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Fencer Vulns
high 7.8

CVE-2021-37648 json

Incorrect validation of `SaveV2` inputs in TensorFlow

published 2021-08-12 5 y ago modified 2026-09-08 2 mo ago also BIT-tensorflow-2021-37648 , EUVD-2021-0374 , GHSA-wp77-4gmm-7cq8 , PYSEC-2021-270 , PYSEC-2021-561 , PYSEC-2021-759

cvss
7.8
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.2%
EPSS 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 8%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. In affected versions the code for `tf.raw_ops.SaveV2` does not properly validate the inputs and an attacker can trigger a null pointer dereference. The [implementation](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/8d72537c6abf5a44103b57b9c2e22c14f5f49698/tensorflow/core/kernels/save_restore_v2_ops.cc) uses `ValidateInputs` to check that the input arguments are valid. This validation would have caught the illegal state represented by the reproducer above. However, the validation uses `OP_REQUIRES` which translates to setting the `Status` object of the current `OpKernelContext` to an error status, followed by an empty `return` statement which just terminates the execution of the function it is present in. However, this does not mean that the kernel execution is finalized: instead, execution continues from the next line in `Compute` that follows the call to `ValidateInputs`. This is equivalent to lacking the validation. We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 9728c60e136912a12d99ca56e106b7cce7af5986. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

Patch / fix

  • pypi tensorflow 2.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1
  • pypi tensorflow-cpu 2.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1
  • pypi tensorflow-gpu 2.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1
  • bitnami tensorflow 2.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1
  • google tensorflow 2.3.4, 2.4.3
  • tensorflow2 Package Hub 15 SP3, openSUSE Leap 15.3 2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
  • bazel3.7 Package Hub 15 SP3, openSUSE Leap 15.3 3.7.2-bp153.4.1
  • tensorflow2-lite Package Hub 15 SP3, openSUSE Leap 15.3 2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
  • bazel-skylib1.0.3 Package Hub 15 SP3, openSUSE Leap 15.3 1.0.3-bp153.2.1
  • tensorflow2_2_6_0-gnu-hpc Package Hub 15 SP3, openSUSE Leap 15.3 2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
  • tensorflow2_2_6_0-gnu-openmpi2-hpc Package Hub 15 SP3, openSUSE Leap 15.3 2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1

opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2022:10014-1

  • tensorflow Arch Linux 2.5.1-1

arch linux advisories AVG-2292

Exploit prediction

0.19% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 8% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 7.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
GitHub 3.1 7.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 3.1 7.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 2.0 4.6 AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
OSV 3.1 7.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected packages

ecosystem package affected fixed in
pypi tensorflow
<2.3.4
>=2.4.0, <2.4.3
>=2.5.0, <2.5.1
>=2.3.0, <2.3.4
2.3.4
2.4.3
2.5.1
pypi tensorflow-cpu
<2.3.4
>=2.4.0, <2.4.3
>=2.5.0, <2.5.1
>=2.3.0, <2.3.4
2.3.4
2.4.3
2.5.1
pypi tensorflow-gpu
<2.3.4
>=2.4.0, <2.4.3
>=2.5.0, <2.5.1
>=2.3.0, <2.3.4
2.3.4
2.4.3
2.5.1
bitnami tensorflow
>=2.3.0, <2.3.4
>=2.4.0, <2.4.3
>=2.5.0, <2.5.1
2.3.4
2.4.3
2.5.1

Affected products

  • tensorflow tensorflow

Classification

Weakness

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.