CVE-2022-23559 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) CWE-190 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.
Integer overflow in TFLite
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.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-23559.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-23559 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 385,987 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-cpu🐍tensorflow-cpu🐍tensorflow-cpu🐍tensorflow-gpu🐍tensorflow-gpu+1 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 craft a TFLite model that would cause an integer overflow in embedding lookup operations:
int embedding_size = 1;
int lookup_size = 1;
for (int i = 0; i < lookup_rank - 1; i++, k++) {
const int dim = dense_shape->data.i32[i];
lookup_size *= dim;
output_shape->data[k] = dim;
}
for (int i = 1; i < embedding_rank; i++, k++) {
const int dim = SizeOfDimension(value, i);
embedding_size *= dim;
output_shape->data[k] = dim;
}
Both embedding_size and lookup_size are products of values provided by the user. Hence, a malicious user could trigger overflows in the multiplication.
In certain scenarios, this can then result in heap OOB read/write.
Patches
We have patched the issue in GitHub commits f19be71717c497723ba0cea0379e84f061a75e01, 1de49725a5fc4e48f1a3b902ec3599ee99283043 and a4e401da71458d253b05e41f28637b65baf64be4.
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 Wang Xuan of Qihoo 360 AIVul Team.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | all versions | 2.5.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.5.3' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | ≥ 2.6.0&&< 2.6.3 | 2.6.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.6.3' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | ≥ 2.7.0&&< 2.7.1 | 2.7.1pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.7.1' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-cpu | all versions | 2.5.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.5.3' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-cpu | ≥ 2.6.0&&< 2.6.3 | 2.6.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.6.3' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-cpu | ≥ 2.7.0&&< 2.7.1 | 2.7.1pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.7.1' |
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 2.5.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-23559 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
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
Is CVE-2022-23559 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.