diff --git a/src/wp-includes/html-api/class-wp-html-decoder.php b/src/wp-includes/html-api/class-wp-html-decoder.php
index d14009d3d9fb8..e3da947bf952f 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/html-api/class-wp-html-decoder.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/html-api/class-wp-html-decoder.php
@@ -378,12 +378,14 @@ public static function read_character_reference( $context, $text, $at = 0, &$mat
 		 * character reference table but the match doesn't end in `;`.
 		 * It may be allowed if it's followed by something unambiguous.
 		 */
+		$follower_byte       = $after_name < $length ? ord( $text[ $after_name ] ) : null;
 		$ambiguous_follower = (
-			$after_name < $length &&
-			$name_at < $length &&
+			null !== $follower_byte &&
 			(
-				ctype_alnum( $text[ $after_name ] ) ||
-				'=' === $text[ $after_name ]
+				( $follower_byte >= 0x30 && $follower_byte <= 0x39 ) ||
+				( $follower_byte >= 0x41 && $follower_byte <= 0x5A ) ||
+				( $follower_byte >= 0x61 && $follower_byte <= 0x7A ) ||
+				0x3D === $follower_byte
 			)
 		);
 
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/html-api/wpHtmlDecoder.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/html-api/wpHtmlDecoder.php
index 97954f4eb3e30..2d46ee39753be 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/tests/html-api/wpHtmlDecoder.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/html-api/wpHtmlDecoder.php
@@ -61,6 +61,80 @@ static function ( int $errno, string $errstr ) use ( &$errors ) {
 		$this->assertSame( "&\x00b", $decoded, 'Should have decoded the text without changing it.' );
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Ensures semicolonless legacy references decode before non-ASCII UTF-8 bytes in attributes.
+	 */
+	public function test_semicolonless_legacy_reference_before_multibyte_attribute_follower() {
+		$previous_locale = setlocale( LC_CTYPE, 0 );
+		$affected_locale = setlocale( LC_CTYPE, 'C.UTF-8', 'en_US.UTF-8', 'de_DE.UTF-8', 'fr_FR.UTF-8' );
+
+		if ( false === $affected_locale || ! ctype_alnum( "\xC2" ) ) {
+			if ( false !== $previous_locale ) {
+				setlocale( LC_CTYPE, $previous_locale );
+			}
+
+			$this->markTestSkipped( 'Requires an LC_CTYPE locale where ctype_alnum() classifies high-bit bytes as alphanumeric.' );
+		}
+
+		$raw_attribute = "&Aacute\xC2\x80";
+
+		try {
+			$this->assertSame(
+				"\xC3\x81\xC2\x80",
+				WP_HTML_Decoder::decode_attribute( $raw_attribute ),
+				'Should have decoded the semicolonless legacy reference before a multibyte follower.'
+			);
+
+			$match_byte_length = null;
+			$this->assertSame(
+				"\xC3\x81",
+				WP_HTML_Decoder::read_character_reference( 'attribute', $raw_attribute, 0, $match_byte_length ),
+				'Should have matched the semicolonless legacy reference before a multibyte follower.'
+			);
+			$this->assertSame( strlen( '&Aacute' ), $match_byte_length );
+		} finally {
+			if ( false !== $previous_locale ) {
+				setlocale( LC_CTYPE, $previous_locale );
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Ensures semicolonless legacy references remain ambiguous before ASCII alnum or equals.
+	 *
+	 * @dataProvider data_ambiguous_ascii_attribute_followers
+	 *
+	 * @param string $raw_attribute Raw attribute value with an ambiguous legacy reference follower.
+	 */
+	public function test_semicolonless_legacy_reference_before_ascii_attribute_follower_is_ambiguous( $raw_attribute ) {
+		$this->assertSame(
+			$raw_attribute,
+			WP_HTML_Decoder::decode_attribute( $raw_attribute ),
+			'Should not have decoded an ambiguous semicolonless legacy reference.'
+		);
+
+		$match_byte_length = 'sentinel';
+		$this->assertNull(
+			WP_HTML_Decoder::read_character_reference( 'attribute', $raw_attribute, 0, $match_byte_length ),
+			'Should not have matched an ambiguous semicolonless legacy reference.'
+		);
+		$this->assertSame( 'sentinel', $match_byte_length );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Data provider.
+	 *
+	 * @return array[].
+	 */
+	public static function data_ambiguous_ascii_attribute_followers() {
+		return array(
+			'ASCII digit' => array( '&Aacute0' ),
+			'ASCII uppercase alpha' => array( '&AacuteA' ),
+			'ASCII lowercase alpha' => array( '&Aacutea' ),
+			'equals' => array( '&Aacute=' ),
+		);
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Ensures proper detection of attribute prefixes ignoring ASCII case.
 	 *