CVE-2026-12481
HIGHCVE-2026-12481 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in keras. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-12481 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Deserialization of Untrusted Data in keras-team/keras
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-2026-12481.
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-2026-12481 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 360,482 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
keras🐍kerasReal-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
A vulnerability in keras-team/keras version 3.14.0 allows for arbitrary code execution due to improper handling of deserialization in the Lambda layer. Specifically, the _raise_for_lambda_deserialization() function fails to enforce the safe-mode guard when safe_mode is set to None, which is the default value when from_config() is called outside of a SafeModeScope context. This logic error conflates None (unset/default-deny) with False (explicitly disabled), bypassing the guard and allowing attacker-controlled marshal bytecode to be deserialized. Affected call sites include keras.layers.deserialize(config), keras.models.clone_model(model), and any direct invocation of Lambda.from_config(config) without an enclosing SafeModeScope(True). This vulnerability can be exploited to achieve arbitrary OS-level code execution in the context of the server or user process.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | keras | all versions | 3.12.3 |
| 🐍PyPI | keras | ≥ 3.13.0&&< 3.15.0 | 3.15.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for keras. 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 keras to 3.12.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-12481 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-2026-12481 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-2026-12481. 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-2026-12481 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-12481 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.