diff --git a/CHANGES b/CHANGES
index 2c4bd037..6463d177 100644
--- a/CHANGES
+++ b/CHANGES
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 18 Jan 2010 - 2.5.12
 --------------------
 
+ * Trim whitespace around phrases used with @pmFromFile and allow
+   for both LF and CRLF terminated lines.
+
  * Allow for more robust parsing for multipart header folding.  Reported
    by Sogeti/ESEC R&D.
 
diff --git a/apache2/re_operators.c b/apache2/re_operators.c
index ab75fdf9..311c466f 100644
--- a/apache2/re_operators.c
+++ b/apache2/re_operators.c
@@ -255,7 +255,8 @@ static int msre_op_pmFromFile_param_init(msre_rule *rule, char **error_msg) {
     char buf[HUGE_STRING_LEN + 1];
     char *fn;
     char *next;
-    char *ptr;
+    char *start;
+    char *end;
     const char *rulefile_path;
     apr_status_t rc;
     apr_file_t *fd;
@@ -301,7 +302,7 @@ static int msre_op_pmFromFile_param_init(msre_rule *rule, char **error_msg) {
         }
 
         /* Open file and read */
-        rc = apr_file_open(&fd, fn, APR_READ | APR_FILE_NOCLEANUP, 0, rule->ruleset->mp);
+        rc = apr_file_open(&fd, fn, APR_READ | APR_BUFFERED | APR_FILE_NOCLEANUP, 0, rule->ruleset->mp);
         if (rc != APR_SUCCESS) {
             *error_msg = apr_psprintf(rule->ruleset->mp, "Could not open phrase file \"%s\": %s", fn, apr_strerror(rc, errstr, 1024));
             return 0;
@@ -321,21 +322,24 @@ static int msre_op_pmFromFile_param_init(msre_rule *rule, char **error_msg) {
                 return 0;
             }
 
-            /* Remove newline */
-            ptr = buf;
-            while(*ptr != '\0') ptr++;
-            if ((ptr > buf) && (*(ptr - 1) == '\n')) *(ptr - 1) = '\0';
+            /* Trim Whitespace */
+            start = buf;
+            while ((apr_isspace(*start) != 0) && (*start != '\0')) start++;
+            end = buf + strlen(buf);
+            if (end > start) end--;
+            while ((end > start) && (apr_isspace(*end) != 0)) end--;
+            if (end > start) {
+                *(++end) = '\0';
+            }
 
             /* Ignore empty lines and comments */
-            ptr = buf;
-            while((*ptr != '\0') && apr_isspace(*ptr)) ptr++;
-            if ((*ptr == '\0') || (*ptr == '#')) continue;
+            if ((start == end) || (*start == '#')) continue;
 
             #ifdef DEBUG_CONF
             fprintf(stderr, "Adding phrase file pattern: \"%s\"\n", buf);
             #endif
 
-            acmp_add_pattern(p, buf, NULL, NULL, strlen(buf));
+            acmp_add_pattern(p, start, NULL, NULL, (end - start));
         }
         fn = next;
     }
diff --git a/doc/modsecurity2-apache-reference.xml b/doc/modsecurity2-apache-reference.xml
index 54faf0ea..a635afe1 100644
--- a/doc/modsecurity2-apache-reference.xml
+++ b/doc/modsecurity2-apache-reference.xml
@@ -5804,8 +5804,8 @@ end</programlisting>
       <orderedlist continuation="restarts" inheritnum="ignore">
         <listitem>
           <para>The contents of the files should be one phrase per line. End
-          of line markers will be stripped from the phrases, however,
-          whitespace will not be trimmed from phrases in the file. Empty lines
+          of line markers will be stripped from the phrases (LF and CRLF), and
+          whitespace is trimmed from both sides of the phrases. Empty lines
           and comment lines (beginning with a '#') are ignored.</para>
         </listitem>
 
@@ -5815,6 +5815,24 @@ end</programlisting>
           path of the file containing the rule is prepended to the phrase file
           path.</para>
         </listitem>
+
+        <listitem>
+          <para>To allow easier matching of whole IP addresses, you can add
+          boundary characters to the phrases. For example, use "/1.2.3.4/"
+          instead of "1.2.3.4". You can then insert these characters into the
+          target prior to a match:</para>
+
+          <programlisting format="linespecific">SecAction "phase:1,pass,nolog,setvar:tx.remote_addr=/%{REMOTE_ADDR}/"
+SecRule TX:REMOTE_ADDR "<emphasis>@pmFromFile ip-blacklist.txt</emphasis>" "deny,status:403
+
+# ip-blacklist.txt contents:
+# NOTE: All IPs must be prefixed/suffixed with "/" as the rules
+#       will add in this character as a boundary to ensure
+#       the entire IP is matched.
+# SecAction "phase:1,pass,nolog,setvar:tx.remote_addr='/%{REMOTE_ADDR}/'"
+/1.2.3.4/
+/5.6.7.8/</programlisting>
+        </listitem>
       </orderedlist>
 
       <para>Example:</para>