CVE-2021-29521

Segfault in SparseCountSparseOutput

MEDIUM
5.5
CVSS Score
Published: May 14, 2021 at 07:35 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 03:47 AM UTC
2 products affected across 2 vendorsTensorflowTensorFlow

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Severity
MEDIUM5.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.2%

Description

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. Specifying a negative dense shape in `tf.raw_ops.SparseCountSparseOutput` results in a segmentation fault being thrown out from the standard library as `std::vector` invariants are broken. This is because the implementation(https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/8f7b60ee8c0206a2c99802e3a4d1bb55d2bc0624/tensorflow/core/kernels/count_ops.cc#L199-L213) assumes the first element of the dense shape is always positive and uses it to initialize a `BatchedMap<T>` (i.e., `std::vector<absl::flat_hash_map<int64,T>>`(https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/8f7b60ee8c0206a2c99802e3a4d1bb55d2bc0624/tensorflow/core/kernels/count_ops.cc#L27)) data structure. If the `shape` tensor has more than one element, `num_batches` is the first value in `shape`. Ensuring that the `dense_shape` argument is a valid tensor shape (that is, all elements are non-negative) solves this issue. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.5.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.4.2 and TensorFlow 2.3.3.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

2.3.0 ≤ v < 2.3.32.4.0 ≤ v < 2.4.2
Affected range stops below 2.3.3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 2.4.2, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
v < 2.3.3v < 2.4.2
Affected range stops below 2.3.3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 2.4.2, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

CVSS

Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-131

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