AI and data stack advisories

Severe, 6 weeks1498Projects326

1498 severe, 6 weeks · 326 projects

TensorFlowGHSA-prcg-wp5q-rv7p

Crashes due to overflow and `CHECK`-fail in ops with large tensor shapes

TensorFlow

CVE-2021-41197 · Published Nov 10, 2021 · updated Jul 8, 2026

Medium5.5
Fix: upgrade to 2.4.4 or later (3 fixed versions below)
GitHub advisory

Impact

TensorFlow allows tensor to have a large number of dimensions and each dimension can be as large as desired. However, the total number of elements in a tensor must fit within an int64_t. If an overflow occurs, MultiplyWithoutOverflow would return a negative result. In the majority of TensorFlow codebase this then results in a CHECK-failure. Newer constructs exist which return a Status instead of crashing the binary.

For example [AddDim](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/0b6b491d21d6a4eb5fbab1cca565bc1e94ca9543/tensorflow/core/framework/tensor_shape.cc#L395-L408) calls should be replaced by [AddDimWithStatus](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/0b6b491d21d6a4eb5fbab1cca565bc1e94ca9543/tensorflow/core/framework/tensor_shape.cc#L410-L440).

This is similar to [CVE-2021-29584](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/3a74f0307236fe206b046689c4d76f57c9b74eee/tensorflow/security/advisory/tfsa-2021-071.md) (and similar other reported vulnerabilities in TensorFlow, localized to specific APIs).

Patches

We have patched the issue in GitHub commits [7c1692bd417eb4f9b33ead749a41166d6080af85](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/7c1692bd417eb4f9b33ead749a41166d6080af85) (merging [#51732](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/pull/51732)),...

Affected versions

PackageAffectedFixed in
tensorflow
PyPI
>= 2.6.0, < 2.6.12.6.1
>= 2.5.0, < 2.5.22.5.2
< 2.4.42.4.4
Details and references

### Impact TensorFlow allows tensor to have a large number of dimensions and each dimension can be as large as desired. However, the total number of elements in a tensor must fit within an `int64_t`. If an overflow occurs, `MultiplyWithoutOverflow` would return a negative result. In the majority of TensorFlow codebase this then results in a `CHECK`-failure. Newer constructs exist which return a `Status` instead of crashing the binary. For example [`AddDim`](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/0b6b491d21d6a4eb5fbab1cca565bc1e94ca9543/tensorflow/core/framework/tensor_shape.cc#L395-L408) calls should be replaced by [`AddDimWithStatus`](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/0b6b491d21d6a4eb5fbab1cca565bc1e94ca9543/tensorflow/core/framework/tensor_shape.cc#L410-L440). This is similar to [CVE-2021-29584](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/3a74f0307236fe206b046689c4d76f57c9b74eee/tensorflow/security/advisory/tfsa-2021-071.md) (and similar other reported vulnerabilities in TensorFlow, localized to specific APIs). ### Patches We have patched the issue in GitHub commits [7c1692bd417eb4f9b33ead749a41166d6080af85](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/7c1692bd417eb4f9b33ead749a41166d6080af85) (merging [#51732](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/pull/51732)), [d81b1351da3e8c884ff836b64458d94e4a157c15](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/d81b1351da3e8c884ff836b64458d94e4a157c15) (merging [#51717](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/pull/51717)), [a871989d7b6c18cdebf2fb4f0e5c5b62fbc19edf](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/a871989d7b6c18cdebf2fb4f0e5c5b62fbc19edf) (merging [#51658](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/pull/51658)), and [d81b1351da3e8c884ff836b64458d94e4a157c15](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/d81b1351da3e8c884ff836b64458d94e4a157c15) (merging [#51973](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/pull/51973)). It is possible that other similar instances exist in TensorFlow, we will issue fixes as these are discovered. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.7.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.6.1, TensorFlow 2.5.2, and TensorFlow 2.4.4, 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 externally via [GitHub issue](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/issues/46890), [GitHub issue](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/issues/51618) and [GitHub issue](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/issues/51908).

CVSS 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Severity from
GitHub (reviewed advisory)
Weakness
CWE-190
Also known as
BIT-tensorflow-2021-41197, CVE-2021-41197, PYSEC-2021-390, PYSEC-2021-607, PYSEC-2021-805

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