diff --git a/src/calibre/ebooks/oeb/display/webview.py b/src/calibre/ebooks/oeb/display/webview.py
index 116b1c906b..1f0e8e8363 100644
--- a/src/calibre/ebooks/oeb/display/webview.py
+++ b/src/calibre/ebooks/oeb/display/webview.py
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ def load_html(path, view, codec='utf-8', mime_type=None,
     loading_url = QUrl.fromLocalFile(path)
     pre_load_callback(loading_url)
 
-    if force_as_html or re.search(r'<[a-zA-Z0-9-]+:svg', html) is None:
+    if force_as_html or re.search(r'<[a-zA-Z0-9-]+:svg', html) is None and '<![CDATA[' not in html:
         view.setHtml(html, loading_url)
     else:
         view.setContent(QByteArray(html.encode(codec)), mime_type,