diff --git a/scripts/stellar_cli_plugins.mjs b/scripts/stellar_cli_plugins.mjs
index 85b717f6e..fad7400aa 100644
--- a/scripts/stellar_cli_plugins.mjs
+++ b/scripts/stellar_cli_plugins.mjs
@@ -1,20 +1,43 @@
 import fs from "fs-extra";
 import https from "https";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "url";
 
 // In case there are plugins to exclude from the list, add them here.
 // E.g. "user/repo"
 const excludePlugins = ["haqnawaz03329-debug/haqnawaz"];
 
-// GitHub repo descriptions are attacker-controlled (anyone can tag a repo with
-// the `stellar-cli-plugin` topic), and this content is injected into MDX, which
-// renders HTML/JSX. Neutralize characters that could execute as markup/script.
-function sanitize(value) {
-  return (value || "")
-    .replace(/&/g, "&")
-    .replace(/</g, "&lt;")
-    .replace(/>/g, "&gt;")
-    .replace(/{/g, "&#123;")
-    .replace(/}/g, "&#125;");
+// The plugin list is built from GitHub repos that anyone can opt into by adding
+// the `stellar-cli-plugin` topic, so every field below (name, description, URL)
+// is attacker-controlled and ends up in an .mdx file. MDX renders Markdown,
+// JSX and raw HTML, so unsanitized text allows stored XSS (e.g. a `<script>` in
+// a repo description) as well as phishing links and tracking images via plain
+// Markdown. We therefore treat all GitHub-provided text as untrusted.
+
+// Render an untrusted string as literal text. Collapsing whitespace to a single
+// line defeats block-level Markdown (headings, lists, blockquotes, code fences)
+// and multi-line attribute tricks; backslash-escaping every ASCII punctuation
+// character then neutralizes all inline Markdown, GFM autolinks, and JSX/HTML —
+// CommonMark guarantees `\` + ASCII punctuation renders as the literal char, and
+// MDX supports `\<` / `\{` escaping, so nothing is interpreted as markup.
+function sanitizeText(value) {
+  return String(value || "")
+    .replace(/\s+/g, " ")
+    .trim()
+    .replace(/[!-/:-@[-`{-~]/g, (c) => "\\" + c);
+}
+
+// Allow-list the only URL shape GitHub's API returns for these repos. Anything
+// else (other hosts, or `javascript:` / `data:` schemes) is rejected so a
+// malformed/hostile URL can never become a link target.
+function safeUrl(value) {
+  try {
+    const url = new URL(String(value));
+    if (url.protocol !== "https:") return null;
+    if (url.hostname !== "github.com") return null;
+    return url.href;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
 }
 
 function exportMDX(data) {
@@ -23,11 +46,16 @@ function exportMDX(data) {
       return buffer;
     }
 
-    const plugin = `### [${sanitize(item.full_name)}](${encodeURI(item.html_url)})
+    const url = safeUrl(item.html_url);
+    if (!url) {
+      return buffer;
+    }
+
+    const plugin = `### [${sanitizeText(item.full_name)}](${url})
 
-${sanitize(item.description)}
+${sanitizeText(item.description)}
 
-[${encodeURI(item.html_url)}](${encodeURI(item.html_url)})
+[${url}](${url})
 `;
 
     return buffer + plugin;
@@ -49,25 +77,35 @@ ${pluginsContent}
   console.log("Plugin list generated successfully.");
 }
 
-const endpoint =
-  "https://api.github.com/search/repositories?q=topic%3Astellar-cli-plugin+fork%3Afalse+archived%3Afalse&per_page=100&sort=stars&order=desc";
-
-https
-  .get(
-    endpoint,
-    { headers: { "user-agent": "https://github.com/stellar/stellar-docs" } },
-    (res) => {
-      let data = "";
-
-      res.on("data", (chunk) => {
-        data += chunk;
-      });
-
-      res.on("end", () => {
-        exportMDX(JSON.parse(data));
-      });
-    },
-  )
-  .on("error", (err) => {
-    console.error("Error fetching plugin list:", err.message);
-  });
+function main() {
+  const endpoint =
+    "https://api.github.com/search/repositories?q=topic%3Astellar-cli-plugin+fork%3Afalse+archived%3Afalse&per_page=100&sort=stars&order=desc";
+
+  https
+    .get(
+      endpoint,
+      { headers: { "user-agent": "https://github.com/stellar/stellar-docs" } },
+      (res) => {
+        let data = "";
+
+        res.on("data", (chunk) => {
+          data += chunk;
+        });
+
+        res.on("end", () => {
+          exportMDX(JSON.parse(data));
+        });
+      },
+    )
+    .on("error", (err) => {
+      console.error("Error fetching plugin list:", err.message);
+    });
+}
+
+// Only fetch/generate when run directly (`node scripts/stellar_cli_plugins.mjs`),
+// so the helpers above can be imported by tests without a network call.
+if (process.argv[1] && process.argv[1] === fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)) {
+  main();
+}
+
+export { sanitizeText, safeUrl, exportMDX, excludePlugins };
diff --git a/scripts/stellar_cli_plugins.test.mjs b/scripts/stellar_cli_plugins.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..241d543fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/stellar_cli_plugins.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+
+import { sanitizeText, safeUrl } from "./stellar_cli_plugins.mjs";
+
+// After sanitizeText, every Markdown/JSX/HTML-significant character must be
+// backslash-escaped. Strip all `\<punctuation>` escape pairs and assert that no
+// active special character is left unescaped — this is the property that makes
+// the output render as literal text.
+function assertFullyNeutralized(out) {
+  const stripped = out.replace(/\\[!-/:-@[-`{-~]/g, "");
+  const leftover = stripped.match(/[!-/:-@[-`{-~]/g);
+  assert.equal(
+    leftover,
+    null,
+    `unescaped special characters survived: ${JSON.stringify(leftover)} in ${JSON.stringify(out)}`,
+  );
+}
+
+test("sanitizeText neutralizes <script> injection", () => {
+  const out = sanitizeText("Cool plugin! <script>alert('Website Hacked')</script>");
+  assertFullyNeutralized(out);
+  assert.ok(!/(^|[^\\])</.test(out), "no unescaped '<' remains");
+});
+
+test("sanitizeText neutralizes JSX expression braces", () => {
+  const out = sanitizeText("danger {process.env.SECRET} here");
+  assertFullyNeutralized(out);
+  assert.ok(!/(^|[^\\])[{}]/.test(out), "no unescaped brace remains");
+});
+
+test("sanitizeText neutralizes Markdown links (phishing)", () => {
+  const out = sanitizeText("[Official — install now](https://evil.example.com)");
+  assert.ok(!out.includes("]("), "link syntax must be broken");
+  assertFullyNeutralized(out);
+});
+
+test("sanitizeText neutralizes Markdown images (tracking pixels)", () => {
+  const out = sanitizeText("![pixel](https://evil.example.com/p.png)");
+  assert.ok(!out.includes("!["), "image syntax must be broken");
+  assertFullyNeutralized(out);
+});
+
+test("sanitizeText neutralizes GFM autolinks", () => {
+  const out = sanitizeText("visit http://evil.example.com now");
+  assert.ok(!out.includes("http://"), "bare URL scheme must be broken");
+  assertFullyNeutralized(out);
+});
+
+test("sanitizeText collapses newlines so block constructs cannot start", () => {
+  const out = sanitizeText("line one\n\n### Fake heading\n> quote");
+  assert.ok(!out.includes("\n"), "must be a single line");
+  assertFullyNeutralized(out);
+});
+
+test("sanitizeText leaves plain prose untouched but escapes punctuation", () => {
+  // Plain words render unchanged; only punctuation gains a backslash, which the
+  // Markdown renderer consumes, so the visible output matches the original text.
+  assert.equal(sanitizeText("hello world"), "hello world");
+  assert.equal(sanitizeText("a & b"), "a \\& b");
+  assert.equal(sanitizeText("emphasis _here_ and *there*"), "emphasis \\_here\\_ and \\*there\\*");
+});
+
+test("sanitizeText handles null/undefined", () => {
+  assert.equal(sanitizeText(null), "");
+  assert.equal(sanitizeText(undefined), "");
+});
+
+test("safeUrl accepts canonical GitHub repo URLs", () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    safeUrl("https://github.com/stellar/stellar-docs"),
+    "https://github.com/stellar/stellar-docs",
+  );
+});
+
+test("safeUrl rejects javascript: scheme", () => {
+  assert.equal(safeUrl("javascript:alert(1)"), null);
+});
+
+test("safeUrl rejects data: scheme", () => {
+  assert.equal(safeUrl("data:text/html,<script>alert(1)</script>"), null);
+});
+
+test("safeUrl rejects non-https schemes", () => {
+  assert.equal(safeUrl("http://github.com/a/b"), null);
+});
+
+test("safeUrl rejects look-alike and other hosts", () => {
+  assert.equal(safeUrl("https://github.com.evil.com/a/b"), null);
+  assert.equal(safeUrl("https://evil.com/a/b"), null);
+});
+
+test("safeUrl rejects malformed input", () => {
+  assert.equal(safeUrl("not a url"), null);
+  assert.equal(safeUrl(null), null);
+});