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CVE-2021-37647

Null pointer dereference in `SparseTensorSliceDataset` in TensorFlow

7.7 HighFix available

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. When a user does not supply arguments that determine a valid sparse tensor, tf.raw_ops.SparseTensorSliceDataset implementation can be made to dereference a null pointer. The implementation has some argument validation but fails to consider the case when either indices or values are provided for an empty sparse tensor when the other is not. If indices is empty, then code that performs validation (i.e., checking that the indices are monotonically increasing) results in a null pointer dereference. If indices as provided by the user is empty, then indices in the C++ code above is backed by an empty std::vector, hence calling indices->dim_size(0) results in null pointer dereferencing (same as calling std::vector::at() on an empty vector). We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 02cc160e29d20631de3859c6653184e3f876b9d7. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
None
User interaction
None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

0.16%Down 0.5 points since Aug 13, 2021
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 7.7

Null pointer dereference in `SparseTensorSliceDataset` in TensorFlow

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. When a user does not supply arguments that determine a valid sparse tensor, tf.raw_ops.SparseTensorSliceDataset implementation can be made to dereference a null pointer. The implementation has some argument validation but fails to consider the case when either indices or values are provided for an empty sparse tensor when the other is not. If indices is empty, then code that performs validation (i.e., checking that the indices are monotonically increasing) results in a null pointer dereference. If indices as provided by the user is empty, then indices in the C++ code above is backed by an empty std::vector, hence calling indices->dim_size(0) results in null pointer dereferencing (same as calling std::vector::at() on an empty vector). We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 02cc160e29d20631de3859c6653184e3f876b9d7. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

Record
CVE-2021-37647
CVSS 3.1
7.7 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-476
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-0373 7.7

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. When a user does not supply arguments that determine a valid sparse tensor, tf.raw_ops.SparseTensorSliceDataset implementation can be made to dereference a null pointer. The implementation has some argument validation but fails to consider the case when either indices or values are provided for an empty sparse tensor when the other is not. If indices is empty, then code that performs validation (i.e., checking that the indices are monotonically increasing) results in a null pointer dereference. If indices as provided by the user is empty, then indices in the C++ code above is backed by an empty std::vector, hence calling indices->dim_size(0) results in null pointer dereferencing (same as calling std::vector::at() on an empty vector). We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 02cc160e29d20631de3859c6653184e3f876b9d7. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

Record
EUVD-2021-0373
CVSS 3.1
7.7 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-c5x2-p679-95wc 7.0

Null pointer dereference in `SparseTensorSliceDataset`

Impact

When a user does not supply arguments that determine a valid sparse tensor, tf.raw_ops.SparseTensorSliceDataset implementation can be made to dereference a null pointer:

import tensorflow as tf

tf.raw_ops.SparseTensorSliceDataset(
  indices=[[],[],[]],
  values=[1,2,3],
  dense_shape=[3,3])

The implementation has some argument validation but fails to consider the case when either indices or values are provided for an empty sparse tensor when the other is not.

If indices is empty (as in the example above), then code that performs validation (i.e., checking that the indices are monotonically increasing) results in a null pointer dereference:

    for (int64_t i = 0; i < indices->dim_size(0); ++i) {
      int64_t next_batch_index = indices->matrix<int64>()(i, 0);
      ...
    }

If indices as provided by the user is empty, then indices in the C++ code above is backed by an empty std::vector, hence calling indices->dim_size(0) results in null pointer dereferencing (same as calling std::vector::at() on an empty vector).

Patches

We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 02cc160e29d20631de3859c6653184e3f876b9d7.

The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, 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 members of the Aivul Team from Qihoo 360.

Record
GHSA-c5x2-p679-95wc
CVSS 4.0
7.0 HighCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CVSS 3.1
7.7 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-476
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 7.7

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. When a user does not supply arguments that determine a valid sparse tensor, tf.raw_ops.SparseTensorSliceDataset implementation can be made to dereference a null pointer. The implementation has some argument validation but fails to consider the case when either indices or values are provided for an empty sparse tensor when the other is not. If indices is empty, then code that performs validation (i.e., checking that the indices are monotonically increasing) results in a null pointer dereference. If indices as provided by the user is empty, then indices in the C++ code above is backed by an empty std::vector, hence calling indices->dim_size(0) results in null pointer dereferencing (same as calling std::vector::at() on an empty vector). We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 02cc160e29d20631de3859c6653184e3f876b9d7. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

Record
CVE-2021-37647
CVSS 3.1
7.7 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
CVSS 3.1
5.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS 2.0
2.1 LowAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
Weakness
CWE-476
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 5.5

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. When a user does not supply arguments that determine a valid sparse tensor, tf.raw_ops.SparseTensorSliceDataset implementation can be made to dereference a null pointer. The implementation has some argument validation but fails to consider the case when either indices or values are provided for an empty sparse tensor when the other is not. If indices is empty, then code that performs validation (i.e., checking that the indices are monotonically increasing) results in a null pointer dereference. If indices as provided by the user is empty, then indices in the C++ code above is backed by an empty std::vector, hence calling indices->dim_size(0) results in null pointer dereferencing (same as calling std::vector::at() on an empty vector). We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 02cc160e29d20631de3859c6653184e3f876b9d7. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

Record
CVE-2021-37647
CVSS 3.1
5.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-c5x2-p679-95wc 7.0

Null pointer dereference in `SparseTensorSliceDataset`

Impact

When a user does not supply arguments that determine a valid sparse tensor, tf.raw_ops.SparseTensorSliceDataset implementation can be made to dereference a null pointer:

import tensorflow as tf

tf.raw_ops.SparseTensorSliceDataset(
  indices=[[],[],[]],
  values=[1,2,3],
  dense_shape=[3,3])

The implementation has some argument validation but fails to consider the case when either indices or values are provided for an empty sparse tensor when the other is not.

If indices is empty (as in the example above), then code that performs validation (i.e., checking that the indices are monotonically increasing) results in a null pointer dereference:

    for (int64_t i = 0; i < indices->dim_size(0); ++i) {
      int64_t next_batch_index = indices->matrix<int64>()(i, 0);
      ...
    }

If indices as provided by the user is empty, then indices in the C++ code above is backed by an empty std::vector, hence calling indices->dim_size(0) results in null pointer dereferencing (same as calling std::vector::at() on an empty vector).

Patches

We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 02cc160e29d20631de3859c6653184e3f876b9d7.

The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, 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 members of the Aivul Team from Qihoo 360.

Record
GHSA-c5x2-p679-95wc
CVSS 4.0
7.0 HighCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CVSS 3.1
7.7 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-476
Updated
2026-11-02
Show 6 moreShow less
OSVBIT-tensorflow-2021-37647 No score

Null pointer dereference in `SparseTensorSliceDataset` in TensorFlow

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. When a user does not supply arguments that determine a valid sparse tensor, tf.raw_ops.SparseTensorSliceDataset implementation can be made to dereference a null pointer. The implementation has some argument validation but fails to consider the case when either indices or values are provided for an empty sparse tensor when the other is not. If indices is empty, then code that performs validation (i.e., checking that the indices are monotonically increasing) results in a null pointer dereference. If indices as provided by the user is empty, then indices in the C++ code above is backed by an empty std::vector, hence calling indices->dim_size(0) results in null pointer dereferencing (same as calling std::vector::at() on an empty vector). We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 02cc160e29d20631de3859c6653184e3f876b9d7. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

Record
BIT-tensorflow-2021-37647
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2022:10014-1 No score

Security update for tensorflow2

This update for tensorflow fixes the following issues:

Update to TF2 2.6.0 which fixes multiple CVEs (boo#1189423).

  • Introduction of bazel6.3 and basel-skylib1.0.3 as build dependencies. The latter has been adapted to all a version in its package name (if %set_ver_suffix is set to 1). This allows multiple versions to exist for one product (not installed). NOTE: basel-skylib1.0.3 does not exist in oS:Factory: basel-skylib in oS:Factory - the base version - is 1.0.3.
Record
openSUSE-SU-2022:10014-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2024:12116-1 No score

tensorflow-lite-2.9.1-1.1 on GA media

These are all security issues fixed in the tensorflow-lite-2.9.1-1.1 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.

Record
openSUSE-SU-2024:12116-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVPYSEC-2021-269 No score

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. When a user does not supply arguments that determine a valid sparse tensor, tf.raw_ops.SparseTensorSliceDataset implementation can be made to dereference a null pointer. The implementation has some argument validation but fails to consider the case when either indices or values are provided for an empty sparse tensor when the other is not. If indices is empty, then code that performs validation (i.e., checking that the indices are monotonically increasing) results in a null pointer dereference. If indices as provided by the user is empty, then indices in the C++ code above is backed by an empty std::vector, hence calling indices->dim_size(0) results in null pointer dereferencing (same as calling std::vector::at() on an empty vector). We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 02cc160e29d20631de3859c6653184e3f876b9d7. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

Record
PYSEC-2021-269
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVPYSEC-2021-560 No score

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. When a user does not supply arguments that determine a valid sparse tensor, tf.raw_ops.SparseTensorSliceDataset implementation can be made to dereference a null pointer. The implementation has some argument validation but fails to consider the case when either indices or values are provided for an empty sparse tensor when the other is not. If indices is empty, then code that performs validation (i.e., checking that the indices are monotonically increasing) results in a null pointer dereference. If indices as provided by the user is empty, then indices in the C++ code above is backed by an empty std::vector, hence calling indices->dim_size(0) results in null pointer dereferencing (same as calling std::vector::at() on an empty vector). We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 02cc160e29d20631de3859c6653184e3f876b9d7. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

Record
PYSEC-2021-560
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVPYSEC-2021-758 No score

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. When a user does not supply arguments that determine a valid sparse tensor, tf.raw_ops.SparseTensorSliceDataset implementation can be made to dereference a null pointer. The implementation has some argument validation but fails to consider the case when either indices or values are provided for an empty sparse tensor when the other is not. If indices is empty, then code that performs validation (i.e., checking that the indices are monotonically increasing) results in a null pointer dereference. If indices as provided by the user is empty, then indices in the C++ code above is backed by an empty std::vector, hence calling indices->dim_size(0) results in null pointer dereferencing (same as calling std::vector::at() on an empty vector). We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 02cc160e29d20631de3859c6653184e3f876b9d7. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

Record
PYSEC-2021-758
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
tensorflow
PyPI
before 2.3.4
2.3.4
tensorflow
PyPI
2.4.0 up to 2.4.3
2.4.3
tensorflow
PyPI
2.5.0 to 2.5.0
2.5.1
tensorflow-cpu
PyPI
before 2.3.4
2.3.4
tensorflow-cpu
PyPI
2.4.0 up to 2.4.3
2.4.3
tensorflow-cpu
PyPI
2.5.0 to 2.5.0
2.5.1
tensorflow-gpu
PyPI
before 2.3.4
2.3.4
tensorflow-gpu
PyPI
2.4.0 up to 2.4.3
2.4.3
tensorflow-gpu
PyPI
2.5.0 to 2.5.0
2.5.1
tensorflow
Bitnami
2.3.0 up to 2.3.4, 2.4.0 up to 2.4.3, 2.5.0 up to 2.5.1
2.3.42.4.32.5.1
Show 24 moreShow less
Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
tensorflow
PyPI
before 2.3.4, plus listed versions
0.12.00.12.11.0.01.0.11.1.0
Show 44 moreShow less
1.10.01.10.11.11.01.12.01.12.21.12.31.13.11.13.21.14.01.15.01.15.21.15.31.15.41.15.51.2.01.2.11.3.01.4.01.4.11.5.01.5.11.6.01.7.01.7.11.8.01.9.02.0.02.0.12.0.22.0.32.0.42.1.02.1.12.1.22.1.32.1.42.2.02.2.12.2.22.2.32.3.02.3.12.3.22.3.3
2.3.4
tensorflow
PyPI
2.4.0 up to 2.4.3, plus listed versions
2.4.12.4.2
2.4.3
tensorflow
PyPI
2.5.0 up to 2.5.1
2.5.1
tensorflow-cpu
PyPI
before 2.3.4, plus listed versions
1.15.02.1.02.1.12.1.22.1.3
Show 9 moreShow less
2.1.42.2.02.2.12.2.22.2.32.3.02.3.12.3.22.3.3
2.3.4
tensorflow-cpu
PyPI
2.4.0 up to 2.4.3, plus listed versions
2.4.12.4.2
2.4.3
tensorflow-cpu
PyPI
2.5.0 up to 2.5.1
2.5.1
tensorflow-gpu
PyPI
before 2.3.4, plus listed versions
0.12.00.12.11.0.01.0.11.1.0
Show 44 moreShow less
1.10.01.10.11.11.01.12.01.12.21.12.31.13.11.13.21.14.01.15.01.15.21.15.31.15.41.15.51.2.01.2.11.3.01.4.01.4.11.5.01.5.11.6.01.7.01.7.11.8.01.9.02.0.02.0.12.0.22.0.32.0.42.1.02.1.12.1.22.1.32.1.42.2.02.2.12.2.22.2.32.3.02.3.12.3.22.3.3
2.3.4
tensorflow-gpu
PyPI
2.4.0 up to 2.4.3, plus listed versions
2.4.12.4.2
2.4.3
tensorflow-gpu
PyPI
2.5.0 up to 2.5.1
2.5.1
tensorflow
PyPI
2.3.0 up to 2.3.4, 2.4.0 up to 2.4.3, plus listed versions
2.3.12.3.22.3.32.4.12.4.2
2.3.42.4.3
tensorflow-cpu
PyPI
2.3.0 up to 2.3.4, 2.4.0 up to 2.4.3, plus listed versions
2.3.12.3.22.3.32.4.12.4.2
2.3.42.4.3
tensorflow-gpu
PyPI
2.3.0 up to 2.3.4, 2.4.0 up to 2.4.3, plus listed versions
2.3.12.3.22.3.32.4.12.4.2
2.3.42.4.3
bazel-skylib1.0.3
SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP3
From an advisory covering 63 CVEs
before 1.0.3-bp153.2.1
1.0.3-bp153.2.1
bazel3.7
SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP3
From an advisory covering 63 CVEs
before 3.7.2-bp153.4.1
3.7.2-bp153.4.1
tensorflow2
SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP3
From an advisory covering 63 CVEs
before 2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
tensorflow2-lite
SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP3
From an advisory covering 63 CVEs
before 2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
tensorflow2_2_6_0-gnu-hpc
SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP3
From an advisory covering 63 CVEs
before 2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
tensorflow2_2_6_0-gnu-openmpi2-hpc
SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP3
From an advisory covering 63 CVEs
before 2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
bazel-skylib1.0.3
openSUSE:Leap 15.3
From an advisory covering 63 CVEs
before 1.0.3-bp153.2.1
1.0.3-bp153.2.1
bazel3.7
openSUSE:Leap 15.3
From an advisory covering 63 CVEs
before 3.7.2-bp153.4.1
3.7.2-bp153.4.1
tensorflow2
openSUSE:Leap 15.3
From an advisory covering 63 CVEs
before 2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
tensorflow2-lite
openSUSE:Leap 15.3
From an advisory covering 63 CVEs
before 2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
tensorflow2_2_6_0-gnu-hpc
openSUSE:Leap 15.3
From an advisory covering 63 CVEs
before 2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
tensorflow2_2_6_0-gnu-openmpi2-hpc
openSUSE:Leap 15.3
From an advisory covering 63 CVEs
before 2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1
2.6.0-bp153.2.3.1

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
affected, facts
aliasesEUVD
first indexedCVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2021-37647 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.7) in Google Tensorflow, published August 12, 2021. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.16%, the 5th percentile. Fixed in tensorflow 2.3.4.

References

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