diff --git a/client/lib/secureDOMPurify.js b/client/lib/secureDOMPurify.js
index c4e352e87..898687dad 100644
--- a/client/lib/secureDOMPurify.js
+++ b/client/lib/secureDOMPurify.js
@@ -3,43 +3,25 @@ import DOMPurify from 'dompurify';
 // Centralized secure DOMPurify configuration to prevent XSS and CSS injection attacks
 export function getSecureDOMPurifyConfig() {
   return {
-    // Block dangerous elements that can cause XSS and CSS injection
-    FORBID_TAGS: [
-      'svg', 'defs', 'use', 'g', 'symbol', 'marker', 'pattern', 'mask', 'clipPath',
-      'linearGradient', 'radialGradient', 'stop', 'animate', 'animateTransform',
-      'animateMotion', 'set', 'switch', 'foreignObject', 'script', 'style', 'link',
-      'meta', 'iframe', 'object', 'embed', 'applet', 'form', 'input', 'textarea',
-      'select', 'option', 'button', 'label', 'fieldset', 'legend', 'frameset',
-      'frame', 'noframes', 'base', 'basefont', 'isindex', 'dir', 'menu', 'menuitem'
-    ],
-    // Block dangerous attributes that can cause XSS and CSS injection
-    FORBID_ATTR: [
-      'xlink:href', 'href', 'onload', 'onerror', 'onclick', 'onmouseover',
-      'onfocus', 'onblur', 'onchange', 'onsubmit', 'onreset', 'onselect',
-      'onunload', 'onresize', 'onscroll', 'onkeydown', 'onkeyup', 'onkeypress',
-      'onmousedown', 'onmouseup', 'onmouseover', 'onmouseout', 'onmousemove',
-      'ondblclick', 'oncontextmenu', 'onwheel', 'ontouchstart', 'ontouchend',
-      'ontouchmove', 'ontouchcancel', 'onabort', 'oncanplay', 'oncanplaythrough',
-      'ondurationchange', 'onemptied', 'onended', 'onerror', 'onloadeddata',
-      'onloadedmetadata', 'onloadstart', 'onpause', 'onplay', 'onplaying',
-      'onprogress', 'onratechange', 'onseeked', 'onseeking', 'onstalled',
-      'onsuspend', 'ontimeupdate', 'onvolumechange', 'onwaiting', 'onbeforeunload',
-      'onhashchange', 'onpagehide', 'onpageshow', 'onpopstate', 'onstorage',
-      'onunload', 'style', 'class', 'id', 'data-*', 'aria-*'
-    ],
-    // Allow only safe image formats and protocols
+    // Allow common markdown elements including anchor tags
+    ALLOWED_TAGS: ['a', 'p', 'br', 'strong', 'em', 'u', 'h1', 'h2', 'h3', 'h4', 'h5', 'h6', 'ul', 'ol', 'li', 'blockquote', 'pre', 'code', 'img', 'table', 'thead', 'tbody', 'tr', 'th', 'td', 'hr', 'div', 'span'],
+    // Allow safe attributes including href for anchor tags
+    ALLOWED_ATTR: ['href', 'title', 'alt', 'src', 'width', 'height', 'target', 'rel'],
+    // Allow safe protocols for links
     ALLOWED_URI_REGEXP: /^(?:(?:(?:f|ht)tps?|mailto|tel|callto|cid|xmpp):|[^a-z]|[a-z+.\-]+(?:[^a-z+.\-:]|$))/i,
-    // Remove dangerous protocols
+    // Allow unknown protocols but be cautious
     ALLOW_UNKNOWN_PROTOCOLS: false,
-    // Sanitize URLs to prevent malicious content loading
+    // Sanitize DOM for security
     SANITIZE_DOM: true,
-    // Remove dangerous elements completely
-    KEEP_CONTENT: false,
-    // Additional security measures
-    ADD_ATTR: [],
+    // Keep content but sanitize it
+    KEEP_CONTENT: true,
+    // Block dangerous elements that can cause XSS
+    FORBID_TAGS: ['script', 'style', 'iframe', 'object', 'embed', 'applet', 'svg', 'defs', 'use', 'g', 'symbol', 'marker', 'pattern', 'mask', 'clipPath', 'linearGradient', 'radialGradient', 'stop', 'animate', 'animateTransform', 'animateMotion', 'set', 'switch', 'foreignObject', 'link', 'meta', 'form', 'input', 'textarea', 'select', 'option', 'button', 'label', 'fieldset', 'legend', 'frameset', 'frame', 'noframes', 'base', 'basefont', 'isindex', 'dir', 'menu', 'menuitem'],
+    // Block dangerous attributes but allow safe href
+    FORBID_ATTR: ['xlink:href', 'onload', 'onerror', 'onclick', 'onmouseover', 'onfocus', 'onblur', 'onchange', 'onsubmit', 'onreset', 'onselect', 'onunload', 'onresize', 'onscroll', 'onkeydown', 'onkeyup', 'onkeypress', 'onmousedown', 'onmouseup', 'onmouseover', 'onmouseout', 'onmousemove', 'ondblclick', 'oncontextmenu', 'onwheel', 'ontouchstart', 'ontouchend', 'ontouchmove', 'ontouchcancel', 'onabort', 'oncanplay', 'oncanplaythrough', 'ondurationchange', 'onemptied', 'onended', 'onerror', 'onloadeddata', 'onloadedmetadata', 'onloadstart', 'onpause', 'onplay', 'onplaying', 'onprogress', 'onratechange', 'onseeked', 'onseeking', 'onstalled', 'onsuspend', 'ontimeupdate', 'onvolumechange', 'onwaiting', 'onbeforeunload', 'onhashchange', 'onpagehide', 'onpageshow', 'onpopstate', 'onstorage', 'onunload', 'style', 'class', 'id', 'data-*', 'aria-*'],
     // Block data URIs that could contain malicious content
     ALLOW_DATA_ATTR: false,
-    // Custom hook to further sanitize content
+    // Custom hooks for additional security
     HOOKS: {
       uponSanitizeElement: function(node, data) {
         // Block any remaining dangerous elements
@@ -51,14 +33,37 @@ export function getSecureDOMPurifyConfig() {
           return false;
         }
 
-        // Block img tags with SVG data URIs
+        // Block img tags with SVG data URIs that could contain malicious JavaScript
         if (node.tagName && node.tagName.toLowerCase() === 'img') {
           const src = node.getAttribute('src');
-          if (src && (src.startsWith('data:image/svg') || src.endsWith('.svg'))) {
-            if (process.env.DEBUG === 'true') {
-              console.warn('Blocked potentially malicious SVG image:', src);
+          if (src) {
+            // Block all SVG data URIs to prevent XSS via embedded JavaScript
+            if (src.startsWith('data:image/svg') || src.endsWith('.svg')) {
+              if (process.env.DEBUG === 'true') {
+                console.warn('Blocked potentially malicious SVG image:', src);
+              }
+              return false;
+            }
+            
+            // Additional check for base64 encoded SVG with script tags
+            if (src.startsWith('data:image/svg+xml;base64,')) {
+              try {
+                const base64Content = src.split(',')[1];
+                const decodedContent = atob(base64Content);
+                if (decodedContent.includes('<script') || decodedContent.includes('javascript:')) {
+                  if (process.env.DEBUG === 'true') {
+                    console.warn('Blocked SVG with embedded JavaScript:', src.substring(0, 100) + '...');
+                  }
+                  return false;
+                }
+              } catch (e) {
+                // If decoding fails, block it as a safety measure
+                if (process.env.DEBUG === 'true') {
+                  console.warn('Blocked malformed SVG data URI:', src);
+                }
+                return false;
+              }
             }
-            return false;
           }
         }
 
@@ -100,6 +105,19 @@ export function getSecureDOMPurifyConfig() {
           return false;
         }
 
+        // Allow href attribute for anchor tags only
+        if (data.attrName === 'href') {
+          // Only allow href on anchor tags
+          if (node.tagName && node.tagName.toLowerCase() === 'a') {
+            return true;
+          } else {
+            if (process.env.DEBUG === 'true') {
+              console.warn('Blocked href attribute on non-anchor element:', node.tagName);
+            }
+            return false;
+          }
+        }
+
         return true;
       }
     }
diff --git a/imports/lib/secureDOMPurify.js b/imports/lib/secureDOMPurify.js
index 4deee4d23..898687dad 100644
--- a/imports/lib/secureDOMPurify.js
+++ b/imports/lib/secureDOMPurify.js
@@ -3,43 +3,25 @@ import DOMPurify from 'dompurify';
 // Centralized secure DOMPurify configuration to prevent XSS and CSS injection attacks
 export function getSecureDOMPurifyConfig() {
   return {
-    // Block dangerous elements that can cause XSS and CSS injection
-    FORBID_TAGS: [
-      'svg', 'defs', 'use', 'g', 'symbol', 'marker', 'pattern', 'mask', 'clipPath',
-      'linearGradient', 'radialGradient', 'stop', 'animate', 'animateTransform',
-      'animateMotion', 'set', 'switch', 'foreignObject', 'script', 'style', 'link',
-      'meta', 'iframe', 'object', 'embed', 'applet', 'form', 'input', 'textarea',
-      'select', 'option', 'button', 'label', 'fieldset', 'legend', 'frameset',
-      'frame', 'noframes', 'base', 'basefont', 'isindex', 'dir', 'menu', 'menuitem'
-    ],
-    // Block dangerous attributes that can cause XSS and CSS injection
-    FORBID_ATTR: [
-      'xlink:href', 'href', 'onload', 'onerror', 'onclick', 'onmouseover',
-      'onfocus', 'onblur', 'onchange', 'onsubmit', 'onreset', 'onselect',
-      'onunload', 'onresize', 'onscroll', 'onkeydown', 'onkeyup', 'onkeypress',
-      'onmousedown', 'onmouseup', 'onmouseover', 'onmouseout', 'onmousemove',
-      'ondblclick', 'oncontextmenu', 'onwheel', 'ontouchstart', 'ontouchend',
-      'ontouchmove', 'ontouchcancel', 'onabort', 'oncanplay', 'oncanplaythrough',
-      'ondurationchange', 'onemptied', 'onended', 'onerror', 'onloadeddata',
-      'onloadedmetadata', 'onloadstart', 'onpause', 'onplay', 'onplaying',
-      'onprogress', 'onratechange', 'onseeked', 'onseeking', 'onstalled',
-      'onsuspend', 'ontimeupdate', 'onvolumechange', 'onwaiting', 'onbeforeunload',
-      'onhashchange', 'onpagehide', 'onpageshow', 'onpopstate', 'onstorage',
-      'onunload', 'style', 'class', 'id', 'data-*', 'aria-*'
-    ],
-    // Allow only safe image formats and protocols
+    // Allow common markdown elements including anchor tags
+    ALLOWED_TAGS: ['a', 'p', 'br', 'strong', 'em', 'u', 'h1', 'h2', 'h3', 'h4', 'h5', 'h6', 'ul', 'ol', 'li', 'blockquote', 'pre', 'code', 'img', 'table', 'thead', 'tbody', 'tr', 'th', 'td', 'hr', 'div', 'span'],
+    // Allow safe attributes including href for anchor tags
+    ALLOWED_ATTR: ['href', 'title', 'alt', 'src', 'width', 'height', 'target', 'rel'],
+    // Allow safe protocols for links
     ALLOWED_URI_REGEXP: /^(?:(?:(?:f|ht)tps?|mailto|tel|callto|cid|xmpp):|[^a-z]|[a-z+.\-]+(?:[^a-z+.\-:]|$))/i,
-    // Remove dangerous protocols
+    // Allow unknown protocols but be cautious
     ALLOW_UNKNOWN_PROTOCOLS: false,
-    // Sanitize URLs to prevent malicious content loading
+    // Sanitize DOM for security
     SANITIZE_DOM: true,
-    // Remove dangerous elements completely
-    KEEP_CONTENT: false,
-    // Additional security measures
-    ADD_ATTR: [],
+    // Keep content but sanitize it
+    KEEP_CONTENT: true,
+    // Block dangerous elements that can cause XSS
+    FORBID_TAGS: ['script', 'style', 'iframe', 'object', 'embed', 'applet', 'svg', 'defs', 'use', 'g', 'symbol', 'marker', 'pattern', 'mask', 'clipPath', 'linearGradient', 'radialGradient', 'stop', 'animate', 'animateTransform', 'animateMotion', 'set', 'switch', 'foreignObject', 'link', 'meta', 'form', 'input', 'textarea', 'select', 'option', 'button', 'label', 'fieldset', 'legend', 'frameset', 'frame', 'noframes', 'base', 'basefont', 'isindex', 'dir', 'menu', 'menuitem'],
+    // Block dangerous attributes but allow safe href
+    FORBID_ATTR: ['xlink:href', 'onload', 'onerror', 'onclick', 'onmouseover', 'onfocus', 'onblur', 'onchange', 'onsubmit', 'onreset', 'onselect', 'onunload', 'onresize', 'onscroll', 'onkeydown', 'onkeyup', 'onkeypress', 'onmousedown', 'onmouseup', 'onmouseover', 'onmouseout', 'onmousemove', 'ondblclick', 'oncontextmenu', 'onwheel', 'ontouchstart', 'ontouchend', 'ontouchmove', 'ontouchcancel', 'onabort', 'oncanplay', 'oncanplaythrough', 'ondurationchange', 'onemptied', 'onended', 'onerror', 'onloadeddata', 'onloadedmetadata', 'onloadstart', 'onpause', 'onplay', 'onplaying', 'onprogress', 'onratechange', 'onseeked', 'onseeking', 'onstalled', 'onsuspend', 'ontimeupdate', 'onvolumechange', 'onwaiting', 'onbeforeunload', 'onhashchange', 'onpagehide', 'onpageshow', 'onpopstate', 'onstorage', 'onunload', 'style', 'class', 'id', 'data-*', 'aria-*'],
     // Block data URIs that could contain malicious content
     ALLOW_DATA_ATTR: false,
-    // Custom hook to further sanitize content
+    // Custom hooks for additional security
     HOOKS: {
       uponSanitizeElement: function(node, data) {
         // Block any remaining dangerous elements
@@ -123,6 +105,19 @@ export function getSecureDOMPurifyConfig() {
           return false;
         }
 
+        // Allow href attribute for anchor tags only
+        if (data.attrName === 'href') {
+          // Only allow href on anchor tags
+          if (node.tagName && node.tagName.toLowerCase() === 'a') {
+            return true;
+          } else {
+            if (process.env.DEBUG === 'true') {
+              console.warn('Blocked href attribute on non-anchor element:', node.tagName);
+            }
+            return false;
+          }
+        }
+
         return true;
       }
     }
diff --git a/packages/markdown/src/secureDOMPurify.js b/packages/markdown/src/secureDOMPurify.js
index 6eb801b9c..898687dad 100644
--- a/packages/markdown/src/secureDOMPurify.js
+++ b/packages/markdown/src/secureDOMPurify.js
@@ -3,43 +3,25 @@ import DOMPurify from 'dompurify';
 // Centralized secure DOMPurify configuration to prevent XSS and CSS injection attacks
 export function getSecureDOMPurifyConfig() {
   return {
-    // Block dangerous elements that can cause XSS and CSS injection
-    FORBID_TAGS: [
-      'svg', 'defs', 'use', 'g', 'symbol', 'marker', 'pattern', 'mask', 'clipPath',
-      'linearGradient', 'radialGradient', 'stop', 'animate', 'animateTransform',
-      'animateMotion', 'set', 'switch', 'foreignObject', 'script', 'style', 'link',
-      'meta', 'iframe', 'object', 'embed', 'applet', 'form', 'input', 'textarea',
-      'select', 'option', 'button', 'label', 'fieldset', 'legend', 'frameset',
-      'frame', 'noframes', 'base', 'basefont', 'isindex', 'dir', 'menu', 'menuitem'
-    ],
-    // Block dangerous attributes that can cause XSS and CSS injection
-    FORBID_ATTR: [
-      'xlink:href', 'onload', 'onerror', 'onclick', 'onmouseover',
-      'onfocus', 'onblur', 'onchange', 'onsubmit', 'onreset', 'onselect',
-      'onunload', 'onresize', 'onscroll', 'onkeydown', 'onkeyup', 'onkeypress',
-      'onmousedown', 'onmouseup', 'onmouseover', 'onmouseout', 'onmousemove',
-      'ondblclick', 'oncontextmenu', 'onwheel', 'ontouchstart', 'ontouchend',
-      'ontouchmove', 'ontouchcancel', 'onabort', 'oncanplay', 'oncanplaythrough',
-      'ondurationchange', 'onemptied', 'onended', 'onerror', 'onloadeddata',
-      'onloadedmetadata', 'onloadstart', 'onpause', 'onplay', 'onplaying',
-      'onprogress', 'onratechange', 'onseeked', 'onseeking', 'onstalled',
-      'onsuspend', 'ontimeupdate', 'onvolumechange', 'onwaiting', 'onbeforeunload',
-      'onhashchange', 'onpagehide', 'onpageshow', 'onpopstate', 'onstorage',
-      'onunload', 'style', 'class', 'id', 'data-*', 'aria-*'
-    ],
-    // Allow only safe image formats and protocols
+    // Allow common markdown elements including anchor tags
+    ALLOWED_TAGS: ['a', 'p', 'br', 'strong', 'em', 'u', 'h1', 'h2', 'h3', 'h4', 'h5', 'h6', 'ul', 'ol', 'li', 'blockquote', 'pre', 'code', 'img', 'table', 'thead', 'tbody', 'tr', 'th', 'td', 'hr', 'div', 'span'],
+    // Allow safe attributes including href for anchor tags
+    ALLOWED_ATTR: ['href', 'title', 'alt', 'src', 'width', 'height', 'target', 'rel'],
+    // Allow safe protocols for links
     ALLOWED_URI_REGEXP: /^(?:(?:(?:f|ht)tps?|mailto|tel|callto|cid|xmpp):|[^a-z]|[a-z+.\-]+(?:[^a-z+.\-:]|$))/i,
-    // Remove dangerous protocols
+    // Allow unknown protocols but be cautious
     ALLOW_UNKNOWN_PROTOCOLS: false,
-    // Sanitize URLs to prevent malicious content loading
+    // Sanitize DOM for security
     SANITIZE_DOM: true,
-    // Remove dangerous elements completely
-    KEEP_CONTENT: false,
-    // Additional security measures
-    ADD_ATTR: [],
+    // Keep content but sanitize it
+    KEEP_CONTENT: true,
+    // Block dangerous elements that can cause XSS
+    FORBID_TAGS: ['script', 'style', 'iframe', 'object', 'embed', 'applet', 'svg', 'defs', 'use', 'g', 'symbol', 'marker', 'pattern', 'mask', 'clipPath', 'linearGradient', 'radialGradient', 'stop', 'animate', 'animateTransform', 'animateMotion', 'set', 'switch', 'foreignObject', 'link', 'meta', 'form', 'input', 'textarea', 'select', 'option', 'button', 'label', 'fieldset', 'legend', 'frameset', 'frame', 'noframes', 'base', 'basefont', 'isindex', 'dir', 'menu', 'menuitem'],
+    // Block dangerous attributes but allow safe href
+    FORBID_ATTR: ['xlink:href', 'onload', 'onerror', 'onclick', 'onmouseover', 'onfocus', 'onblur', 'onchange', 'onsubmit', 'onreset', 'onselect', 'onunload', 'onresize', 'onscroll', 'onkeydown', 'onkeyup', 'onkeypress', 'onmousedown', 'onmouseup', 'onmouseover', 'onmouseout', 'onmousemove', 'ondblclick', 'oncontextmenu', 'onwheel', 'ontouchstart', 'ontouchend', 'ontouchmove', 'ontouchcancel', 'onabort', 'oncanplay', 'oncanplaythrough', 'ondurationchange', 'onemptied', 'onended', 'onerror', 'onloadeddata', 'onloadedmetadata', 'onloadstart', 'onpause', 'onplay', 'onplaying', 'onprogress', 'onratechange', 'onseeked', 'onseeking', 'onstalled', 'onsuspend', 'ontimeupdate', 'onvolumechange', 'onwaiting', 'onbeforeunload', 'onhashchange', 'onpagehide', 'onpageshow', 'onpopstate', 'onstorage', 'onunload', 'style', 'class', 'id', 'data-*', 'aria-*'],
     // Block data URIs that could contain malicious content
     ALLOW_DATA_ATTR: false,
-    // Custom hook to further sanitize content
+    // Custom hooks for additional security
     HOOKS: {
       uponSanitizeElement: function(node, data) {
         // Block any remaining dangerous elements
@@ -123,6 +105,19 @@ export function getSecureDOMPurifyConfig() {
           return false;
         }
 
+        // Allow href attribute for anchor tags only
+        if (data.attrName === 'href') {
+          // Only allow href on anchor tags
+          if (node.tagName && node.tagName.toLowerCase() === 'a') {
+            return true;
+          } else {
+            if (process.env.DEBUG === 'true') {
+              console.warn('Blocked href attribute on non-anchor element:', node.tagName);
+            }
+            return false;
+          }
+        }
+
         return true;
       }
     }
diff --git a/packages/markdown/src/template-integration.js b/packages/markdown/src/template-integration.js
index d1b7523fa..f814dd4c7 100644
--- a/packages/markdown/src/template-integration.js
+++ b/packages/markdown/src/template-integration.js
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ if (Package.ui) {
     if (self.templateContentBlock) {
       text = Blaze._toText(self.templateContentBlock, HTML.TEXTMODE.STRING);
     }
-    if (text.includes("[]") !== false) {
+    if (text.includes("[]")) {
       // Prevent hiding info: https://wekan.github.io/hall-of-fame/invisiblebleed/
       // If markdown link does not have description, do not render markdown, instead show all of markdown source code using preformatted text.
       // Also show html comments.
@@ -223,7 +223,9 @@ if (Package.ui) {
       // Prevent hiding info: https://wekan.github.io/hall-of-fame/invisiblebleed/
       // If text does not have hidden markdown link, render all markdown.
       // Also show html comments.
-      return HTML.Raw(DOMPurify.sanitize(Markdown.render(text).replace('<!--', '<font color="red" title="Warning! Hidden HTML comment!" aria-label="Warning! Hidden HTML comment!">&lt;!--</font>').replace('-->', '<font color="red" title="Warning! Hidden HTML comment!" aria-label="Warning! Hidden HTML comment!">--&gt;</font>'), getSecureDOMPurifyConfig()));
+      const renderedMarkdown = Markdown.render(text).replace('<!--', '<font color="red" title="Warning! Hidden HTML comment!" aria-label="Warning! Hidden HTML comment!">&lt;!--</font>').replace('-->', '<font color="red" title="Warning! Hidden HTML comment!" aria-label="Warning! Hidden HTML comment!">--&gt;</font>');
+      const sanitized = DOMPurify.sanitize(renderedMarkdown, getSecureDOMPurifyConfig());
+      return HTML.Raw(sanitized);
     }
   }));
 }