CVE-2022-35963 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.9) Reachable Assertion vulnerability in tensorflow. A fix is available for tensorflow — see the affected versions and patch details below.
`CHECK` failures in `FractionalAvgPoolGrad` in TensorFlow
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-35963.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-35963 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
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
The implementation of FractionalAvgPoolGrad does not fully validate the input orig_input_tensor_shape. This results in an overflow that results in a CHECK failure which can be used to trigger a denial of service attack.
import tensorflow as tf
overlapping = True
orig_input_tensor_shape = tf.constant(-1879048192, shape=[4], dtype=tf.int64)
out_backprop = tf.constant([], shape=[0,0,0,0], dtype=tf.float64)
row_pooling_sequence = tf.constant(1, shape=[4], dtype=tf.int64)
col_pooling_sequence = tf.constant(1, shape=[4], dtype=tf.int64)
tf.raw_ops.FractionalAvgPoolGrad(orig_input_tensor_shape=orig_input_tensor_shape, out_backprop=out_backprop, row_pooling_sequence=row_pooling_sequence, col_pooling_sequence=col_pooling_sequence, overlapping=overlapping)
Patches
We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 03a659d7be9a1154fdf5eeac221e5950fec07dad.
The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.10.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.9.1, TensorFlow 2.8.1, and TensorFlow 2.7.2, 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 Neophytos Christou, Secure Systems Labs, Brown University.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | all versions | 2.7.2pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.7.2' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | ≥ 2.8.0&&< 2.8.1 | 2.8.1pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.8.1' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | ≥ 2.9.0&&< 2.9.1 | 2.9.1pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.9.1' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-cpu | all versions | 2.7.2pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.7.2' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-cpu | ≥ 2.8.0&&< 2.8.1 | 2.8.1pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.8.1' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-cpu | ≥ 2.9.0&&< 2.9.1 | 2.9.1pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.9.1' |
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 2.7.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-35963 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
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.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2022-35963 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-35963. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-35963 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-35963 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.