diff --git a/src/components/help/HelpDrawer.tsx b/src/components/help/HelpDrawer.tsx
index cbeef6c9..ecd8018e 100644
--- a/src/components/help/HelpDrawer.tsx
+++ b/src/components/help/HelpDrawer.tsx
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ export const HelpDrawer: React.FC = () => {
             <a
               href="https://discord.gg/WV7tdYkJk"
               target="_blank"
-              rel="noreferrer"
+              rel="noopener noreferrer"
               className="inline-flex items-center gap-2 text-sm font-medium text-cyan-300 transition hover:text-cyan-200"
             >
               <CircleHelp size={16} aria-hidden="true" />
diff --git a/src/utils/__tests__/explorerLinks.policy.test.ts b/src/utils/__tests__/explorerLinks.policy.test.ts
index 3583fcda..755f87e0 100644
--- a/src/utils/__tests__/explorerLinks.policy.test.ts
+++ b/src/utils/__tests__/explorerLinks.policy.test.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
  */
 
 import { describe, expect, it, vi, afterEach } from 'vitest'
-import { buildExplorerUrl, openExplorerUrl } from '../explorerLinks'
+import { buildExplorerUrl, openExplorerUrl, safeExternalUrl, KNOWN_EXPLORER_HOSTS } from '../explorerLinks'
 
 const ALLOWED_HOST = 'stellar.expert'
 const validAccount = `G${'A'.repeat(55)}`
@@ -79,3 +79,62 @@ describe('explorerLinks — external-link policy', () => {
     expect(openSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
   })
 })
+
+describe('safeExternalUrl — external-link policy', () => {
+  it('rejects javascript: and data: schemes to prevent XSS', () => {
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('javascript:alert(1)')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('javascript:document.cookie')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('data:text/html,<script>alert(1)</script>')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('data:application/json,{"test":1}')).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('rejects other dangerous schemes', () => {
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('vbscript:msgbox(1)')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('file:///etc/passwd')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('ftp://example.com')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('mailto:test@example.com')).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('enforces host allowlist when provided to prevent open redirects', () => {
+    const allowedHosts = new Set(['stellar.expert'])
+    
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://stellar.expert/tx/abc', allowedHosts)).toBe('https://stellar.expert/tx/abc')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://evil.com', allowedHosts)).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://stellar.expert.evil.com', allowedHosts)).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('//evil.com', allowedHosts)).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('prevents host smuggling via @ syntax', () => {
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://example.com@evil.com')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://example.com:80@evil.com')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('http://user@example.com@evil.com')).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('only allows http and https protocols', () => {
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('http://example.com')).toBe('http://example.com')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://example.com')).toBe('https://example.com')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('HTTP://example.com')).toBe('http://example.com')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('HTTPS://example.com')).toBe('https://example.com')
+  })
+
+  it('rejects null, undefined, and empty inputs', () => {
+    expect(safeExternalUrl(null)).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl(undefined)).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('')).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('rejects malformed URLs that could cause parsing errors', () => {
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('not-a-url')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('http://')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('://example.com')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('http:///')).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('KNOWN_EXPLORER_HOSTS allowlist prevents off-host links', () => {
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://stellar.expert/tx/abc', KNOWN_EXPLORER_HOSTS)).toBe('https://stellar.expert/tx/abc')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://steexp.com/account/xyz', KNOWN_EXPLORER_HOSTS)).toBe('https://steexp.com/account/xyz')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://lumenscope.io/tx/123', KNOWN_EXPLORER_HOSTS)).toBe('https://lumenscope.io/tx/123')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://evil.com', KNOWN_EXPLORER_HOSTS)).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://phishing-site.com', KNOWN_EXPLORER_HOSTS)).toBeNull()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/utils/__tests__/explorerLinks.test.ts b/src/utils/__tests__/explorerLinks.test.ts
index 7981bcfe..33c14325 100644
--- a/src/utils/__tests__/explorerLinks.test.ts
+++ b/src/utils/__tests__/explorerLinks.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 // @vitest-environment happy-dom
 
 import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
-import { buildExplorerUrl, openExplorerUrl } from '../explorerLinks'
+import { buildExplorerUrl, openExplorerUrl, safeExternalUrl, KNOWN_EXPLORER_HOSTS } from '../explorerLinks'
 
 const validTxHash = 'a'.repeat(64)
 const validAccount = `G${'A'.repeat(55)}`
@@ -46,3 +46,63 @@ describe('explorerLinks', () => {
     expect(openSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
   })
 })
+
+describe('safeExternalUrl', () => {
+  it('accepts valid http and https URLs', () => {
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('http://example.com')).toBe('http://example.com')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://example.com')).toBe('https://example.com')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://example.com/path')).toBe('https://example.com/path')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://example.com/path?query=value')).toBe('https://example.com/path?query=value')
+  })
+
+  it('rejects dangerous schemes', () => {
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('javascript:alert(1)')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('data:text/html,<script>alert(1)</script>')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('vbscript:msgbox(1)')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('file:///etc/passwd')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('ftp://example.com')).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('rejects null, undefined, and empty strings', () => {
+    expect(safeExternalUrl(null)).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl(undefined)).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('')).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('rejects malformed URLs', () => {
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('not-a-url')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('http://')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('://example.com')).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('enforces allowed hosts when provided', () => {
+    const allowedHosts = new Set(['stellar.expert', 'example.com'])
+    
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://stellar.expert/tx/abc', allowedHosts)).toBe('https://stellar.expert/tx/abc')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://example.com/path', allowedHosts)).toBe('https://example.com/path')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://evil.com', allowedHosts)).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://stellar.expert.evil.com', allowedHosts)).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('allows any http(s) host when allowedHosts is not provided', () => {
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://any-host.com')).toBe('https://any-host.com')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('http://another-host.org')).toBe('http://another-host.org')
+  })
+
+  it('works with KNOWN_EXPLORER_HOSTS constant', () => {
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://stellar.expert/tx/abc', KNOWN_EXPLORER_HOSTS)).toBe('https://stellar.expert/tx/abc')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://steexp.com/account/xyz', KNOWN_EXPLORER_HOSTS)).toBe('https://steexp.com/account/xyz')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://lumenscope.io/tx/123', KNOWN_EXPLORER_HOSTS)).toBe('https://lumenscope.io/tx/123')
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://unknown.com', KNOWN_EXPLORER_HOSTS)).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('handles protocol case insensitivity', () => {
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('HTTP://example.com')).toBeNull() // URL constructor normalizes to http:
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('HTTPS://example.com')).toBe('https://example.com')
+  })
+
+  it('prevents open-redirect attempts via @ syntax', () => {
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://example.com@evil.com')).toBeNull()
+    expect(safeExternalUrl('https://example.com:80@evil.com')).toBeNull()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/utils/explorerLinks.ts b/src/utils/explorerLinks.ts
index 2b0b108b..310201c2 100644
--- a/src/utils/explorerLinks.ts
+++ b/src/utils/explorerLinks.ts
@@ -54,3 +54,52 @@ export function openExplorerUrl(
   window.open(url, '_blank', 'noopener,noreferrer')
   return true
 }
+
+/**
+ * Validates and sanitizes externally-sourced URLs (e.g., from NFT metadata or commitment fields).
+ * Only allows http/https schemes and optionally restricts to known explorer hosts.
+ * Returns null for invalid URLs to prevent javascript:/data: schemes and open-redirect attacks.
+ *
+ * @param url - The URL to validate (can be null/undefined)
+ * @param allowedHosts - Optional set of allowed hostnames (e.g., ['stellar.expert']). If omitted, only http(s) scheme is enforced.
+ * @returns The validated URL string, or null if invalid
+ */
+export function safeExternalUrl(
+  url: string | null | undefined,
+  allowedHosts?: Set<string>,
+): string | null {
+  if (!url || typeof url !== 'string') {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const parsed = new URL(url)
+
+    // Reject dangerous schemes
+    if (parsed.protocol !== 'http:' && parsed.protocol !== 'https:') {
+      return null
+    }
+
+    // If allowedHosts is provided, enforce host allowlist
+    if (allowedHosts && allowedHosts.size > 0) {
+      if (!allowedHosts.has(parsed.hostname)) {
+        return null
+      }
+    }
+
+    return url
+  } catch {
+    // Invalid URL syntax
+    return null
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Known safe explorer hosts for external link validation.
+ * Extend this set as new explorers are integrated.
+ */
+export const KNOWN_EXPLORER_HOSTS = new Set([
+  'stellar.expert',
+  'steexp.com',
+  'lumenscope.io',
+])