diff --git a/packages/grafana-data/src/text/sanitize.test.ts b/packages/grafana-data/src/text/sanitize.test.ts
index c3ce3d3eb90..a0c69838976 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-data/src/text/sanitize.test.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-data/src/text/sanitize.test.ts
@@ -55,6 +55,26 @@ describe('sanitize', () => {
     const str = sanitize(html);
     expect(str).toBe('');
   });
+
+  describe('should sanitize anchors with target="_blank"', () => {
+    it('should add rel="noopener noreferrer" to target="_blank" links', () => {
+      const html = '<a href="https://example.com" target="_blank">Link</a>';
+      const str = sanitize(html);
+      expect(str).toBe('<a href="https://example.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Link</a>');
+    });
+
+    it('should preserve existing rel attributes and add noopener noreferrer, if not already added', () => {
+      const html = '<a href="https://example.com" target="_blank" rel="external noreferrer">Link</a>';
+      const str = sanitize(html);
+      expect(str).toBe('<a href="https://example.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Link</a>');
+    });
+
+    it('should not modify links without target="_blank"', () => {
+      const html = '<a href="https://example.com">Link</a>';
+      const str = sanitize(html);
+      expect(str).toBe('<a href="https://example.com">Link</a>');
+    });
+  });
 });
 
 describe('validatePath', () => {
diff --git a/packages/grafana-data/src/text/sanitize.ts b/packages/grafana-data/src/text/sanitize.ts
index 0c3dadd5ebf..4d22046cb31 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-data/src/text/sanitize.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-data/src/text/sanitize.ts
@@ -56,13 +56,22 @@ const sanitizeTextPanelWhitelist = new xss.FilterXSS({
  */
 export function sanitize(unsanitizedString: string): string {
   try {
+    DOMPurify.addHook('afterSanitizeAttributes', (node) => {
+      if (node.tagName === 'A' && node.getAttribute('target') === '_blank') {
+        node.setAttribute('rel', 'noopener noreferrer');
+      }
+    });
+
     return DOMPurify.sanitize(unsanitizedString, {
       USE_PROFILES: { html: true },
       FORBID_TAGS: ['form', 'input'],
+      ADD_ATTR: ['target'],
     });
   } catch (error) {
     console.error('String could not be sanitized', unsanitizedString);
     return escapeHtml(unsanitizedString);
+  } finally {
+    DOMPurify.removeHook('afterSanitizeAttributes');
   }
 }