diff --git a/decimal.go b/decimal.go
index 608a12e5..178e7966 100644
--- a/decimal.go
+++ b/decimal.go
@@ -78,6 +78,14 @@ var TrimTrailingZeros = true
 // digits are unknown. With this set to true, that number would be expressed as "1.2E3" instead.
 var UseScientificNotation = false
 
+// ExpMaxLimit limits the maximum allowed exponent when parsing or operating on decimals.
+// Extremely large exponents can cause memory leaks/OOM panics due to how math/big.Int allocates memory.
+// By default, this is set to math.MaxInt32 for backwards compatibility, but it's strongly recommended
+// to set this to a lower bound (e.g., 10000) for APIs that accept user input.
+var ExpMaxLimit = int32(math.MaxInt32)
+
+// ExpMinLimit limits the minimum allowed exponent when parsing decimals.
+var ExpMinLimit = int32(math.MinInt32)
 // ExpMaxIterations specifies the maximum number of iterations needed to calculate
 // precise natural exponent value using ExpHullAbrham method.
 var ExpMaxIterations = 1000
@@ -269,6 +277,10 @@ func NewFromString(value string) (Decimal, error) {
 		return Decimal{}, fmt.Errorf("can't convert %s to decimal: fractional part too long", originalInput)
 	}
 
+	if exp < int64(ExpMinLimit) || exp > int64(ExpMaxLimit) {
+		return Decimal{}, fmt.Errorf("can't convert %s to decimal: exponent out of bounds", originalInput)
+	}
+
 	return Decimal{
 		value: dValue,
 		exp:   int32(exp),
diff --git a/decimal_test.go b/decimal_test.go
index 161facf1..51d0ef0d 100644
--- a/decimal_test.go
+++ b/decimal_test.go
@@ -3970,3 +3970,33 @@ func ExampleNewFromFloat() {
 	//0.123123123123123
 	//-10000000000000
 }
+
+func TestNewFromStringExpLimit(t *testing.T) {
+	oldMax := ExpMaxLimit
+	oldMin := ExpMinLimit
+	defer func() {
+		ExpMaxLimit = oldMax
+		ExpMinLimit = oldMin
+	}()
+
+	ExpMaxLimit = 10000
+	ExpMinLimit = -10000
+
+	// Should pass
+	_, err := NewFromString("1e10000")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 1e10000 to pass, got %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Should fail (exceeds max)
+	_, err = NewFromString("1e10001")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected 1e10001 to fail")
+	}
+
+	// Should fail (exceeds min)
+	_, err = NewFromString("1e-10001")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected 1e-10001 to fail")
+	}
+}