diff --git a/core/src/components/PublicPageMenu/PublicPageMenuEntry.vue b/core/src/components/PublicPageMenu/PublicPageMenuEntry.vue
index cf9b8668601fe..b995377796e42 100644
--- a/core/src/components/PublicPageMenu/PublicPageMenuEntry.vue
+++ b/core/src/components/PublicPageMenu/PublicPageMenuEntry.vue
@@ -42,13 +42,24 @@ defineEmits<{
 }>()
 
 onMounted(() => {
-	const anchor = document.getElementById(`${props.id}--link`) as HTMLAnchorElement
-	// Make the `<a>` a menuitem
-	anchor.role = 'menuitem'
-	// Prevent native click handling if required
-	if (props.clickOnly) {
-		anchor.onclick = (event) => event.preventDefault()
+	let attempts = 0
+	const trySetRole = () => {
+		const anchor = document.getElementById(`${props.id}--link`) as HTMLAnchorElement | null
+		if (anchor) {
+			// Make the `<a>` a menuitem
+			anchor.role = 'menuitem'
+			// Prevent native click handling if required
+			if (props.clickOnly) {
+				anchor.onclick = (event) => event.preventDefault()
+			}
+			return
+		}
+		if (attempts < 10) {
+			attempts++
+			requestAnimationFrame(trySetRole)
+		}
 	}
+	requestAnimationFrame(trySetRole)
 })
 </script>
 
diff --git a/core/src/tests/components/PublicPageMenuExternalEntry.spec.ts b/core/src/tests/components/PublicPageMenuExternalEntry.spec.ts
index ab56da8b691fe..32fc718a63792 100644
--- a/core/src/tests/components/PublicPageMenuExternalEntry.spec.ts
+++ b/core/src/tests/components/PublicPageMenuExternalEntry.spec.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 import { enableAutoUnmount, mount } from '@vue/test-utils'
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 import { defineComponent, h } from 'vue'
+import PublicPageMenuEntryReal from '../../components/PublicPageMenu/PublicPageMenuEntry.vue'
 import PublicPageMenuExternalEntry from '../../components/PublicPageMenu/PublicPageMenuExternalEntry.vue'
 
 const PublicPageMenuEntry = defineComponent({
@@ -61,3 +62,23 @@ describe('PublicPageMenuExternalEntry', () => {
 		expect(wrapper.get('li').attributes('data-details')).toBe('Nextcloud')
 	})
 })
+
+describe('PublicPageMenuEntry', () => {
+	it('does not throw when the anchor is missing in DOM', () => {
+		const NcListItemStub = defineComponent({
+			name: 'NcListItem',
+			setup() {
+				return () => h('li')
+			},
+		})
+		let wrapper
+		expect(() => {
+			wrapper = mount(PublicPageMenuEntryReal, {
+				props: { id: 'missing', label: 'Missing', href: 'https://example.com' },
+				global: { stubs: { NcListItem: NcListItemStub } },
+			})
+		}).not.toThrow()
+		expect(wrapper!.find('li').exists()).toBe(true)
+		expect(document.getElementById('missing--link')).toBeNull()
+	})
+})