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1498 severe, 6 weeks · 326 projects

TensorFlowGHSA-c545-c4f9-rf6v

Heap OOB in TFLite

TensorFlow

CVE-2021-37685 · Published Aug 25, 2021 · updated Jul 8, 2026

Medium5.5
Fix: upgrade to 2.3.4 or later (3 fixed versions below)
GitHub advisory

Impact

TFLite's [expand_dims.cc](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/149562d49faa709ea80df1d99fc41d005b81082a/tensorflow/lite/kernels/expand_dims.cc#L36-L50) contains a vulnerability which allows reading one element outside of bounds of heap allocated data:

```cc

if (axis < 0) {

axis = input_dims.size + 1 + axis;

}

TF_LITE_ENSURE(context, axis <= input_dims.size);

TfLiteIntArray* output_dims = TfLiteIntArrayCreate(input_dims.size + 1);

for (int i = 0; i < output_dims->size; ++i) {

if (i < axis) {

output_dims->data[i] = input_dims.data[i];

} else if (i == axis) {

output_dims->data[i] = 1;

} else {

output_dims->data[i] = input_dims.data[i - 1];

}

}

`

If axis is a large negative value (e.g., -100000), then after the first if it would still be negative. The check following the if statement will pass and the for loop would read one element before the start of input_dims.data (when i = 0).

Patches

We have patched the issue in GitHub commit [d94ffe08a65400f898241c0374e9edc6fa8ed257](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/d94ffe08a65400f898241c0374e9edc6fa8ed257).

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...

Affected versions

PackageAffectedFixed in
tensorflow
PyPI
< 2.3.42.3.4
>= 2.4.0, < 2.4.32.4.3
>= 2.5.0, < 2.5.12.5.1
Details and references

### Impact TFLite's [`expand_dims.cc`](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/149562d49faa709ea80df1d99fc41d005b81082a/tensorflow/lite/kernels/expand_dims.cc#L36-L50) contains a vulnerability which allows reading one element outside of bounds of heap allocated data: ```cc if (axis < 0) { axis = input_dims.size + 1 + axis; } TF_LITE_ENSURE(context, axis <= input_dims.size); TfLiteIntArray* output_dims = TfLiteIntArrayCreate(input_dims.size + 1); for (int i = 0; i < output_dims->size; ++i) { if (i < axis) { output_dims->data[i] = input_dims.data[i]; } else if (i == axis) { output_dims->data[i] = 1; } else { output_dims->data[i] = input_dims.data[i - 1]; } } ``` If `axis` is a large negative value (e.g., `-100000`), then after the first `if` it would still be negative. The check following the `if` statement will pass and the `for` loop would read one element before the start of `input_dims.data` (when `i = 0`). ### Patches We have patched the issue in GitHub commit [d94ffe08a65400f898241c0374e9edc6fa8ed257](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/d94ffe08a65400f898241c0374e9edc6fa8ed257). 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. ### Attribution This vulnerability has been reported by Yakun Zhang of Baidu Security.

CVSS 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Severity from
GitHub (reviewed advisory)
Weakness
CWE-125
Also known as
BIT-tensorflow-2021-37685, CVE-2021-37685, PYSEC-2021-307, PYSEC-2021-598, PYSEC-2021-796

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