diff --git a/packages/dashboard/e2e/tests/widgets/text.spec.ts b/packages/dashboard/e2e/tests/widgets/text.spec.ts
index 1e936ffd3..0b03d193b 100644
--- a/packages/dashboard/e2e/tests/widgets/text.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/dashboard/e2e/tests/widgets/text.spec.ts
@@ -280,5 +280,37 @@ test.describe('Test Text Widget', () => {
       await page.getByText(TEXT_WIDGET_CONTENT).click();
       await page.waitForURL(`**${url}`);
     });
+
+    test('when link is enabled, it should sanitize href and not link if dangerous', async ({
+      dashboardWithTextWidget,
+      configPanel,
+      page,
+    }) => {
+      const widget = dashboardWithTextWidget.gridArea.locator(
+        '[data-gesture=widget]'
+      );
+
+      const url = "javascript://%0aalert('1.com')";
+      await configPanel.collapsedButton.click();
+      await widget.dblclick();
+      await widget.getByRole('textbox').fill(TEXT_WIDGET_CONTENT);
+      await configPanel.container
+        .getByTestId('text-widget-link-header')
+        .click();
+      await configPanel.container
+        .getByText('Create link', { exact: true })
+        .click();
+      await configPanel.container
+        .getByLabel('text widget link input')
+        .fill(url);
+
+      // go to preview
+      await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'preview' }).click();
+
+      // clicking on the link
+      await page.getByText(TEXT_WIDGET_CONTENT).click();
+
+      expect(page.getByText(TEXT_WIDGET_CONTENT)).not.toHaveAttribute('href');
+    });
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/dashboard/src/customization/widgets/text/__snapshots__/component.test.tsx.snap b/packages/dashboard/src/customization/widgets/text/__snapshots__/component.test.tsx.snap
deleted file mode 100644
index 2cb029223..000000000
--- a/packages/dashboard/src/customization/widgets/text/__snapshots__/component.test.tsx.snap
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,81 +0,0 @@
-// Jest Snapshot v1, https://goo.gl/fbAQLP
-
-exports[`Text Widget should render {"readOnly":false,"isSelected":false,"isUrl":false} correctly 1`] = `
-<div>
-  <div
-    data-mocked="EditableStyledText"
-  >
-    {"readOnly":false,"isSelected":false,"id":"some-id","x":1,"y":2,"z":3,"height":100,"width":100,"type":"text-widget","properties":{"isUrl":false,"value":"abc"}}
-  </div>
-</div>
-`;
-
-exports[`Text Widget should render {"readOnly":false,"isSelected":false,"isUrl":true} correctly 1`] = `
-<div>
-  <div
-    data-mocked="StyledTextArea"
-  >
-    {"isUrl":true,"readOnly":false,"isSelected":false,"id":"some-id","x":1,"y":2,"z":3,"height":100,"width":100,"type":"text-widget","properties":{"isUrl":true,"value":"abc"}}
-  </div>
-</div>
-`;
-
-exports[`Text Widget should render {"readOnly":false,"isSelected":true,"isUrl":false} correctly 1`] = `
-<div>
-  <div
-    data-mocked="EditableStyledText"
-  >
-    {"readOnly":false,"isSelected":true,"id":"some-id","x":1,"y":2,"z":3,"height":100,"width":100,"type":"text-widget","properties":{"isUrl":false,"value":"abc"}}
-  </div>
-</div>
-`;
-
-exports[`Text Widget should render {"readOnly":false,"isSelected":true,"isUrl":true} correctly 1`] = `
-<div>
-  <div
-    data-mocked="StyledTextArea"
-  >
-    {"isUrl":true,"readOnly":false,"isSelected":true,"id":"some-id","x":1,"y":2,"z":3,"height":100,"width":100,"type":"text-widget","properties":{"isUrl":true,"value":"abc"}}
-  </div>
-</div>
-`;
-
-exports[`Text Widget should render {"readOnly":true,"isSelected":false,"isUrl":false} correctly 1`] = `
-<div>
-  <div
-    data-mocked="StyledText"
-  >
-    {"id":"some-id","x":1,"y":2,"z":3,"height":100,"width":100,"type":"text-widget","properties":{"isUrl":false,"value":"abc"}}
-  </div>
-</div>
-`;
-
-exports[`Text Widget should render {"readOnly":true,"isSelected":false,"isUrl":true} correctly 1`] = `
-<div>
-  <div
-    data-mocked="TextLink"
-  >
-    {"id":"some-id","x":1,"y":2,"z":3,"height":100,"width":100,"type":"text-widget","properties":{"isUrl":true,"value":"abc"}}
-  </div>
-</div>
-`;
-
-exports[`Text Widget should render {"readOnly":true,"isSelected":true,"isUrl":false} correctly 1`] = `
-<div>
-  <div
-    data-mocked="StyledText"
-  >
-    {"id":"some-id","x":1,"y":2,"z":3,"height":100,"width":100,"type":"text-widget","properties":{"isUrl":false,"value":"abc"}}
-  </div>
-</div>
-`;
-
-exports[`Text Widget should render {"readOnly":true,"isSelected":true,"isUrl":true} correctly 1`] = `
-<div>
-  <div
-    data-mocked="TextLink"
-  >
-    {"id":"some-id","x":1,"y":2,"z":3,"height":100,"width":100,"type":"text-widget","properties":{"isUrl":true,"value":"abc"}}
-  </div>
-</div>
-`;
diff --git a/packages/dashboard/src/customization/widgets/text/component.test.tsx b/packages/dashboard/src/customization/widgets/text/component.test.tsx
index 0cebb062f..5a979fe01 100644
--- a/packages/dashboard/src/customization/widgets/text/component.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/dashboard/src/customization/widgets/text/component.test.tsx
@@ -1,10 +1,8 @@
 import React from 'react';
-
-import { render } from '@testing-library/react';
-import { useSelector, useDispatch } from 'react-redux';
+import { render, screen } from '@testing-library/react';
 import TextWidgetComponent from './component';
-import { useIsSelected } from '~/customization/hooks/useIsSelected';
-import { onChangeDashboardGridEnabledAction } from '~/store/actions';
+import * as ReactRedux from 'react-redux';
+import type { TextProperties } from '../types';
 
 jest.mock('~/store/actions', () => ({
   ...jest.requireActual('~/store/actions'),
@@ -13,88 +11,101 @@ jest.mock('~/store/actions', () => ({
 
 jest.mock('react-redux', () => ({
   ...jest.requireActual('react-redux'),
-  useSelector: jest.fn(),
-  useDispatch: jest.fn(),
+  useDispatch: () => jest.fn(),
 }));
 
 jest.mock('~/customization/hooks/useIsSelected', () => ({
   useIsSelected: jest.fn(),
 }));
 
-jest.mock('./link', () => (props: unknown) => (
-  <div data-mocked='TextLink'>{JSON.stringify(props)}</div>
-));
-jest.mock('./styledText/textArea', () => (props: unknown) => (
-  <div data-mocked='StyledTextArea'>{JSON.stringify(props)}</div>
-));
-jest.mock('./styledText/editableText', () => (props: unknown) => (
-  <div data-mocked='EditableStyledText'>{JSON.stringify(props)}</div>
-));
-jest.mock('./styledText', () => (props: unknown) => (
-  <div data-mocked='StyledText'>{JSON.stringify(props)}</div>
-));
+function TextTextWidget(props: TextProperties) {
+  return (
+    <TextWidgetComponent
+      id='id'
+      type='text-widget'
+      x={0}
+      y={0}
+      z={0}
+      height={100}
+      width={100}
+      properties={props}
+    />
+  );
+}
+
+function TestReadonlyTextWidget(props: TextProperties) {
+  jest.spyOn(ReactRedux, 'useSelector').mockReturnValueOnce(true);
+
+  return <TextTextWidget {...props} />;
+}
+
+function TestEditableTextWidget(props: TextProperties) {
+  jest.spyOn(ReactRedux, 'useSelector').mockReturnValueOnce(false);
+
+  return <TextTextWidget {...props} />;
+}
 
 describe('Text Widget', () => {
-  beforeEach(() => {
-    jest.resetAllMocks();
+  it('should render readonly text', () => {
+    const text = 'text';
+    render(<TestReadonlyTextWidget value={text} />);
+
+    const textWidget = screen.getByText(text);
+    expect(textWidget).toBeVisible();
+    expect(textWidget).toHaveAttribute('aria-readonly');
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('link', { name: text })).not.toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
-  [
-    { readOnly: true, isSelected: true, isUrl: true },
-    { readOnly: true, isSelected: true, isUrl: false },
-    { readOnly: true, isSelected: false, isUrl: false },
-    { readOnly: false, isSelected: false, isUrl: false },
-    { readOnly: false, isSelected: false, isUrl: true },
-    { readOnly: false, isSelected: true, isUrl: true },
-    { readOnly: false, isSelected: true, isUrl: false },
-    { readOnly: true, isSelected: false, isUrl: true },
-  ].forEach((configuration) => {
-    it(`should render ${JSON.stringify(configuration)} correctly`, () => {
-      const { isSelected, readOnly, isUrl } = configuration;
-      (useIsSelected as jest.Mock).mockImplementation(() => isSelected);
-      (useSelector as jest.Mock).mockImplementation(() => readOnly);
-      (useDispatch as jest.Mock).mockReturnValue(jest.fn());
-
-      const { container } = render(
-        <TextWidgetComponent
-          id='some-id'
-          x={1}
-          y={2}
-          z={3}
-          height={100}
-          width={100}
-          type='text-widget'
-          properties={{ isUrl, value: 'abc' }}
-        />
-      );
-
-      expect(container).toMatchSnapshot();
-    });
+  it('should render editable text', () => {
+    const text = 'text';
+    render(<TestEditableTextWidget value={text} />);
+
+    const textWidget = screen.getByText(text);
+    expect(textWidget).toBeVisible();
+    expect(textWidget).not.toHaveAttribute('aria-readonly');
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('link', { name: text })).not.toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
-  it('should exit edit mode when unmounted', () => {
-    (useDispatch as jest.Mock).mockImplementation(() => jest.fn((cb) => cb())); // short curcuit dispatch
-
-    (useIsSelected as jest.Mock).mockImplementation(() => false);
-    (useSelector as jest.Mock).mockImplementation(() => false);
-    (useDispatch as jest.Mock).mockReturnValue(jest.fn());
-
-    const { unmount } = render(
-      <TextWidgetComponent
-        id='some-id'
-        x={1}
-        y={2}
-        z={3}
-        height={100}
-        width={100}
-        type='text-widget'
-        properties={{ isUrl: false, value: 'abc' }}
-      />
-    );
-    unmount();
-
-    expect(onChangeDashboardGridEnabledAction).toBeCalledWith({
-      enabled: true,
-    });
+  it('should render editable link', () => {
+    const text = 'text';
+    const href = 'https://test.com';
+    render(<TestEditableTextWidget value={text} href={href} isUrl />);
+
+    const textWidget = screen.getByText(text);
+    expect(textWidget).toHaveTextContent(text);
+    expect(textWidget).not.toHaveAttribute('aria-readonly');
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('link', { name: text })).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it('should santize and then render unsafe link that injects javascript', () => {
+    const text = 'text';
+    const href = 'javascript://%0Aalert(1)';
+    render(<TestReadonlyTextWidget value={text} href={href} isUrl />);
+
+    const textWidget = screen.getByText(text);
+    expect(textWidget).toBeVisible();
+    expect(textWidget).not.toHaveAttribute('href');
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('link', { name: text })).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it('should santize and then render unsafe link that injects javascript via hex format', () => {
+    const text = 'text';
+    const href = '\x6A\x61\x76\x61\x73\x63\x72\x69\x70\x74\x3aalert(1)';
+    render(<TestReadonlyTextWidget value={text} href={href} isUrl />);
+
+    const textWidget = screen.getByText(text);
+    expect(textWidget).toBeVisible();
+    expect(textWidget).not.toHaveAttribute('href');
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('link', { name: text })).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it('should render a safe link', () => {
+    const text = 'text';
+    const href = 'https://test.com';
+    render(<TestReadonlyTextWidget value={text} href={href} isUrl />);
+
+    const textWidget = screen.getByRole('link', { name: text });
+    expect(textWidget).toBeVisible();
+    expect(textWidget).toHaveAttribute('href', href);
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/dashboard/src/customization/widgets/text/component.tsx b/packages/dashboard/src/customization/widgets/text/component.tsx
index 88ce0ccd2..f95dc3a6f 100644
--- a/packages/dashboard/src/customization/widgets/text/component.tsx
+++ b/packages/dashboard/src/customization/widgets/text/component.tsx
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ const TextWidgetComponent: React.FC<TextWidget> = (widget) => {
   const { isUrl, value } = widget.properties;
 
   const dispatch = useDispatch();
+
   const [isEditing, setIsEditing] = useState(false);
 
   const handleSetEdit = useCallback(
@@ -50,7 +51,7 @@ const TextWidgetComponent: React.FC<TextWidget> = (widget) => {
     if (isUrl) {
       return <TextLink {...widget} />;
     } else {
-      return <StyledText {...widget} />;
+      return <StyledText {...widget} readonly />;
     }
   } else {
     if (isUrl) {
diff --git a/packages/dashboard/src/customization/widgets/text/styledText/index.tsx b/packages/dashboard/src/customization/widgets/text/styledText/index.tsx
index 75e226d42..69885be8a 100644
--- a/packages/dashboard/src/customization/widgets/text/styledText/index.tsx
+++ b/packages/dashboard/src/customization/widgets/text/styledText/index.tsx
@@ -9,11 +9,13 @@ import { spaceScaledXs } from '@cloudscape-design/design-tokens';
 type StyledTextProps = TextWidget & {
   onPointerDown?: PointerEventHandler;
   onPointerUp?: PointerEventHandler;
+  readonly?: boolean;
 };
 
 const StyledText: React.FC<StyledTextProps> = ({
   onPointerDown,
   onPointerUp,
+  readonly,
   ...widget
 }) => {
   const { value } = widget.properties;
@@ -43,7 +45,12 @@ const StyledText: React.FC<StyledTextProps> = ({
   };
 
   return (
-    <p {...pointerListeners} className={className} style={style}>
+    <p
+      {...pointerListeners}
+      className={className}
+      style={style}
+      aria-readonly={readonly}
+    >
       {textContent}
     </p>
   );