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_17_armv7l.manylinux2014_armv7l.whl", hash = "sha256:6d26daee7d46905c8d4232f44c39ea788f10d39c166735177f603783b4ace4e8"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_17_ppc64le.manylinux2014_ppc64le.whl", hash = "sha256:f0599f9cb12722300b6d4fcd6bd9b2be5bf233bc567c3ca503d8e392de23798a"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_17_s390x.manylinux2014_s390x.whl", hash = "sha256:46b92e1ec6092e6e989e4ad5f52f0a358e88355f70cf4dba9abce84f3cd513cf"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:7ac0e197c7f1b5ffca42341518b6a03e2ea3cdd66516af9278492d2d2bfc9ce2"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_5_i686.manylinux1_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:05e6c68021dff89fee7bcdab25e0819cff4c7f0761dc41f0fb609b0e9ebb6272"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp312-cp312-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:39600db4e404155168d6f75c3dbb2ae03ef3e288b4a57c7a6562a1144bf07682"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp312-cp312-musllinux_1_2_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:d48e91d14a366570685f76adaf9d108e3abc5522572e7e1d0d78c3cc3ebf0833"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp312-cp312-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:ce4e38ada2a39159d8a2523084e2b5ed94b3f7f7b196ba6b99c2d6c4ff634a87"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp312-cp312-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:c35c8cd42900d9195e5bf48d701dda28c204854fba7cc27d18f309745f57b8b5"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp312-cp312-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:089b6c5f0965962e8046493e5a1222a24e88d6f235fa8fe2424ec869e6ff613c"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp312-cp312-win_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:469b03b1deffb6d20ea4f95aa44ef0e0e5a9b47d56f709276b06a96338b570a0"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313-macosx_10_12_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:9100da34f69e18ad6d545f5d74f8ee729e42ce200a73752dd6d94f8a373d0e71"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:9e25096697b034848d8fc7910cdb38b7abc2bd2d7ade8767893359918ed4efd0"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:6c4c40a8c9f3e0119d2384a52b55dcc770461e1ead6ae7b41314999223116a15"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313-manylinux_2_17_armv7l.manylinux2014_armv7l.whl", hash = "sha256:25d8518285aa3ce67ddbede90a1a9ca6a5d23a1b8275dd5a9722af0c64b37b2a"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313-manylinux_2_17_ppc64le.manylinux2014_ppc64le.whl", hash = "sha256:8051fac3696730bb84d7675c62c7073792a0e105233d4f8e1055f2cab9b04fce"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313-manylinux_2_17_s390x.manylinux2014_s390x.whl", hash = "sha256:8e337ce3b150ca0ff599b1150b995ff6a2e32b5940e17ac3f30a29133960709e"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:290a15652c3fafe387db02061d4ed9a100804ed5a162d069b5a0ac28b5df162a"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313-manylinux_2_5_i686.manylinux1_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:b4bc2008b59e5124c1672d7fd9f203e5d4a4ff88ebaf4666e3281141e2d8db20"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:56ef2f8ef9a102a7d42cbbc2f3c0c5e1b186bd8eaa78d564da566b0bf20653dc"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313-musllinux_1_2_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:0680ac0b0a0058acb55b64aa56956732cf56b0baa84ea95e3fa124ab16da58aa"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:47c03bfd853651241fc11436fb14ef7c9b312bb9a9c2828aa5c93943e945f1ef"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:3d12e6a834ed5f6d9dc7e86ea8fd77d37bb13900129930151d87c3261c3a799e"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:ee3b7325ea849097d674020c72b2e6deb8f1018f085a7ecbd22831cd217b7f80"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313-win_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:e5f35e04fe6382c236d60c98b3f0a4a22dea75398b99c9c9bf3fb9d386cd7ebb"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313t-macosx_10_12_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:0ee12c4e1c4e6e3609f41dd58065bc241945e912772f7320238d6544f0745950"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313t-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:389c2278848cbfed81753a04ce8ea6c037271179cb9ef4decac7d3c65ae3330b"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313t-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:bf743b00cac20f8e8d271f275df7bc192ebb4faa7aee8fe98484df338786dec6"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313t-manylinux_2_17_armv7l.manylinux2014_armv7l.whl", hash = "sha256:5541da1f581377bc20d2f77e017453aa8f2c2f4bfe7679dee00e139ec700abe8"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313t-manylinux_2_17_ppc64le.manylinux2014_ppc64le.whl", hash = "sha256:a67216efa72bb27db170f637d67eb9acdc167da5d617163b057803de7aed1e6d"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313t-manylinux_2_17_s390x.manylinux2014_s390x.whl", hash = "sha256:fb61e653a325aea4681cf7b96ba9bbabc1aeb3f3d8fe877a07800024907398b9"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313t-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:e2a0a7da1d42fdff8068ab976a66beea572621514a130b37592489ae134a0e27"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313t-manylinux_2_5_i686.manylinux1_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:337ef62f785dc6e05c4a09be7a902980cf4d4f15346f4eca9eaf02745485440c"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313t-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:aaf5d102e05b109dde13363e705969b3ffdbbfeb880270187eed0871e75f0c8f"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313t-musllinux_1_2_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:adf331c8938e0d8705fc5d05d08fab09c11cb4bcdf8a64fa21902972c4cd38f4"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313t-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:287f86b5c0bf3bc9c0abd45bf6745ba9c6a5624c3132b07631bac4403b45143f"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313t-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:877e05e7c570ee1e077e8b587cca8a318b7675f3c94c6c4e25d0d145abf7c0b6"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp313-cp313t-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:97307f87b128389d8b3f385c8e431fc318263281d1a1c0394606bc813aea05fc"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314-macosx_10_12_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:56123dbe783a2bab04d1a1850605c483d40f36196bc52d249aa245d06f866f78"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:8405a31f0a1475e1c9aa20c4d6e1465ef2f7259581c018a2e273083494ca9a61"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:12430b2c7263a7b359d30dd0f2b179426d489df30da78cd21023376eb2fe2682"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314-manylinux_2_17_armv7l.manylinux2014_armv7l.whl", hash = "sha256:c7ecba827aff7f951db40be777c32608a1b16bbeb7f02fcc97a2e9fc6702641f"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314-manylinux_2_17_ppc64le.manylinux2014_ppc64le.whl", hash = "sha256:293be370961c6887efb82e466a15523ff24a702d444f44917ce318b222ffd229"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314-manylinux_2_17_s390x.manylinux2014_s390x.whl", hash = "sha256:783b9c50760aab988e4d60dcb7c54eba3fe730d80f9a877f1dc52d14263f86b1"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:c0ed3b4d0df960aeccb685f8de5001c19f426f1ab09fde715e5abdbf9c59b26a"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314-manylinux_2_5_i686.manylinux1_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:08e99c44e4c3860352400af96b25a4ebb673c16d53c6367153631ec77d5130b8"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:6b52096ecbf39f50756e51efa9286f47c598572f6b8bb2119f855de817f38b8e"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314-musllinux_1_2_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:b99a73cfbdc5d99681aeb3aeaa2d88369023c96648cc785433d6a92c8d3a8394"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:05d02b4d7179b85acf28d7329a488901d6baef5f5b337dcd52f53ea0ff980bc3"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:e7cc153fabb47b6f8dfc2903186934e07aa57ee1debe9b3569ac4779b43708ae"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:102c4627f026db8d361ab61155e0f1093176555d60ddb1cc4c9b6f5bbe255c1f"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314-win_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:e5c441a6017a5a29bb38c573892d882485cc26937cb1ee12da8593723bf6c041"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314t-macosx_10_12_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:77d63b338c2a4e56b4f05632d3fd94061ad47ee2b272b158b9c2e09545a4c6bb"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314t-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:722c408a3bc92b4904005e68244c28fa6df943290df8d670faf349414c86aabb"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314t-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:f3afe24e6474f5dbc448f865641c29bcbed4eb3b87ac9eb0e6755c4eff4f7111"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314t-manylinux_2_17_armv7l.manylinux2014_armv7l.whl", hash = "sha256:9fdbbea49bf2fe65f7272b0316e1343aff1ccbb85b58fab325778c416d648ed9"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314t-manylinux_2_17_ppc64le.manylinux2014_ppc64le.whl", hash = "sha256:6d451a88292c5a93f57cf754c71b3aa8b570ed159f9fd481554948c467e6105d"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314t-manylinux_2_17_s390x.manylinux2014_s390x.whl", hash = "sha256:a97649f21c875b7e95e10a59f0f487a518735f51a7aec7fc95fb2c3d9a3914d5"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314t-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:a542e38c8bb95f618674a5d2d248f1010547d7ff2e46a6cf4fa4b851459ba440"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314t-manylinux_2_5_i686.manylinux1_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:933561ea90b2ac9a826e956a994b8a66635cd96467374281da992ceea8b0de4c"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314t-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:b6b5aa9f9408fdf260c73071282a28d29efbb4c30a4b95ab29863bea31987621"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314t-musllinux_1_2_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:afee501f000666afe18531132edcaf0dc0178dd591cccf5b9596563e7456c118"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314t-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:4d0bf23a6d996655ed88c822bb0123cc2e92a1df95079ce7408552c35ec05d47"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314t-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:adaa80c97927d623ff72b920bcc637568f124eabe84559c7927a91253ff55d5e"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-cp314-cp314t-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:6553c8ba57fa92ab3e9ef5c811d6214c80131bba06496bd5920e6e5a3d53ca8e"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp310-pypy310_pp73-macosx_10_12_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:b5254f758206ba45776aefbd3c4223898890209b4dd3a743f2dc5cd1ebc5e9fd"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp310-pypy310_pp73-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:966dcad04fe1821c7af9bf6dd33bbeca5c2649b7a3c5b2af57700e6d93335fd4"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp310-pypy310_pp73-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:8d725e10a99ff65b0ad83b8c20f05645d9c67dbc809e2bf3b1db230d3e15081b"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp310-pypy310_pp73-manylinux_2_17_armv7l.manylinux2014_armv7l.whl", hash = "sha256:3605ef64ab64658856ce8d6fda730dfb62c01002e2283bd6400df8e912d1b56a"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp310-pypy310_pp73-manylinux_2_17_ppc64le.manylinux2014_ppc64le.whl", hash = "sha256:daece9f2fbaaadd23ef2cb31ffbaecd74f946938ff9b70d22c891c66d1435ad2"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp310-pypy310_pp73-manylinux_2_17_s390x.manylinux2014_s390x.whl", hash = "sha256:1460d95d39d956ba0fab8a7b614b7ee5486473b1b210f65d6a3043dc08462f38"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp310-pypy310_pp73-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:ac04243bf4ba86196b2491bdacd9450b339b3e5e97192aab82234baac1f0a74f"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp310-pypy310_pp73-manylinux_2_5_i686.manylinux1_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:c3962e4b980bfb844518beb1a3afce069674377ba99189fe339918fe7e7cbb7a"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp310-pypy310_pp73-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:f418c11a6bae820fad1334e0569336e2e7848cf4b81e503bfb038daf0e57ec12"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp310-pypy310_pp73-musllinux_1_2_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:19b875513ebecc2b37a125d5794ce91fb4c203b06cb187e15d13b2a761df4621"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp310-pypy310_pp73-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:415dd30885dfdb57f281f7c284e4495e85a90aa66965e3f10cb1bd862f40c2e4"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp310-pypy310_pp73-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:faa057895de8e41301f9367b286bb3fd0cd80bc8523c8c80866fe746a33d13b6"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp311-pypy311_pp73-macosx_10_12_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:de16665fcc008db88729f52bab92e36d0c0534bcb3f334ff6d2c7574b16a3d6d"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp311-pypy311_pp73-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:1624855927d72bb0f8281785fc110eb89702078abe1c42e2e6cbe872ec374277"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp311-pypy311_pp73-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:d0f63f4c3f2e701c832e54434ee10bd0bd2c850b0ae4029829d2dd0c9a340d83"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp311-pypy311_pp73-manylinux_2_17_armv7l.manylinux2014_armv7l.whl", hash = "sha256:ccfc11e2b632a21d82a56b52a70fc002b990fcf4f6b30661724732776bea6f1d"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp311-pypy311_pp73-manylinux_2_17_ppc64le.manylinux2014_ppc64le.whl", hash = "sha256:be96403b244e3d6925e225b4da5fbc4f5dd6f06b07f751f00047aa48fd2c7fe3"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp311-pypy311_pp73-manylinux_2_17_s390x.manylinux2014_s390x.whl", hash = "sha256:15a7c2777e8eeb153fe87327871669c3bd1aab4fe20c1fccf448616bc298350d"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp311-pypy311_pp73-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:905c4e364526f89b33db8e69468b15d9c294a56af4d533f2700e0e1a363fbae7"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp311-pypy311_pp73-manylinux_2_5_i686.manylinux1_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:0d1f3c465f415521ca259209dd2587c9a35785b35e98d62d4a7fba3c2bf1cfc8"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp311-pypy311_pp73-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:701d1e4f2b30abfb39b27759a52e68cab8b76484b3d9b51b2d7f368807613f77"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp311-pypy311_pp73-musllinux_1_2_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:189899161133e7c56e733a3fc939642611585c5599626352ee0849cd34d7f436"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1-pp311-pypy311_pp73-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:4c559282471f4f0c9bf7b588985c4bec16de0a85e1a3e017dca39640e15118ce"},
+    {file = "regress-2025.10.1.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:dcc0a8af0cdbc3d6e0d4725f113335d0a5ffbba86ae3ca18d2b5b352c5f2c8ed"},
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "requests"
 version = "2.32.5"
@@ -2068,8 +2198,9 @@ test = ["covdefaults (>=2.3)", "coverage (>=7.2.7)", "coverage-enable-subprocess
 
 [extras]
 docs = []
+ecma-regex = ["regress"]
 
 [metadata]
 lock-version = "2.1"
 python-versions = "^3.10.0"
-content-hash = "09c27eb4b3e29b9e0ec20db1cab6922cb73e91eeac1049b29e1b65a6a5ca8359"
+content-hash = "dd73974c171fe06ed00a48c4b069c177885162945d22079c1d71cd7bc70e0a11"
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index acf37bb..bf6738f 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -28,11 +28,15 @@ ignore_missing_imports = true
 module = "rfc3339_validator"
 ignore_missing_imports = true
 
+[[tool.mypy.overrides]]
+module = "regress"
+ignore_missing_imports = true
+
 [tool.tbump]
 github_url = "https://github.com/python-openapi/openapi-schema-validator"
 
 [tool.tbump.version]
-current = "0.7.2"
+current = "0.7.3"
 regex = '''
   (?P<major>\d+)
   \.
@@ -53,7 +57,7 @@ src = "pyproject.toml"
 
 [tool.poetry]
 name = "openapi-schema-validator"
-version = "0.7.2"
+version = "0.7.3"
 description = "OpenAPI schema validation for Python"
 authors = ["Artur Maciag <maciag.artur@gmail.com>"]
 license = "BSD-3-Clause"
@@ -84,9 +88,11 @@ jsonschema = "^4.19.1"
 rfc3339-validator = "*" # requred by jsonschema for date-time checker
 jsonschema-specifications = ">=2024.10.1"
 referencing = "^0.37.0"
+regress = {version = ">=2025.10.1", optional = true}
 
 [tool.poetry.extras]
 docs = ["sphinx", "sphinx-immaterial"]
+ecma-regex = ["regress"]
 
 [tool.poetry.group.dev.dependencies]
 black = ">=24.4,<27.0"
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_validators.py b/tests/integration/test_validators.py
index 65cc864..b59f31e 100644
--- a/tests/integration/test_validators.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_validators.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import re
 import warnings
 from base64 import b64encode
 from typing import Any
@@ -30,11 +31,13 @@
 from openapi_schema_validator import oas30_strict_format_checker
 from openapi_schema_validator import oas31_format_checker
 from openapi_schema_validator import oas32_format_checker
+from openapi_schema_validator import validate
 from openapi_schema_validator._dialects import OAS31_BASE_DIALECT_ID
 from openapi_schema_validator._dialects import OAS31_BASE_DIALECT_METASCHEMA
 from openapi_schema_validator._dialects import OAS32_BASE_DIALECT_ID
 from openapi_schema_validator._dialects import OAS32_BASE_DIALECT_METASCHEMA
 from openapi_schema_validator._dialects import register_openapi_dialect
+from openapi_schema_validator._regex import has_ecma_regex
 
 
 class TestOAS30ValidatorFormatChecker:
@@ -124,6 +127,59 @@ def test_string_invalid(self, validator_class, value):
         with pytest.raises(ValidationError):
             validator.validate(value)
 
+    def test_invalid_pattern_raises_expected_error(self, validator_class):
+        schema = {"type": "string", "pattern": "["}
+        validator = validator_class(schema)
+
+        if has_ecma_regex():
+            with pytest.raises(
+                ValidationError,
+                match="is not a valid regular expression",
+            ):
+                validator.validate("foo")
+        else:
+            with pytest.raises(re.error):
+                validator.validate("foo")
+
+    def test_invalid_pattern_rejected_by_validate_helper(
+        self, validator_class
+    ):
+        schema = {"type": "string", "pattern": "["}
+
+        with pytest.raises(SchemaError, match="is not a 'regex'"):
+            validate("foo", schema, cls=validator_class)
+
+    @pytest.mark.skipif(
+        not has_ecma_regex(), reason="requires optional ecma-regex extra"
+    )
+    def test_z_escape_behaves_as_ecma_literal_escape(self, validator_class):
+        schema = {"type": "string", "pattern": r"^foo\z"}
+        validator = validator_class(schema)
+
+        with pytest.raises(ValidationError, match="does not match"):
+            validator.validate("foo")
+
+        result = validator.validate("fooz")
+
+        assert result is None
+
+        result = validate("fooz", schema, cls=validator_class)
+
+        assert result is None
+
+    @pytest.mark.skipif(
+        not has_ecma_regex(), reason="requires optional ecma-regex extra"
+    )
+    def test_escaped_z_pattern_is_allowed_with_ecma_regex(
+        self, validator_class
+    ):
+        schema = {"type": "string", "pattern": r"^foo\\z$"}
+        validator = validator_class(schema)
+
+        result = validator.validate(r"foo\z")
+
+        assert result is None
+
     def test_referencing(self, validator_class):
         name_schema = Resource.from_contents(
             {
@@ -297,6 +353,10 @@ def test_nullable_enum_with_none(self, validator_class):
         "value",
         [
             b64encode(b"string").decode(),
+            b64encode(b"\x00\x01\x02").decode(),
+            "",
+            "AQ==",
+            "SGVsbG8=",
         ],
     )
     def test_string_format_byte_valid(self, validator_class, value):
@@ -309,7 +369,19 @@ def test_string_format_byte_valid(self, validator_class, value):
 
         assert result is None
 
-    @pytest.mark.parametrize("value", ["string"])
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize(
+        "value",
+        [
+            "string",
+            "SGVsbG8",
+            "SGVsbG8===",
+            "SGVsbG8$",
+            "SGVsbG8 ",
+            "SGVsbG8\n",
+            "SGVsbG8_",
+            "SGVsbG8-",
+        ],
+    )
     def test_string_format_byte_invalid(self, validator_class, value):
         schema = {"type": "string", "format": "byte"}
         validator = validator_class(
@@ -851,6 +923,26 @@ def test_string_disallow_binary(self, validator_class, value):
         with pytest.raises(ValidationError):
             validator.validate(value)
 
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize("value", [b"test"])
+    def test_string_binary_rejects_bytes(
+        self, validator_class, format_checker, value
+    ):
+        schema = {"type": "string", "format": "binary"}
+        validator = validator_class(schema, format_checker=format_checker)
+
+        with pytest.raises(ValidationError):
+            validator.validate(value)
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize("value", [True, 3, 3.12, None])
+    def test_string_binary_invalid(
+        self, validator_class, format_checker, value
+    ):
+        schema = {"type": "string", "format": "binary"}
+        validator = validator_class(schema, format_checker=format_checker)
+
+        with pytest.raises(ValidationError):
+            validator.validate(value)
+
     @pytest.mark.parametrize(
         "schema_type",
         [
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_shortcut.py b/tests/unit/test_shortcut.py
index e391d75..f171f6f 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_shortcut.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_shortcut.py
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 from unittest.mock import patch
 
 import pytest
+from referencing import Registry
+from referencing import Resource
 
 from openapi_schema_validator import OAS32Validator
 from openapi_schema_validator import validate
@@ -56,3 +58,63 @@ def test_oas32_validate_does_not_fetch_remote_metaschemas(schema):
         validate({"email": "foo@bar.com"}, schema, cls=OAS32Validator)
 
     urlopen.assert_not_called()
+
+
+def test_validate_blocks_implicit_remote_http_references_by_default():
+    schema = {"$ref": "http://example.com/remote-schema.json"}
+
+    with patch("urllib.request.urlopen") as urlopen:
+        with pytest.raises(Exception, match="Unresolvable"):
+            validate({}, schema)
+
+    urlopen.assert_not_called()
+
+
+def test_validate_blocks_implicit_file_references_by_default():
+    schema = {"$ref": "file:///etc/hosts"}
+
+    with patch("urllib.request.urlopen") as urlopen:
+        with pytest.raises(Exception, match="Unresolvable"):
+            validate({}, schema)
+
+    urlopen.assert_not_called()
+
+
+def test_validate_local_references_still_work_by_default():
+    schema = {"$defs": {"Value": {"type": "integer"}}, "$ref": "#/$defs/Value"}
+
+    with patch("urllib.request.urlopen") as urlopen:
+        result = validate(1, schema)
+
+    assert result is None
+    urlopen.assert_not_called()
+
+
+def test_validate_honors_explicit_registry():
+    schema = {
+        "type": "object",
+        "properties": {"name": {"$ref": "urn:name-schema"}},
+    }
+    name_schema = Resource.from_contents(
+        {
+            "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
+            "type": "string",
+        }
+    )
+    registry = Registry().with_resources(
+        [("urn:name-schema", name_schema)],
+    )
+
+    result = validate({"name": "John"}, schema, registry=registry)
+
+    assert result is None
+
+
+def test_validate_can_allow_implicit_remote_references():
+    schema = {"$ref": "http://example.com/remote-schema.json"}
+
+    with patch("urllib.request.urlopen") as urlopen:
+        with pytest.raises(Exception):
+            validate({}, schema, allow_remote_references=True)
+
+    assert urlopen.called