fix "slow mongo"

Author: doomedraven

changelog.md

@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+### [28.01.2026]
+* Search optimization: General search terms now use exact match by default for better MongoDB performance.
+    * Use regex characters (e.g., `^ $ | ? * + ( ) [ ] { }`) to trigger a regex search.
+    * Updated search UI help and placeholders.
+
 ### [16.01.2026] CAPE v2.5
 * Bootstrap 5 upgrade and some visual WEBGUI rewamp. Some improvements still might come soon!
 * htmlreport - rewamp!

lib/cuckoo/common/web_utils.py

@@ -1384,13 +1384,11 @@ def perform_search(
             raise ValueError("Invalid TTP enterred")
     elif term == "malscore":
         query_val = {"$gte": float(value)}
-    elif term == "name":
+    else:
         if re.search(r"[\^\$\|\?\*\+\(\)\[\]\{\}]", value):
             query_val = {"$regex": value, "$options": "i"}
         else:
             query_val = value
-    else:
-        query_val = {"$regex": value, "$options": "i"}
 
     if term not in search_term_map:
         return None

web/templates/analysis/search.html

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
             <div class="card-body">
                 <form role="form" action="{% url "search" %}" method="get">
                     <div class="input-group w-50 mx-auto">
-                        <input type="text" class="form-control bg-dark text-white border-secondary" id="form_search" name="search" placeholder="Search term as regex..." aria-label="Search">
+                        <input type="text" class="form-control bg-dark text-white border-secondary" id="form_search" name="search" placeholder="Search term (use regex for partial match)..." aria-label="Search">
                         <button class="btn btn-outline-info" type="submit"><i class="fas fa-search"></i> Search</button>
                     </div>
                 </form>
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ <h5 class="mb-0 text-white"><i class="fas fa-info-circle me-2"></i> Search Help<
                 <div class="card-body">
                     <p class="text-white-50">ElasticSearch queries do not use a prefix. e.g., <code>*windows.*</code> matches 'time.windows.com'.</p>
                     <p class="text-white-50">For MD5, SHA1, SHA256, etc., no prefix is needed (matches any file generated by analysis).</p>
+                    <p class="text-white-50">By default, searches are exact matches. Use regex characters (e.g., <code>^ $ | ? * + ( ) [ ] { }</code>) to force a regex search.</p>
                     <div class="table-responsive">
                         <table class="table table-striped table-dark table-hover table-sm">
                             <thead>