CVE-2021-41227

Arbitrary memory read in ImmutableConst

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Attribution

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

The ImmutableConst operation in TensorFlow can be tricked into reading arbitrary memory contents:

import tensorflow as tf
  
with open('/tmp/test','wb') as f:
    f.write(b'\xe2'*128)
    data = tf.raw_ops.ImmutableConst(dtype=tf.string,shape=3,memory_region_name='/tmp/test')
  
print(data)

This is because the tstring TensorFlow string class has a special case for memory mapped strings but the operation itself does not offer any support for this datatype.

A read operation accesses a memory location beyond the intended buffer boundary. Typical impact: sensitive data disclosure or crash.

CVE-2021-41227 has a CVSS score of 6.6 (Medium). 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 (2.6.1, 2.5.2, 2.4.4); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

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We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 3712a2d3455e6ccb924daa5724a3652a86f6b585 and GitHub commit 1cb6bb6c2a6019417c9adaf9e6843ba75ee2580b.

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.

1. What is CVE-2021-41227? CVE-2021-41227 is a medium-severity out-of-bounds read vulnerability in tensorflow (pip), affecting versions >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.1. It is fixed in 2.6.1, 2.5.2, 2.4.4. A read operation accesses a memory location beyond the intended buffer boundary.
2. How severe is CVE-2021-41227? CVE-2021-41227 has a CVSS score of 6.6 (Medium). 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-2021-41227?
   • tensorflow (pip) (versions >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.1)
   • tensorflow-cpu (pip) (versions >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.1)
   • tensorflow-gpu (pip) (versions >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.1)
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2021-41227? Yes. CVE-2021-41227 is fixed in 2.6.1, 2.5.2, 2.4.4. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2021-41227 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2021-41227 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-2021-41227 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-2021-41227?
   • Upgrade tensorflow to 2.6.1 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow to 2.5.2 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow to 2.4.4 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-cpu to 2.6.1 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-cpu to 2.5.2 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-cpu to 2.4.4 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-gpu to 2.6.1 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-gpu to 2.5.2 or later
   • Upgrade tensorflow-gpu to 2.4.4 or later

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