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HIGH severity

CVE-2022-21728 — tensorflow

HIGHFix: tensorflow/tensorflow@37c01fb

CVE-2022-21728 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability in tensorflow. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for tensorflow — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Out of bounds read in Tensorflow

Also known asBIT-tensorflow-2022-21728GHSA-6gmv-pjp9-p8w8PYSEC-2022-107PYSEC-2022-52PYSEC-2026-3121
Published
Updated
Affected
9 pkgs
Patched
9 / 9
Exploits
2 known
Exploitation data as of Oct 11, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Proof-of-concept exploit code exists

  • CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-21728.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
1.1%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk0.00%
Lower risk than most CVEs66th percentile — riskier than 66% of all scored CVEsHighest risk
0.58%0.93%1.28%1.63%1.1%1.1%1.1%1.1%Apr 26Oct 26Oct 26

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

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2022-21728 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

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 shape inference for ReverseSequence does not fully validate the value of batch_dim and can result in a heap OOB read:

import tensorflow as tf

@tf.function
def test():
  y = tf.raw_ops.ReverseSequence(
    input = ['aaa','bbb'],
    seq_lengths = [1,1,1],
    seq_dim = -10,
    batch_dim = -10 )
  return y
    
test()

There is a check to make sure the value of batch_dim does not go over the rank of the input, but there is no check for negative values:

  const int32_t input_rank = c->Rank(input);
  if (batch_dim >= input_rank) {
    return errors::InvalidArgument( 
        "batch_dim must be < input rank: ", batch_dim, " vs. ", input_rank);
  }
  // ...
  
  DimensionHandle batch_dim_dim = c->Dim(input, batch_dim);

Negative dimensions are allowed in some cases to mimic Python's negative indexing (i.e., indexing from the end of the array), however if the value is too negative then the implementation of Dim would access elements before the start of an array:

  DimensionHandle Dim(ShapeHandle s, int64_t idx) {
    if (!s.Handle() || s->rank_ == kUnknownRank) {
      return UnknownDim();
    }
    return DimKnownRank(s, idx);
  } 
·
  static DimensionHandle DimKnownRank(ShapeHandle s, int64_t idx) {
    CHECK_NE(s->rank_, kUnknownRank);
    if (idx < 0) {
      return s->dims_[s->dims_.size() + idx];
    }
    return s->dims_[idx];
  }

Patches

We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 37c01fb5e25c3d80213060460196406c43d31995.

The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.8.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.7.1, TensorFlow 2.6.3, and TensorFlow 2.5.3, 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 Yu Tian of Qihoo 360 AIVul Team.

Affected Packages

9 total 9 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
🐍PyPItensorflowall versions2.5.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.5.3'
🐍PyPItensorflow≥ 2.6.0&&< 2.6.32.6.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.6.3'
🐍PyPItensorflow≥ 2.7.0&&< 2.7.12.7.1pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.7.1'
🐍PyPItensorflow-cpuall versions2.5.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.5.3'
🐍PyPItensorflow-cpu≥ 2.6.0&&< 2.6.32.6.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.6.3'
🐍PyPItensorflow-cpu≥ 2.7.0&&< 2.7.12.7.1pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.7.1'

Affected Products

1 product · 3 configurations
Application
tensorflowgoogle
≥ 2.6.0 && ≤ 2.6.2
1 version
2.7.0
Exploits & PoCs
2

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 2.5.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-21728 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. Workarounds

    Stop feeding it untrusted input: reject or quarantine files and payloads from unverified sources until you can upgrade, restrict accepted formats to the ones you actually need, and run the parsing or decoding step in a least-privileged sandbox or short-lived worker so a crash or corrupted read cannot reach the rest of the process.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact The [implementation of shape inference for `ReverseSequence`](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/5100e359aef5c8021f2e71c7b986420b85ce7b3d/tensorflow/core/ops/array_ops.cc#L1636-L1671) does not fully validate the value of `batch_dim` and can result in a heap OOB read: ```python import tensorflow as tf @tf.function def test(): y = tf.raw_ops.ReverseSequence( input = ['aaa','bbb'], seq_lengths = [1,1,1], seq_dim = -10, batch_dim = -10 ) return y test() ``` There is a check to make sure the value of `batch_dim` does not go over the rank of the inp
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2022-21728 in your dependencies?

Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.

CVE-2022-21728: tensorflow — Fixed in 2.5.3