diff --git a/src/snek/system/markdown.py b/src/snek/system/markdown.py
index 1f01354..97416a3 100644
--- a/src/snek/system/markdown.py
+++ b/src/snek/system/markdown.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # Original source: https://brandonjay.dev/posts/2021/render-markdown-html-in-python-with-jinja2
 
 from types import SimpleNamespace
-
+from html.parser import escape
 from app.cache import time_cache_async
 from mistune import HTMLRenderer, Markdown
 from pygments import highlight
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ class MarkdownRenderer(HTMLRenderer):
         formatter = html.HtmlFormatter(lineseparator="<br>")
         result = highlight(code, lexer, formatter)
         if not result:
-            return f"<pre>{code}</pre>"
+            return f"<pre>{escape(code)}</pre>"
         return result 
 
     def render(self):