CVE-2021-29589

Division by zero in TFLite's implementation of GatherNd

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Attribution

This vulnerability has been reported by members of the Aivul Team from Qihoo 360.

The reference implementation of the GatherNd TFLite operator is vulnerable to a division by zero error:

ret.dims_to_count[i] = remain_flat_size / params_shape.Dims(i);

An attacker can craft a model such that params input would be an empty tensor. In turn, params_shape.Dims(.) would be zero, in at least one dimension.

CVE-2021-29589 has a CVSS score of 2.5 (Low). The vector is requires local access, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.1.4, 2.2.3, 2.3.3, 2.4.2); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

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We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 8e45822aa0b9f5df4b4c64f221e64dc930a70a9d.

The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.5.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.4.2, TensorFlow 2.3.3, TensorFlow 2.2.3 and TensorFlow 2.1.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

1. What is CVE-2021-29589? CVE-2021-29589 is a low-severity security vulnerability in tensorflow (pip), affecting versions < 2.1.4. It is fixed in 2.1.4, 2.2.3, 2.3.3, 2.4.2.
2. How severe is CVE-2021-29589? CVE-2021-29589 has a CVSS score of 2.5 (Low). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-29589?
   • tensorflow (pip) (versions < 2.1.4)
   • tensorflow-cpu (pip) (versions < 2.1.4)
   • tensorflow-gpu (pip) (versions < 2.1.4)
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2021-29589? Yes. CVE-2021-29589 is fixed in 2.1.4, 2.2.3, 2.3.3, 2.4.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2021-29589 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2021-29589 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2021-29589 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2021-29589?
   • Upgrade tensorflow to 2.1.4 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow to 2.2.3 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow to 2.3.3 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow to 2.4.2 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-cpu to 2.1.4 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-cpu to 2.2.3 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-cpu to 2.3.3 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-cpu to 2.4.2 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-gpu to 2.1.4 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-gpu to 2.2.3 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-gpu to 2.4.2 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-gpu to 2.3.3 or later

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