CVE-2021-29545 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.5) CWE-131 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.
Heap buffer overflow in `SparseTensorToCSRSparseMatrix`
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2021-29545 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
tensorflow🐍tensorflow🐍tensorflow🐍tensorflow🐍tensorflow-cpu🐍tensorflow-cpu🐍tensorflow-cpu🐍tensorflow-cpu+4 moreReal-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
An attacker can trigger a denial of service via a CHECK-fail in converting sparse tensors to CSR Sparse matrices:
import tensorflow as tf
import numpy as np
from tensorflow.python.ops.linalg.sparse import sparse_csr_matrix_ops
indices_array = np.array([[0, 0]])
value_array = np.array([0.0], dtype=np.float32)
dense_shape = [0, 0]
st = tf.SparseTensor(indices_array, value_array, dense_shape)
values_tensor = sparse_csr_matrix_ops.sparse_tensor_to_csr_sparse_matrix(
st.indices, st.values, st.dense_shape)
This is because the implementation does a double redirection to access an element of an array allocated on the heap:
csr_row_ptr(indices(i, 0) + 1) += 1;
If the value at indices(i, 0) is such that indices(i, 0) + 1 is outside the bounds of csr_row_ptr, this results in writing outside of bounds of heap allocated data.
Patches
We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 1e922ccdf6bf46a3a52641f99fd47d54c1decd13.
The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.5.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.4.2, TensorFlow 2.3.3, TensorFlow 2.2.3 and TensorFlow 2.1.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.
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 Yakun Zhang and Ying Wang of Baidu X-Team.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | all versions | 2.1.4pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.1.4' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | ≥ 2.2.0&&< 2.2.3 | 2.2.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.2.3' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | ≥ 2.3.0&&< 2.3.3 | 2.3.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.3.3' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | ≥ 2.4.0&&< 2.4.2 | 2.4.2pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.4.2' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-cpu | all versions | 2.1.4pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.1.4' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-cpu | ≥ 2.2.0&&< 2.2.3 | 2.2.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.2.3' |
Affected Products
tensorflowgoogleResearch 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 2.1.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-29545 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2021-29545 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.