diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index de682fd7..be1ccb9f 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -13,3 +13,4 @@ venvs
 .DS_Store
 build
 uv.lock
+.venv*
diff --git a/docs/generate_api.py b/docs/generate_api.py
index 362a781e..f520715d 100644
--- a/docs/generate_api.py
+++ b/docs/generate_api.py
@@ -813,10 +813,14 @@ def safe_default_value(p):
             if value is inspect.Parameter.empty:
                 return p
 
-            replacement = next(
-                (i for i in ("os.environ", "sys.stdin", "sys.stdout", "sys.stderr") if value is eval(i)),
-                None,
-            )
+            # Resolve a small whitelist of global objects without using eval
+            _safe_globals = {
+                "os.environ": os.environ,
+                "sys.stdin": sys.stdin,
+                "sys.stdout": sys.stdout,
+                "sys.stderr": sys.stderr,
+            }
+            replacement = next((name for name, obj in _safe_globals.items() if value is obj), None)
             if not replacement:
                 if isinstance(value, CPUDispatcher):
                     replacement = value.py_func.__name__
diff --git a/vectorbt/utils/template.py b/vectorbt/utils/template.py
index 1afad977..84b3565d 100644
--- a/vectorbt/utils/template.py
+++ b/vectorbt/utils/template.py
@@ -5,12 +5,20 @@
 
 from copy import copy
 from string import Template
+import ast
 
 from vectorbt import _typing as tp
 from vectorbt.utils import checks
 from vectorbt.utils.config import set_dict_item, get_func_arg_names, merge_dicts
 from vectorbt.utils.docs import SafeToStr, prepare_for_doc
 
+# Allowlist of attributes on mapped names that may be accessed/called from templates.
+# Keys are names as they appear in the `mapping` (e.g. 'np'), values are sets of attribute names.
+# Keep this intentionally small and conservative; expand only when necessary.
+TEMPLATE_ALLOWED_ATTRS = {
+    'np': {'prod'},
+}
+
 
 class Sub(SafeToStr):
     """Template to substitute parts of the string with the respective values from `mapping`.
@@ -105,7 +113,199 @@ def eval(self, mapping: tp.Optional[tp.Mapping] = None) -> tp.Any:
 
         Merges `mapping` and `RepEval.mapping`."""
         mapping = merge_dicts(self.mapping, mapping)
-        return eval(self.expression, {}, mapping)
+        # Use a restricted AST evaluator to avoid arbitrary code execution
+
+        def _handle_constant(node):
+            return node.value
+
+        def _handle_name(node):
+            if node.id in mapping:
+                return mapping[node.id]
+            raise NameError(f"name '{node.id}' is not defined")
+
+        def _handle_binop(node):
+            left = _eval_node(node.left)
+            right = _eval_node(node.right)
+            if isinstance(node.op, ast.Add):
+                return left + right
+            if isinstance(node.op, ast.Sub):
+                return left - right
+            if isinstance(node.op, ast.Mult):
+                return left * right
+            if isinstance(node.op, ast.Div):
+                return left / right
+            if isinstance(node.op, ast.FloorDiv):
+                return left // right
+            if isinstance(node.op, ast.Mod):
+                return left % right
+            if isinstance(node.op, ast.Pow):
+                return left ** right
+            raise ValueError(f"unsupported binary operator: {node.op}")
+
+        def _handle_unaryop(node):
+            operand = _eval_node(node.operand)
+            if isinstance(node.op, ast.USub):
+                return -operand
+            if isinstance(node.op, ast.UAdd):
+                return +operand
+            if isinstance(node.op, ast.Not):
+                return not operand
+            raise ValueError(f"unsupported unary operator: {node.op}")
+
+        def _handle_boolop(node):
+            values = [_eval_node(v) for v in node.values]
+            if isinstance(node.op, ast.And):
+                return all(values)
+            if isinstance(node.op, ast.Or):
+                return any(values)
+            raise ValueError(f"unsupported boolean operator: {node.op}")
+
+        def _handle_compare(node):
+            left = _eval_node(node.left)
+            ops_map = {
+                ast.Eq: lambda a, b: a == b,
+                ast.NotEq: lambda a, b: a != b,
+                ast.Is: lambda a, b: a is b,
+                ast.IsNot: lambda a, b: a is not b,
+                ast.In: lambda a, b: a in b,
+                ast.NotIn: lambda a, b: a not in b,
+                ast.Lt: lambda a, b: a < b,
+                ast.LtE: lambda a, b: a <= b,
+                ast.Gt: lambda a, b: a > b,
+                ast.GtE: lambda a, b: a >= b,
+            }
+            for op, comparator in zip(node.ops, node.comparators):
+                right = _eval_node(comparator)
+                func = ops_map.get(type(op))
+                if func is None:
+                    raise ValueError(f"unsupported comparison operator: {op}")
+                if not func(left, right):
+                    return False
+                left = right
+            return True
+
+        def _handle_attribute(node):
+            # Only allow attribute access on top-level names from mapping and only allowed attrs
+            if isinstance(node.value, ast.Name):
+                base_name = node.value.id
+                if base_name not in mapping:
+                    raise NameError(f"name '{base_name}' is not defined")
+                allowed = TEMPLATE_ALLOWED_ATTRS.get(base_name, set())
+                if node.attr not in allowed:
+                    raise ValueError(f"access to attribute '{node.attr}' of '{base_name}' is not allowed")
+                base_obj = mapping[base_name]
+                return getattr(base_obj, node.attr)
+            raise ValueError("attribute access is only allowed on top-level mapped names")
+
+        def _handle_call(node):
+            # Allow calls only when calling an attribute of a mapped name, e.g. np.prod(...)
+            func_node = node.func
+            if isinstance(func_node, ast.Attribute) and isinstance(func_node.value, ast.Name):
+                base_name = func_node.value.id
+                if base_name not in mapping:
+                    raise NameError(f"name '{base_name}' is not defined")
+                allowed = TEMPLATE_ALLOWED_ATTRS.get(base_name, set())
+                if func_node.attr not in allowed:
+                    raise ValueError(f"call to '{func_node.attr}' of '{base_name}' is not allowed")
+                base_obj = mapping[base_name]
+                func = getattr(base_obj, func_node.attr)
+                if not callable(func):
+                    raise ValueError(f"object '{func_node.attr}' of '{base_name}' is not callable")
+                args = [_eval_node(a) for a in node.args]
+                kwargs = {kw.arg: _eval_node(kw.value) for kw in node.keywords}
+                return func(*args, **kwargs)
+            raise ValueError("only calls to mapped attributes are allowed")
+
+        def _handle_subscript(node):
+            val = _eval_node(node.value)
+            # Handle slice objects properly
+            s = node.slice
+            if isinstance(s, ast.Slice):
+                lower = _eval_node(s.lower) if s.lower is not None else None
+                upper = _eval_node(s.upper) if s.upper is not None else None
+                step = _eval_node(s.step) if s.step is not None else None
+                return val[slice(lower, upper, step)]
+            # Tuple of indices (multi-dimensional)
+            if isinstance(s, ast.Tuple):
+                idx = tuple(_eval_node(elt) for elt in s.elts)
+                return val[idx]
+            # Other single index types
+            idx = _eval_node(s)
+            return val[idx]
+
+        def _handle_list(node):
+            result = []
+            for elt in node.elts:
+                if isinstance(elt, ast.Starred):
+                    val = _eval_node(elt.value)
+                    try:
+                        result.extend(list(val))
+                    except Exception:
+                        raise ValueError("can't unpack starred expression")
+                else:
+                    result.append(_eval_node(elt))
+            return result
+
+        def _handle_tuple(node):
+            result = []
+            for elt in node.elts:
+                if isinstance(elt, ast.Starred):
+                    val = _eval_node(elt.value)
+                    try:
+                        result.extend(list(val))
+                    except Exception:
+                        raise ValueError("can't unpack starred expression")
+                else:
+                    result.append(_eval_node(elt))
+            return tuple(result)
+
+        def _handle_joinedstr(node):
+            parts = []
+            for v in node.values:
+                if isinstance(v, ast.Constant):
+                    parts.append(str(v.value))
+                elif isinstance(v, ast.FormattedValue):
+                    val = _eval_node(v.value)
+                    parts.append('' if val is None else str(val))
+                else:
+                    parts.append(str(_eval_node(v)))
+            return ''.join(parts)
+
+        def _handle_dict(node):
+            return {_eval_node(k): _eval_node(v) for k, v in zip(node.keys, node.values)}
+
+        def _handle_ifexp(node):
+            # Ternary conditional expression: body if test else orelse
+            test_val = _eval_node(node.test)
+            if test_val:
+                return _eval_node(node.body)
+            return _eval_node(node.orelse)
+
+        handlers = {
+            ast.Constant: _handle_constant,
+            ast.Name: _handle_name,
+            ast.BinOp: _handle_binop,
+            ast.UnaryOp: _handle_unaryop,
+            ast.BoolOp: _handle_boolop,
+            ast.Compare: _handle_compare,
+            ast.Attribute: _handle_attribute,
+            ast.Call: _handle_call,
+            ast.Subscript: _handle_subscript,
+            ast.List: _handle_list,
+            ast.Tuple: _handle_tuple,
+            ast.Dict: _handle_dict,
+            ast.IfExp: _handle_ifexp,
+            ast.JoinedStr: _handle_joinedstr,
+        }
+
+        def _eval_node(node):
+            handler = handlers.get(type(node))
+            if handler is not None:
+                return handler(node)
+            raise ValueError(f"unsupported expression: {type(node).__name__}")
+
+        parsed = ast.parse(self.expression, mode="eval")
+        return _eval_node(parsed.body)
 
     def __str__(self) -> str:
         return f"{self.__class__.__name__}(" \