CVE-2021-37658 Reference binding to nullptr in `MatrixSetDiagV*` ops in TensorFlow

High 7.1 Published Updated

An attacker can cause undefined behavior and potential crashes in TensorFlow by providing an empty tensor to MatrixSetDiagV* operations due to missing validation.

Exploited in the wild
Not known
Login needed
Any signed-in user
Attackable
Local or same network only
Victim action needed
Not needed
Fix
Available

What is CVE-2021-37658?

CVE-2021-37658 is a high-severity vulnerability in Google Tensorflow, published on 12 Aug 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. In affected versions an attacker can cause undefined behavior via binding a reference to null pointer in all operations of type `tf.raw_ops.MatrixSetDiagV*`. The [implementation](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/84d053187cb80d975ef2b9684d4b61981bca0c41/tensorflow/core/kernels/linalg/matrix_diag_op.cc) has incomplete validation that the value of `k` is a valid tensor. We have check that this value is either a scalar or a vector, but there is no check for the number of elements. If this is an empty tensor, then code that accesses the first element of the tensor is wrong. We have patched the issue in GitHub commit ff8894044dfae5568ecbf2ed514c1a37dc394f1b. 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.

Weakness: CWE-824

Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-37658?

22 open source packages ship an affected version, including tensorflow, tensorflow-cpu and tensorflow-gpu. It affects 1 product.

PackageAffectedFixed in
tensorflow BitnamiFrom 2.3.02.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1
tensorflow PyPIAll versions2.3.4
tensorflow PyPIAll versions2.3.4
tensorflow PyPIFrom 2.3.02.3.4, 2.4.3
tensorflow PyPIFrom 2.4.02.4.3
tensorflow PyPIFrom 2.4.02.4.3
16 more packages
tensorflow PyPIFrom 2.5.02.5.1
tensorflow PyPIFrom 2.5.02.5.1
tensorflow-cpu PyPIAll versions2.3.4
tensorflow-cpu PyPIAll versions2.3.4
tensorflow-cpu PyPIFrom 2.3.02.3.4, 2.4.3
tensorflow-cpu PyPIFrom 2.4.02.4.3
tensorflow-cpu PyPIFrom 2.4.02.4.3
tensorflow-cpu PyPIFrom 2.5.02.5.1
tensorflow-cpu PyPIFrom 2.5.02.5.1
tensorflow-gpu PyPIAll versions2.3.4
tensorflow-gpu PyPIAll versions2.3.4
tensorflow-gpu PyPIFrom 2.3.02.3.4, 2.4.3
tensorflow-gpu PyPIFrom 2.4.02.4.3
tensorflow-gpu PyPIFrom 2.4.02.4.3
tensorflow-gpu PyPIFrom 2.5.02.5.1
tensorflow-gpu PyPIFrom 2.5.02.5.1

Products include Google Tensorflow.

How do I fix CVE-2021-37658?

Upgrade tensorflow to a fixed version for your release line: 2.3.4, 2.4.3 or 2.5.1.

Is CVE-2021-37658 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-37658 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Google Tensorflow vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as BIT-tensorflow-2021-37658, GHSA-6p5r-g9mq-ggh2, PYSEC-2021-280, PYSEC-2021-571, PYSEC-2021-769.

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