diff --git a/lib/gitlab/gfm/reference_rewriter.rb b/lib/gitlab/gfm/reference_rewriter.rb
index edc96a5e83b71a3e94c9933f2f62a4eb2a044e02..a1c6ee7bd6908642d6b2c9fc401f6f7c1e8cf34e 100644
--- a/lib/gitlab/gfm/reference_rewriter.rb
+++ b/lib/gitlab/gfm/reference_rewriter.rb
@@ -49,12 +49,14 @@ module Gitlab
       def unfold_reference(reference, match, target_project)
         before = @text[0...match.begin(0)]
         after = @text[match.end(0)..-1]
-        referable = find_referable(reference)
 
+        referable = find_referable(reference)
         return reference unless referable
+
         cross_reference = referable.to_reference(target_project)
-        new_text = before + cross_reference + after
+        return reference if reference == cross_reference
 
+        new_text = before + cross_reference + after
         substitution_valid?(new_text) ? cross_reference : reference
       end