diff --git a/SECURITY.md b/SECURITY.md
index 69a671f..f61862c 100644
--- a/SECURITY.md
+++ b/SECURITY.md
@@ -16,6 +16,12 @@ disk, and writes its contents into the page as inline SVG. The file is not
 sanitised and is not put through the Icons API allowlist, because keeping
 strokes, groups and gradients is the whole point of the upload escape hatch.
 
+The file's contents are held in the object cache, keyed on the attachment ID
+and its modified time. Sanitising a file that is already uploaded only reaches
+the page once the attachment is updated or the cache is flushed. The mime type
+is checked before the cache is read, so a deleted attachment stops rendering
+straight away.
+
 Inline SVG is part of the document. A `<script>` or an `onload` inside the file
 runs, where the same file referenced through `<img src="...">` would not. So the
 plugin makes an unsanitised SVG in the media library more dangerous than it was
diff --git a/inc/render.php b/inc/render.php
index 94c51a5..688f40b 100644
--- a/inc/render.php
+++ b/inc/render.php
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@
 
 use const HM\Button_Icon\Attributes\BLOCK;
 
+const CACHE_GROUP = 'hm-button-icon';
+
 /**
  * Set up hooks.
  */
@@ -257,13 +259,56 @@ function uploaded_icon_markup( $attachment_id, $size ): string {
 		return '';
 	}
 
+	$tags = new WP_HTML_Tag_Processor( uploaded_icon_source( $attachment_id ) );
+
+	if ( ! $tags->next_tag( 'svg' ) ) {
+		return '';
+	}
+
+	$tags->add_class( 'hm-button-icon' );
+	$tags->set_attribute( 'width', (string) $size );
+	$tags->set_attribute( 'height', (string) $size );
+
+	// Match what `wp_get_icon()` produces for a decorative icon.
+	$tags->set_attribute( 'aria-hidden', 'true' );
+	$tags->set_attribute( 'focusable', 'false' );
+	$tags->remove_attribute( 'role' );
+	$tags->remove_attribute( 'aria-label' );
+
+	return $tags->get_updated_html();
+}
+
+/**
+ * An uploaded SVG's contents, from its root element onwards.
+ *
+ * Cached, because this runs for every button on every uncached page view, and
+ * where uploads live in remote storage such as S3 each read is a network
+ * request. Without a persistent object cache it still saves the repeat reads
+ * when one icon is on several buttons in a page.
+ *
+ * The key carries the attachment's modified time rather than an expiry, so
+ * updating the attachment is what retires an entry. A file swapped in place
+ * with nothing touching the attachment post keeps serving the old contents
+ * until the cache is flushed.
+ *
+ * @param int $attachment_id Attachment ID, already confirmed to be an SVG.
+ * @return string SVG markup, or '' when the file is unreadable or has no root.
+ */
+function uploaded_icon_source( int $attachment_id ): string {
+	$key = $attachment_id . ':' . get_post_modified_time( 'U', true, $attachment_id );
+	$svg = wp_cache_get( $key, CACHE_GROUP );
+
+	if ( is_string( $svg ) ) {
+		return $svg;
+	}
+
 	$path = get_attached_file( $attachment_id );
 
 	if ( ! $path || ! is_readable( $path ) ) {
 		return '';
 	}
 
-	// phpcs:ignore WordPress.WP.AlternativeFunctions.file_get_contents_file_get_contents -- Reading a local uploaded file, not a remote request.
+	// phpcs:ignore WordPress.WP.AlternativeFunctions.file_get_contents_file_get_contents -- Reading an uploaded file through its stream wrapper, not fetching a URL.
 	$svg = file_get_contents( $path );
 
 	if ( false === $svg ) {
@@ -277,21 +322,9 @@ function uploaded_icon_markup( $attachment_id, $size ): string {
 		return '';
 	}
 
-	$tags = new WP_HTML_Tag_Processor( substr( $svg, $start ) );
+	$svg = substr( $svg, $start );
 
-	if ( ! $tags->next_tag( 'svg' ) ) {
-		return '';
-	}
+	wp_cache_set( $key, $svg, CACHE_GROUP );
 
-	$tags->add_class( 'hm-button-icon' );
-	$tags->set_attribute( 'width', (string) $size );
-	$tags->set_attribute( 'height', (string) $size );
-
-	// Match what `wp_get_icon()` produces for a decorative icon.
-	$tags->set_attribute( 'aria-hidden', 'true' );
-	$tags->set_attribute( 'focusable', 'false' );
-	$tags->remove_attribute( 'role' );
-	$tags->remove_attribute( 'aria-label' );
-
-	return $tags->get_updated_html();
+	return $svg;
 }