Use after free and segfault in shape inference functions
Medium6.6CVE-2021-37690 · Published Aug 25, 2021 · updated Jul 8, 2026
Affected versions
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| tensorflow PyPI | < 2.3.4 | 2.3.4 |
| >= 2.4.0, < 2.4.3 | 2.4.3 | |
| >= 2.5.0, < 2.5.1 | 2.5.1 |
Details and references
### Impact When running shape functions, some functions (such as `MutableHashTableShape`) produce extra output information in the form of a `ShapeAndType` struct. The shapes embedded in this struct are owned by an inference context that is cleaned up almost immediately; if the upstream code attempts to access this shape information, it can trigger a segfault. `ShapeRefiner` is mitigating this for normal output shapes by cloning them (and thus putting the newly created shape under ownership of an inference context that will not die), but we were not doing the same for shapes and types. This commit fixes that by doing similar logic on output shapes and types. ### Patches We have patched the issue in GitHub commit [ee119d4a498979525046fba1c3dd3f13a039fbb1](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/ee119d4a498979525046fba1c3dd3f13a039fbb1). 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](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/master/SECURITY.md) for more information regarding the security model and how to contact us with issues and questions.
- CVSS 3.1
- CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
- Severity from
- GitHub (reviewed advisory)
- Weakness
- CWE-416
- Also known as
- BIT-tensorflow-2021-37690, CVE-2021-37690, PYSEC-2021-312, PYSEC-2021-603, PYSEC-2021-801
- github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/security/advisories/GHSA-3hxh-8cp2-g4hg
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-37690
- github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/ee119d4a498979525046fba1c3dd3f13a039fbb1
- github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/tensorflow-cpu/PYSEC-2021-603.yaml
- github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/tensorflow-gpu/PYSEC-2021-801.yaml
- github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/tensorflow/PYSEC-2021-312.yaml
- github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow
More TensorFlow advisories
All TensorFlow| Date | Advisory | Severity | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 252021 | Segfault on strings tensors with mistmatched dimensions, due to Go code CVE-2021-37692Medium5.5fixed in 2.5.1 | Medium5.5 | 2.5.1 |
| Aug 252021 | FPE in LSH in TFLite CVE-2021-37691Medium5.5fixed in 2.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1 | Medium5.5 | 2.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1 |
| Aug 252021 | Null pointer dereference in TFLite MLIR optimizations CVE-2021-37689High7.8fixed in 2.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1 | High7.8 | 2.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1 |
| Aug 252021 | Null pointer dereference in TFLite CVE-2021-37688High7.8fixed in 2.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1 | High7.8 | 2.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1 |
| Aug 252021 | Infinite loop in TFLite CVE-2021-37686Medium5.5fixed in 2.6.0rc2 | Medium5.5 | 2.6.0rc2 |
| Aug 252021 | Heap OOB in TFLite's `Gather*` implementations CVE-2021-37687Medium5.5fixed in 2.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1 | Medium5.5 | 2.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1 |