CVE-2021-37643

Null pointer dereference in MatrixDiagPartOp

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Attribution

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

If a user does not provide a valid padding value to tf.raw_ops.MatrixDiagPartOp, then the code triggers a null pointer dereference (if input is empty) or produces invalid behavior, ignoring all values after the first:

import tensorflow as tf

tf.raw_ops.MatrixDiagPartV2(
  input=tf.ones(2,dtype=tf.int32),
  k=tf.ones(2,dtype=tf.int32),
  padding_value=[])

Although this example is given for MatrixDiagPartV2, all versions of the operation are affected.

The implementation reads the first value from a tensor buffer without first checking that the tensor has values to read from.

The application dereferences a null pointer, causing a crash. Typical impact: denial of service via crash.

CVE-2021-37643 has a CVSS score of 7.7 (High). The vector is requires local access, no 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 (2.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Already deployed Kodem?

We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 482da92095c4d48f8784b1f00dda4f81c28d2988.

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.

1. What is CVE-2021-37643? CVE-2021-37643 is a high-severity null pointer dereference vulnerability in tensorflow (pip), affecting versions < 2.3.4. It is fixed in 2.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1. The application dereferences a null pointer, causing a crash.
2. How severe is CVE-2021-37643? CVE-2021-37643 has a CVSS score of 7.7 (High). 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-2021-37643?
   • tensorflow (pip) (versions < 2.3.4)
   • tensorflow-cpu (pip) (versions < 2.3.4)
   • tensorflow-gpu (pip) (versions < 2.3.4)
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2021-37643? Yes. CVE-2021-37643 is fixed in 2.3.4, 2.4.3, 2.5.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2021-37643 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2021-37643 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-2021-37643 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-2021-37643?
   • Upgrade tensorflow to 2.3.4 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow to 2.4.3 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow to 2.5.1 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-cpu to 2.3.4 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-cpu to 2.4.3 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-cpu to 2.5.1 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-gpu to 2.3.4 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-gpu to 2.4.3 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-gpu to 2.5.1 or later

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