diff --git a/src/main/java/org/olat/core/util/mail/manager/MailManagerImpl.java b/src/main/java/org/olat/core/util/mail/manager/MailManagerImpl.java
index b90b058a2caa976fb89d3dedad22a71f0528950f..1c593e34cdbad8ce6f4720a437d19706f3175927 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/olat/core/util/mail/manager/MailManagerImpl.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/olat/core/util/mail/manager/MailManagerImpl.java
@@ -704,6 +704,8 @@ public class MailManagerImpl extends BasicManager implements MailManager {
 		String body = content.getBody();
 		boolean htmlContent =  isHtmlEmail(body);
 		if(htmlTemplate && !htmlContent) {
+			body = body.replace("&", "&");
+			body = body.replace("<", "&lt;");
 			body = body.replace("\n", "<br />");
 		}
 		VelocityContext context = new VelocityContext();