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Severe, 6 weeks1498Projects326

1498 severe, 6 weeks · 326 projects

TensorFlowGHSA-r6jx-9g48-2r5r

Arbitrary code execution due to YAML deserialization

TensorFlow

CVE-2021-37678 · Published Aug 25, 2021 · updated Jul 8, 2026

High9.3
Fix: upgrade to 2.3.4 or later (3 fixed versions below)
GitHub advisory

Impact

TensorFlow and Keras can be tricked to perform arbitrary code execution when deserializing a Keras model from YAML format.

```python

from tensorflow.keras import models

payload = '''

!!python/object/new:type

args: ['z', !!python/tuple [], {'extend': !!python/name:exec }]

listitems: "__import__('os').system('cat /etc/passwd')"

'''

models.model_from_yaml(payload)

`

The [implementation](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/460e000de3a83278fb00b61a16d161b1964f15f4/tensorflow/python/keras/saving/model_config.py#L66-L104) uses yaml.unsafe_load which can perform arbitrary code execution on the input.

Patches

Given that YAML format support requires a significant amount of work, we have removed it for now.

We have patched the issue in GitHub commit [23d6383eb6c14084a8fc3bdf164043b974818012](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/23d6383eb6c14084a8fc3bdf164043b974818012).

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...

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 TensorFlow and Keras can be tricked to perform arbitrary code execution when deserializing a Keras model from YAML format. ```python from tensorflow.keras import models payload = ''' !!python/object/new:type args: ['z', !!python/tuple [], {'extend': !!python/name:exec }] listitems: "__import__('os').system('cat /etc/passwd')" ''' models.model_from_yaml(payload) ``` The [implementation](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/460e000de3a83278fb00b61a16d161b1964f15f4/tensorflow/python/keras/saving/model_config.py#L66-L104) uses `yaml.unsafe_load` which can perform arbitrary code execution on the input. ### Patches Given that YAML format support requires a significant amount of work, we have removed it for now. We have patched the issue in GitHub commit [23d6383eb6c14084a8fc3bdf164043b974818012](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/23d6383eb6c14084a8fc3bdf164043b974818012). 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 Arjun Shibu.

CVSS 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Severity from
GitHub (reviewed advisory)
Weakness
CWE-502
Also known as
BIT-tensorflow-2021-37678, CVE-2021-37678, PYSEC-2021-300, PYSEC-2021-591, PYSEC-2021-789

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