diff --git a/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/blocks/basic.py b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/blocks/basic.py
index 0710565ad088..165399a907a1 100644
--- a/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/blocks/basic.py
+++ b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/blocks/basic.py
@@ -1,13 +1,11 @@
-import re
 from typing import Any, List
 
-from jinja2 import BaseLoader, Environment
-
 from backend.data.block import Block, BlockCategory, BlockOutput, BlockSchema, BlockType
 from backend.data.model import SchemaField
 from backend.util.mock import MockObject
+from backend.util.text import TextFormatter
 
-jinja = Environment(loader=BaseLoader())
+formatter = TextFormatter()
 
 
 class StoreValueBlock(Block):
@@ -304,9 +302,9 @@ def run(self, input_data: Input, **kwargs) -> BlockOutput:
         """
         if input_data.format:
             try:
-                fmt = re.sub(r"(?<!{){[ a-zA-Z0-9_]+}", r"{\g<0>}", input_data.format)
-                template = jinja.from_string(fmt)
-                yield "output", template.render({input_data.name: input_data.value})
+                yield "output", formatter.format_string(
+                    input_data.format, {input_data.name: input_data.value}
+                )
             except Exception as e:
                 yield "output", f"Error: {e}, {input_data.value}"
         else:
diff --git a/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/blocks/text.py b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/blocks/text.py
index 1d8c050fa147..b7b6c73fffe0 100644
--- a/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/blocks/text.py
+++ b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/blocks/text.py
@@ -1,13 +1,11 @@
 import re
 from typing import Any
 
-from jinja2 import BaseLoader, Environment
-
 from backend.data.block import Block, BlockCategory, BlockOutput, BlockSchema
 from backend.data.model import SchemaField
-from backend.util import json
+from backend.util import json, text
 
-jinja = Environment(loader=BaseLoader())
+formatter = text.TextFormatter()
 
 
 class MatchTextPatternBlock(Block):
@@ -146,19 +144,20 @@ def __init__(self):
                     "values": {"list": ["Hello", " World!"]},
                     "format": "{% for item in list %}{{ item }}{% endfor %}",
                 },
+                {
+                    "values": {},
+                    "format": "{% set name = 'Alice' %}Hello, World! {{ name }}",
+                },
             ],
             test_output=[
                 ("output", "Hello, World! Alice"),
                 ("output", "Hello World!"),
+                ("output", "Hello, World! Alice"),
             ],
         )
 
     def run(self, input_data: Input, **kwargs) -> BlockOutput:
-        # For python.format compatibility: replace all {...} with {{..}}.
-        # But avoid replacing {{...}} to {{{...}}}.
-        fmt = re.sub(r"(?<!{){[ a-zA-Z0-9_]+}", r"{\g<0>}", input_data.format)
-        template = jinja.from_string(fmt)
-        yield "output", template.render(**input_data.values)
+        yield "output", formatter.format_string(input_data.format, input_data.values)
 
 
 class CombineTextsBlock(Block):
diff --git a/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/util/request.py b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/util/request.py
index 9fb97d05e4c0..f1eae6c244ce 100644
--- a/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/util/request.py
+++ b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/util/request.py
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 import ipaddress
+import re
 import socket
 from typing import Callable
-from urllib.parse import urlparse
+from urllib.parse import urlparse, urlunparse
 
+import idna
 import requests as req
 
 from backend.util.settings import Config
@@ -21,8 +23,23 @@
     # --8<-- [end:BLOCKED_IP_NETWORKS]
 ]
 
+ALLOWED_SCHEMES = ["http", "https"]
+HOSTNAME_REGEX = re.compile(r"^[A-Za-z0-9.-]+$")  # Basic DNS-safe hostname pattern
 
-def is_ip_blocked(ip: str) -> bool:
+
+def _canonicalize_url(url: str) -> str:
+    # Strip spaces and trailing slashes
+    url = url.strip().strip("/")
+    # Ensure the URL starts with http:// or https://
+    if not url.startswith(("http://", "https://")):
+        url = "http://" + url
+
+    # Replace backslashes with forward slashes to avoid parsing ambiguities
+    url = url.replace("\\", "/")
+    return url
+
+
+def _is_ip_blocked(ip: str) -> bool:
     """
     Checks if the IP address is in a blocked network.
     """
@@ -35,29 +52,51 @@ def validate_url(url: str, trusted_origins: list[str]) -> str:
     Validates the URL to prevent SSRF attacks by ensuring it does not point to a private
     or untrusted IP address, unless whitelisted.
     """
-    url = url.strip().strip("/")
-    if not url.startswith(("http://", "https://")):
-        url = "http://" + url
+    url = _canonicalize_url(url)
+    parsed = urlparse(url)
+
+    # Check scheme
+    if parsed.scheme not in ALLOWED_SCHEMES:
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"Scheme '{parsed.scheme}' is not allowed. Only HTTP/HTTPS are supported."
+        )
+
+    # Validate and IDNA encode the hostname
+    if not parsed.hostname:
+        raise ValueError("Invalid URL: No hostname found.")
 
-    parsed_url = urlparse(url)
-    hostname = parsed_url.hostname
+    # IDNA encode to prevent Unicode domain attacks
+    try:
+        ascii_hostname = idna.encode(parsed.hostname).decode("ascii")
+    except idna.IDNAError:
+        raise ValueError("Invalid hostname with unsupported characters.")
 
-    if not hostname:
-        raise ValueError(f"Invalid URL: Unable to determine hostname from {url}")
+    # Check hostname characters
+    if not HOSTNAME_REGEX.match(ascii_hostname):
+        raise ValueError("Hostname contains invalid characters.")
 
-    if any(hostname == origin for origin in trusted_origins):
+    # Rebuild the URL with the normalized, IDNA-encoded hostname
+    parsed = parsed._replace(netloc=ascii_hostname)
+    url = str(urlunparse(parsed))
+
+    # Check if hostname is a trusted origin (exact match)
+    if ascii_hostname in trusted_origins:
         return url
 
     # Resolve all IP addresses for the hostname
-    ip_addresses = {result[4][0] for result in socket.getaddrinfo(hostname, None)}
+    try:
+        ip_addresses = {res[4][0] for res in socket.getaddrinfo(ascii_hostname, None)}
+    except socket.gaierror:
+        raise ValueError(f"Unable to resolve IP address for hostname {ascii_hostname}")
+
     if not ip_addresses:
-        raise ValueError(f"Unable to resolve IP address for {hostname}")
+        raise ValueError(f"No IP addresses found for {ascii_hostname}")
 
-    # Check if all IP addresses are global
+    # Check if any resolved IP address falls into blocked ranges
     for ip in ip_addresses:
-        if is_ip_blocked(ip):
+        if _is_ip_blocked(ip):
             raise ValueError(
-                f"Access to private IP address at {hostname}: {ip} is not allowed."
+                f"Access to private IP address {ip} for hostname {ascii_hostname} is not allowed."
             )
 
     return url
diff --git a/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/util/text.py b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/util/text.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..951339b55d59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/util/text.py
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import re
+
+from jinja2 import BaseLoader
+from jinja2.sandbox import SandboxedEnvironment
+
+
+class TextFormatter:
+    def __init__(self):
+        # Create a sandboxed environment
+        self.env = SandboxedEnvironment(loader=BaseLoader(), autoescape=True)
+
+        # Clear any registered filters, tests, and globals to minimize attack surface
+        self.env.filters.clear()
+        self.env.tests.clear()
+        self.env.globals.clear()
+
+    def format_string(self, template_str: str, values=None, **kwargs) -> str:
+        # For python.format compatibility: replace all {...} with {{..}}.
+        # But avoid replacing {{...}} to {{{...}}}.
+        template_str = re.sub(r"(?<!{){[ a-zA-Z0-9_]+}", r"{\g<0>}", template_str)
+        template = self.env.from_string(template_str)
+        return template.render(values or {}, **kwargs)
diff --git a/autogpt_platform/backend/test/util/test_request.py b/autogpt_platform/backend/test/util/test_request.py
index 792de83512ca..703ef9eb5bb4 100644
--- a/autogpt_platform/backend/test/util/test_request.py
+++ b/autogpt_platform/backend/test/util/test_request.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 
 def test_validate_url():
+    # Rejected IP ranges
     with pytest.raises(ValueError):
         validate_url("localhost", [])
 
@@ -16,6 +17,63 @@ def test_validate_url():
     with pytest.raises(ValueError):
         validate_url("0.0.0.0", [])
 
-    validate_url("google.com", [])
-    validate_url("github.com", [])
-    validate_url("http://github.com", [])
+    # Normal URLs
+    assert validate_url("google.com/a?b=c", []) == "http://google.com/a?b=c"
+    assert validate_url("github.com?key=!@!@", []) == "http://github.com?key=!@!@"
+
+    # Scheme Enforcement
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        validate_url("ftp://example.com", [])
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        validate_url("file://example.com", [])
+
+    # International domain that converts to punycode - should be allowed if public
+    assert validate_url("http://xn--exmple-cua.com", []) == "http://xn--exmple-cua.com"
+    # If the domain fails IDNA encoding or is invalid, it should raise an error
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        validate_url("http://exa◌mple.com", [])
+
+    # IPv6 Addresses
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        validate_url("::1", [])  # IPv6 loopback should be blocked
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        validate_url("http://[::1]", [])  # IPv6 loopback in URL form
+
+    # Suspicious Characters in Hostname
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        validate_url("http://example_underscore.com", [])
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        validate_url("http://exa mple.com", [])  # Space in hostname
+
+    # Malformed URLs
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        validate_url("http://", [])  # No hostname
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        validate_url("://missing-scheme", [])  # Missing proper scheme
+
+    # Trusted Origins
+    trusted = ["internal-api.company.com", "10.0.0.5"]
+    assert (
+        validate_url("internal-api.company.com", trusted)
+        == "http://internal-api.company.com"
+    )
+    assert validate_url("10.0.0.5", ["10.0.0.5"]) == "http://10.0.0.5"
+
+    # Special Characters in Path or Query
+    assert (
+        validate_url("example.com/path%20with%20spaces", [])
+        == "http://example.com/path%20with%20spaces"
+    )
+
+    # Backslashes should be replaced with forward slashes
+    assert (
+        validate_url("http://example.com\\backslash", [])
+        == "http://example.com/backslash"
+    )
+
+    # Check defaulting scheme behavior for valid domains
+    assert validate_url("example.com", []) == "http://example.com"
+    assert validate_url("https://secure.com", []) == "https://secure.com"
+
+    # Non-ASCII Characters in Query/Fragment
+    assert validate_url("example.com?param=äöü", []) == "http://example.com?param=äöü"