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Severe, 6 weeks1496Projects326

1496 severe, 6 weeks · 326 projects

TensorFlowGHSA-x3v8-c8qx-3j3r

Null pointer exception in `DeserializeSparse`

TensorFlow

CVE-2021-41215 · 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

The [shape inference code for DeserializeSparse](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/8d72537c6abf5a44103b57b9c2e22c14f5f49698/tensorflow/core/ops/sparse_ops.cc#L152-L168) can trigger a null pointer dereference:

```python

import tensorflow as tf

dataset = tf.data.Dataset.range(3)

@tf.function

def test():

y = tf.raw_ops.DeserializeSparse(

serialized_sparse=tf.data.experimental.to_variant(dataset),

dtype=tf.int32)

test()

`

This is because the shape inference function assumes that the serialize_sparse tensor is a tensor with positive rank (and having 3 as the last dimension). However, in the example above, the argument is a scalar (i.e., rank 0).

Patches

We have patched the issue in GitHub commit [d3738dd70f1c9ceb547258cbb82d853da8771850](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/d3738dd70f1c9ceb547258cbb82d853da8771850).

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 by members of the Aivul Team...

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 The [shape inference code for `DeserializeSparse`](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/8d72537c6abf5a44103b57b9c2e22c14f5f49698/tensorflow/core/ops/sparse_ops.cc#L152-L168) can trigger a null pointer dereference: ```python import tensorflow as tf dataset = tf.data.Dataset.range(3) @tf.function def test(): y = tf.raw_ops.DeserializeSparse( serialized_sparse=tf.data.experimental.to_variant(dataset), dtype=tf.int32) test() ``` This is because the shape inference function assumes that the `serialize_sparse` tensor is a tensor with positive rank (and having `3` as the last dimension). However, in the example above, the argument is a scalar (i.e., rank 0). ### Patches We have patched the issue in GitHub commit [d3738dd70f1c9ceb547258cbb82d853da8771850](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/d3738dd70f1c9ceb547258cbb82d853da8771850). 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 by members of the Aivul Team from Qihoo 360.

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-476
Also known as
BIT-tensorflow-2021-41215, CVE-2021-41215, PYSEC-2021-407, PYSEC-2021-624, PYSEC-2021-822

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