CVE-2021-37662

Reference binding to nullptr in boosted trees in TensorFlow

HIGH
7.8
CVSS Score
Published: August 12, 2021 at 08:55 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 04:00 AM UTC
2 products affected across 2 vendorsTensorflowTensorFlow

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Severity
HIGH7.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.2%

Description

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. In affected versions an attacker can generate undefined behavior via a reference binding to nullptr in `BoostedTreesCalculateBestGainsPerFeature` and similar attack can occur in `BoostedTreesCalculateBestFeatureSplitV2`. The [implementation](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/84d053187cb80d975ef2b9684d4b61981bca0c41/tensorflow/core/kernels/boosted_trees/stats_ops.cc) does not validate the input values. We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 9c87c32c710d0b5b53dc6fd3bfde4046e1f7a5ad and in commit 429f009d2b2c09028647dd4bb7b3f6f414bbaad7. 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.

Affected

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

2.3.0 ≤ v < 2.3.42.4.0 ≤ v < 2.4.32.5.02.6.0 rc02.6.0 rc12.6.0 rc2
Affected range stops below 2.3.4, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 2.4.3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
v < 2.3.4v < 2.4.3v < 2.5.1
Affected range stops below 2.3.4, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 2.4.3, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 2.5.1, 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
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-824

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