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HIGH severity

CVE-2021-37681 — tensorflow

HIGHFix: tensorflow/tensorflow@5b048e8

CVE-2021-37681 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability in tensorflow. A fix is available for tensorflow — see the affected versions and patch details below.

NPE in TFLite

Also known asBIT-tensorflow-2021-37681GHSA-7xwj-5r4v-429pPYSEC-2021-303PYSEC-2021-594PYSEC-2021-792
Published
Updated
Affected
9 pkgs
Patched
9 / 9
Exploits
None indexed
Exploitation data as of Oct 10, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
0.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk0.00%
Lower risk than most CVEs6th percentile — riskier than 6% of all scored CVEsHighest risk
0.00%0.22%0.45%0.67%0.0%0.2%Apr 26Aug 26Oct 26

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

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2021-37681 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 385,386 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

9 pkgs affected
🐍tensorflow🐍tensorflow🐍tensorflow🐍tensorflow-cpu🐍tensorflow-cpu🐍tensorflow-cpu🐍tensorflow-gpu🐍tensorflow-gpu+1 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 implementation of SVDF in TFLite is vulnerable to a null pointer error:

  TfLiteTensor* state = GetVariableInput(context, node, kStateTensor);
  // ...
  GetTensorData<float>(state)

The GetVariableInput function can return a null pointer but GetTensorData assumes that the argument is always a valid tensor.

TfLiteTensor* GetVariableInput(TfLiteContext* context, const TfLiteNode* node,
                               int index) {
  TfLiteTensor* tensor = GetMutableInput(context, node, index);
  return tensor->is_variable ? tensor : nullptr;
}

Furthermore, because GetVariableInput calls GetMutableInput which might return nullptr, the tensor->is_variable expression can also trigger a null pointer exception.

Patches

We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 5b048e87e4e55990dae6b547add4dae59f4e1c76.

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.

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

9 total 9 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
🐍PyPItensorflowall versions2.3.4pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.3.4'
🐍PyPItensorflow≥ 2.4.0&&< 2.4.32.4.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.4.3'
🐍PyPItensorflow≥ 2.5.0&&< 2.5.12.5.1pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.5.1'
🐍PyPItensorflow-cpuall versions2.3.4pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.3.4'
🐍PyPItensorflow-cpu≥ 2.4.0&&< 2.4.32.4.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.4.3'
🐍PyPItensorflow-cpu≥ 2.5.0&&< 2.5.12.5.1pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.5.1'

Affected Products

1 product · 6 configurations
Application
tensorflowgoogle
≥ 2.4.0 && < 2.4.3
2 versions
2.5.02.6.0

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency
  1. 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.

  2. Fix

    Update tensorflow to 2.3.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-37681 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact The implementation of SVDF in TFLite is [vulnerable to a null pointer error](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/460e000de3a83278fb00b61a16d161b1964f15f4/tensorflow/lite/kernels/svdf.cc#L300-L313): ```cc TfLiteTensor* state = GetVariableInput(context, node, kStateTensor); // ... GetTensorData<float>(state) ``` The [`GetVariableInput` function](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/460e000de3a83278fb00b61a16d161b1964f15f4/tensorflow/lite/kernels/kernel_util.cc#L115-L119) can return a null pointer but `GetTensorData` assumes that the argument is always a vali
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-37681 in your dependencies?

Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.

CVE-2021-37681: tensorflow — Fixed in 2.3.4