Your RSA-2048 keys break in 2030. Find every one of them before attackers do.
🐍
🐍 PyPI
Not in CISA KEV
HIGH severity

CVE-2021-41221 — tensorflow

HIGHFix: tensorflow/tensorflow@af5fceb

CVE-2021-41221 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) CWE-120 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.

Access to invalid memory during shape inference in `Cudnn*` ops

Also known asBIT-tensorflow-2021-41221GHSA-cqv6-3phm-hcwxPYSEC-2021-413PYSEC-2021-630PYSEC-2021-828
Published
Updated
Affected
9 pkgs
Patched
9 / 9
Exploits
1 known
Exploitation data as of Oct 12, 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 CVEs12th percentile — riskier than 12% of all scored CVEsHighest risk
0.00%0.24%0.48%0.72%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-2021-41221 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 386,684 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 shape inference code for the Cudnn* operations in TensorFlow can be tricked into accessing invalid memory, via a heap buffer overflow:

import tensorflow as tf

@tf.function
def func():
  return tf.raw_ops.CudnnRNNV3(
    input=[0.1, 0.1],
    input_h=[0.5],
    input_c=[0.1, 0.1, 0.1], 
    params=[0.5, 0.5],
    sequence_lengths=[-1, 0, 1])
  
func() 

This occurs because the ranks of the input, input_h and input_c parameters are not validated, but code assumes they have certain values:

auto input_shape = c->input(0);
auto input_h_shape = c->input(1);
auto seq_length = c->Dim(input_shape, 0);
auto batch_size = c->Dim(input_shape, 1);  // assumes rank >= 2
auto num_units = c->Dim(input_h_shape, 2); // assumes rank >= 3

Patches

We have patched the issue in GitHub commit af5fcebb37c8b5d71c237f4e59c6477015c78ce6.

The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.7.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.6.1, TensorFlow 2.5.2, and TensorFlow 2.4.4, 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
🐍PyPItensorflow≥ 2.6.0&&< 2.6.12.6.1pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.6.1'
🐍PyPItensorflow≥ 2.5.0&&< 2.5.22.5.2pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.5.2'
🐍PyPItensorflowall versions2.4.4pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.4.4'
🐍PyPItensorflow-cpu≥ 2.6.0&&< 2.6.12.6.1pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.6.1'
🐍PyPItensorflow-cpu≥ 2.5.0&&< 2.5.22.5.2pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.5.2'
🐍PyPItensorflow-cpuall versions2.4.4pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.4.4'

Affected Products

1 product · 5 configurations
Application
tensorflowgoogle
≥ 2.6.0 && < 2.6.1
1 version
2.7.0
Exploits & PoCs
1

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 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 2.6.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-41221 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. 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 [shape inference code](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/9ff27787893f76d6971dcd1552eb5270d254f31b/tensorflow/core/ops/cudnn_rnn_ops.cc) for the `Cudnn*` operations in TensorFlow can be tricked into accessing invalid memory, via a heap buffer overflow: ```python import tensorflow as tf @tf.function def func(): return tf.raw_ops.CudnnRNNV3( input=[0.1, 0.1], input_h=[0.5], input_c=[0.1, 0.1, 0.1], params=[0.5, 0.5], sequence_lengths=[-1, 0, 1]) func() ``` This occurs because the ranks of the `input`, `input_h` and `input_c` parameters ar
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-41221 in your dependencies?

Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.

CVE-2021-41221: tensorflow — Fixed in 2.6.1