diff --git a/src/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php b/src/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php
index f92bfc674feb0..87e6e351fd56d 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php
@@ -628,8 +628,6 @@ public static function get_response_links( $response ) {
 			return array();
 		}
 
-		$server = rest_get_server();
-
 		// Convert links to part of the data.
 		$data = array();
 		foreach ( $links as $rel => $items ) {
@@ -644,37 +642,67 @@ public static function get_response_links( $response ) {
 					continue;
 				}
 
-				// Prefer targetHints that were specifically designated by the developer.
-				if ( isset( $attributes['targetHints']['allow'] ) ) {
-					$data[ $rel ][] = $attributes;
-					continue;
+				$target_hints = self::get_target_hints_for_link( $item['href'] );
+				if ( $target_hints ) {
+					$attributes['targetHints'] = $target_hints;
 				}
 
-				$request = WP_REST_Request::from_url( $item['href'] );
-				if ( ! $request ) {
-					$data[ $rel ][] = $attributes;
-					continue;
-				}
+				$data[ $rel ][] = $attributes;
+			}
+		}
 
-				$match = $server->match_request_to_handler( $request );
-				if ( ! is_wp_error( $match ) ) {
-					$response = new WP_REST_Response();
-					$response->set_matched_route( $match[0] );
-					$response->set_matched_handler( $match[1] );
-					$headers = rest_send_allow_header( $response, $server, $request )->get_headers();
+		return $data;
+	}
 
-					foreach ( $headers as $name => $value ) {
-						$name = WP_REST_Request::canonicalize_header_name( $name );
+	/**
+	 * Gets the target links for a REST API Link.
+	 *
+	 * @since 6.7.0
+	 *
+	 * @param array $link
+	 *
+	 * @return array|null
+	 */
+	protected static function get_target_hints_for_link( $link ) {
+		// Prefer targetHints that were specifically designated by the developer.
+		if ( isset( $link['targetHints']['allow'] ) ) {
+			return null;
+		}
 
-						$attributes['targetHints'][ $name ] = array_map( 'trim', explode( ',', $value ) );
-					}
-				}
+		$request = WP_REST_Request::from_url( $link['href'] );
+		if ( ! $request ) {
+			return null;
+		}
 
-				$data[ $rel ][] = $attributes;
-			}
+		$server = rest_get_server();
+		$match = $server->match_request_to_handler( $request );
+
+		if ( is_wp_error( $match ) ) {
+			return null;
 		}
 
-		return $data;
+		if ( is_wp_error( $request->has_valid_params() ) ) {
+			return null;
+		}
+
+		if ( is_wp_error( $request->sanitize_params() ) ) {
+			return null;
+		}
+
+		$target_hints = array();
+
+		$response = new WP_REST_Response();
+		$response->set_matched_route( $match[0] );
+		$response->set_matched_handler( $match[1] );
+		$headers = rest_send_allow_header( $response, $server, $request )->get_headers();
+
+		foreach ( $headers as $name => $value ) {
+			$name = WP_REST_Request::canonicalize_header_name( $name );
+
+			$target_hints[ $name ] = array_map( 'trim', explode( ',', $value ) );
+		}
+
+		return $target_hints;
 	}
 
 	/**
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/rest-api/rest-server.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/rest-api/rest-server.php
index 421bf2e3528e4..1aa19b4815a41 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/tests/rest-api/rest-server.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/rest-api/rest-server.php
@@ -2441,6 +2441,35 @@ public function test_rest_allowed_cors_headers_filter_receives_request_object()
 		$this->assertSame( '/test-allowed-cors-headers', $mock_hook->get_events()[0]['args'][1]->get_route() );
 	}
 
+	public function test_validates_request_when_building_target_hints() {
+		register_rest_route(
+			'test-ns/v1',
+			'/test/(?P<id>\d+)',
+			array(
+				array(
+					'methods'             => \WP_REST_Server::READABLE,
+					'callback'            => static function () {
+						return new \WP_REST_Response();
+					},
+					'permission_callback' => '__return_true',
+					'args'                => array(
+						'id' => array(
+							'type' => 'integer',
+						),
+					),
+				),
+			)
+		);
+
+		$response = new WP_REST_Response();
+		$response->add_link( 'self', rest_url( 'test-ns/v1/test/garbage' ) );
+
+		$links = rest_get_server()::get_response_links( $response );
+
+		$this->assertArrayHasKey( 'self', $links['self'] );
+		$this->assertArrayNotHasKey( 'targetHints', $links['self'][0] );
+	}
+
 	public function test_populates_target_hints_for_administrator() {
 		wp_set_current_user( self::$admin_id );
 		$response = rest_do_request( '/wp/v2/posts' );