CVE-2022-35988
MEDIUMCVE-2022-35988 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.9) Reachable Assertion vulnerability in tensorflow. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2022-35988 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
`CHECK` fail in `tf.linalg.matrix_rank` in TensorFlow
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.
Blast Radius
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
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. When tf.linalg.matrix_rank receives an empty input a, the GPU kernel gives a CHECK fail that can be used to trigger a denial of service attack. We have patched the issue in GitHub commit c55b476aa0e0bd4ee99d0f3ad18d9d706cd1260a. 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. There are no known workarounds for this issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | all versions | 2.7.2 |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | ≥ 2.8.0&&< 2.8.1 | 2.8.1 |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | ≥ 2.9.0&&< 2.9.1 | 2.9.1 |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-cpu | all versions | 2.7.2 |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-cpu | ≥ 2.8.0&&< 2.8.1 | 2.8.1 |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-cpu | ≥ 2.9.0&&< 2.9.1 | 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. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update tensorflow to 2.7.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-35988 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 pinpoints whether CVE-2022-35988 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2022-35988. 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-2022-35988 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2022-35988 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.