CVE-2020-26269 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Out-of-bounds Read 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.
TensorFlow vulnerable to heap out of bounds read in filesystem glob matching
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2020-26269 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,333 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
tensorflow🐍tensorflow-cpu🐍tensorflow-gpuReal-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
In TensorFlow release candidate versions 2.4.0rc*, the general implementation for matching filesystem paths to globbing pattern is vulnerable to an access out of bounds of the array holding the directories. There are multiple invariants and preconditions that are assumed by the parallel implementation of GetMatchingPaths but are not verified by the PRs introducing it (#40861 and #44310). Thus, we are completely rewriting the implementation to fully specify and validate these. This is patched in version 2.4.0. This issue only impacts master branch and the release candidates for TF version 2.4. The final release of the 2.4 release will be patched.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | ≥ 2.4.0rc0&&< 2.4.0 | 2.4.0pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.4.0' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-cpu | ≥ 2.4.0rc0&&< 2.4.0 | 2.4.0pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.4.0' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-gpu | ≥ 2.4.0rc0&&< 2.4.0 | 2.4.0pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-gpu==2.4.0' |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
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 2.4.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-26269 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2020-26269 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2020-26269. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-26269 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2020-26269 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.