diff --git a/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-nav-menu-widget.php b/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-nav-menu-widget.php
index ea8626edb3..328f4167b9 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-nav-menu-widget.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-nav-menu-widget.php
@@ -171,8 +171,12 @@ class WP_Nav_Menu_Widget extends WP_Widget {
 				$url = admin_url( 'nav-menus.php' );
 			}
 
-			/* translators: %s: URL to create a new menu. */
-			printf( __( 'No menus have been created yet. <a href="%s">Create some</a>.' ), esc_attr( $url ) );
+			printf(
+				/* translators: %s: URL to create a new menu. */
+				__( 'No menus have been created yet. <a href="%s">Create some</a>.' ),
+				// The URL can be a `javascript:` link, so esc_attr() is used here instead of esc_url().
+				esc_attr( $url )
+			);
 			?>
 		</p>
 		<div class="nav-menu-widget-form-controls" <?php echo $empty_menus_style; ?>>