How severe is CVE-2020-15205?

CVE-2020-15205 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2020-15205?

CVE-2020-15205 affects the following packages: tensorflow (PyPI), tensorflow (PyPI), tensorflow (PyPI), tensorflow (PyPI), tensorflow (PyPI), tensorflow-cpu (PyPI), tensorflow-cpu (PyPI), tensorflow-cpu (PyPI), and 7 more. Ecosystems affected: PyPI.

How do I fix CVE-2020-15205?

Update tensorflow to 1.15.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-15205 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2020-15205 in my PyPI dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for tensorflow, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2020-15205 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Constrain what reaches the vulnerable code: limit the size and shape of untrusted input, isolate the affected component in a sandboxed or least-privileged process, and enable the platform's memory-safety mitigations (ASLR, stack protector, hardened allocator) so an out-of-bounds access is more likely to fail closed than to be exploitable.

Is CVE-2020-15205 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2020-15205, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2020-15205?

CVE-2020-15205 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.0%, placing it in the 63th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2020-15205?

CVE-2020-15205 is classified as Buffer Overflow (CWE-119), CWE-122 (CWE-122), Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787). These weakness types describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2020-15205 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2020-15205 was published on September 25, 2020 and was last updated on August 7, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐍

🐍 PyPI

Not in CISA KEV

CRITICAL severity

CVE-2020-15205 — tensorflow

CRITICALFix: tensorflow/tensorflow@0462de5

CVE-2020-15205 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Buffer Overflow vulnerability in tensorflow. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for tensorflow — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Data leak in Tensorflow

Also known asBIT-tensorflow-2020-15205GHSA-g7p5-5759-qv46PYSEC-2020-128PYSEC-2020-285PYSEC-2020-320

Published

Sep 25, 2020

Updated

Aug 7, 2026

Affected

15 pkgs

Patched

15 / 15

Exploits

1 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 10, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.0%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs63th percentile — riskier than 63% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2020-15205 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 385,738 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

15 pkgs affected

🐍tensorflow🐍tensorflow🐍tensorflow🐍tensorflow🐍tensorflow🐍tensorflow-cpu🐍tensorflow-cpu🐍tensorflow-cpu+7 more

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Impact

The data_splits argument of tf.raw_ops.StringNGrams lacks validation. This allows a user to pass values that can cause heap overflow errors and even leak contents of memory

>>> tf.raw_ops.StringNGrams(data=["aa", "bb", "cc", "dd", "ee", "ff"], data_splits=[0,8], separator=" ", ngram_widths=[3], left_pad="", right_pad="", pad_width=0, preserve_short_sequences=False)
StringNGrams(ngrams=<tf.Tensor: shape=(6,), dtype=string, numpy=
array([b'aa bb cc', b'bb cc dd', b'cc dd ee', b'dd ee ff',
       b'ee ff \xf4j\xa7q\x7f\x00\x00q\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\xd8\x9b~\xa8q\x7f\x00',
       b'ff \xf4j\xa7q\x7f\x00\x00q\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\xd8\x9b~\xa8q\x7f\x00 \x9b~\xa8q\x7f\x00\x00p\xf5j\xa7q\x7f\x00\x00H\xf8j\xa7q\x7f\x00\x00\xf0\xf3\xf7\x85q\x7f\x00\x00`}\xa6\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00`~\xa6\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\xb0~\xeb\x9bq\x7f\x00'],...

All the binary strings after ee ff are contents from the memory stack. Since these can contain return addresses, this data leak can be used to defeat ASLR.

Patches

We have patched the issue in 0462de5b544ed4731aa2fb23946ac22c01856b80 and will release patch releases for all versions between 1.15 and 2.3.

We recommend users to upgrade to TensorFlow 1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1, or 2.3.1.

For more information

Please consult our security guide for more information regarding the security model and how to contact us with issues and questions.

Attribution

This vulnerability has been reported by members of the Aivul Team from Qihoo 360.

Affected Packages

15 total 15 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐍PyPI	`tensorflow`	all versions	1.15.4`pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==1.15.4'`
🐍PyPI	`tensorflow`	≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.0.3	2.0.3`pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.0.3'`
🐍PyPI	`tensorflow`	≥ 2.1.0&&< 2.1.2	2.1.2`pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.1.2'`
🐍PyPI	`tensorflow`	≥ 2.2.0&&< 2.2.1	2.2.1`pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.2.1'`
🐍PyPI	`tensorflow`	≥ 2.3.0&&< 2.3.1	2.3.1`pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.3.1'`
🐍PyPI	`tensorflow-cpu`	all versions	1.15.4`pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==1.15.4'`

Affected Products

2 products · 6 configurations

Application

tensorflowgoogle

≥ 2.3.0 && < 2.3.1

range

leapopensuse

1 version

15.2

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

In Tensorflow before versions 1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1 and 2.3.1, the…

github.comNVDAug 2021

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for tensorflow, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update tensorflow to 1.15.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-15205 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Constrain what reaches the vulnerable code: limit the size and shape of untrusted input, isolate the affected component in a sandboxed or least-privileged process, and enable the platform's memory-safety mitigations (ASLR, stack protector, hardened allocator) so an out-of-bounds access is more likely to fail closed than to be exploitable.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact The `data_splits` argument of [`tf.raw_ops.StringNGrams`](https://www.tensorflow.org/api_docs/python/tf/raw_ops/StringNGrams) lacks validation. This allows a user to pass values that can cause heap overflow errors and even leak contents of memory ```python >>> tf.raw_ops.StringNGrams(data=["aa", "bb", "cc", "dd", "ee", "ff"], data_splits=[0,8], separator=" ", ngram_widths=[3], left_pad="", right_pad="", pad_width=0, preserve_short_sequences=False) StringNGrams(ngrams=<tf.Tensor: shape=(6,), dtype=string, numpy= array([b'aa bb cc', b'bb cc dd', b'cc dd ee', b'dd ee ff', b'ee f

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2020-15205 in your dependencies?

Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

9.8/10CVSS v3 base

Vector breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Raw vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE Classification

CWE-119Buffer Overflow CWE-122CWE-122 CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write

Weaponization

No known public exploit tooling found.

OpenSSF Scorecard

Package health score

tensorflow

7.8/10

Code-Review7/10

Maintained10/10

Dependency-Update-Tool10/10

Branch-ProtectionN/A

Vulnerabilities0/10

Assessed Oct 9, 2026

Timeline

Disclosed

Sep 25, 2020

First exploit

Aug 17, 2021

Last updated

Aug 7, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2020-15205

GHSA-g7p5-5759-qv46

BIT-tensorflow-2020-15205

PYSEC-2020-128

PYSEC-2020-285

References

Advisorylists.opensuse.org Advisorygithub.com Advisorynvd.nist.gov Fixgithub.com Webgithub.com Webgithub.com Webgithub.com Packagegithub.com Evidencegithub.com

Related vulnerabilities

This CVE is critical severity — higher than any of the other 8 CVEs affecting tensorflow (highest there: high).

CVE-2023-33976CVE-2023-25661CVE-2023-25670CVE-2023-25665CVE-2023-27579CVE-2023-25673CVE-2023-25663CVE-2023-25658

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedAug 7, 2026

CVE-2020-15205 — tensorflow

EPSS Exploitation Probability

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

Description

Impact

Patches

For more information

Attribution

Affected Packages

Affected Products

Detection & mitigation playbook

Detect

Fix

Workarounds

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2020-15205 in your dependencies?