CVE-2021-37674: TensorFlow-CPU Denial of Service Vulnerability
Summary
CVE-2021-37674: TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. Affects tensorflow-cpu across 3 version ranges.
>= 2.3.0, < 2.3.4
>= 2.4.0, < 2.4.3
< 136b51f10903e044308cf77117c0ed9871350475
Fixed in 2.3.4 or 2.4.3, depending on the release line you run. How to fix ↓
Also tracked for
- tensorflow · Bitnami
- tensorflow · PyPI
- tensorflow · PyPI
- tensorflow-gpu · PyPI
The same CVE-2021-37674 is tracked separately for each ecosystem and vendor. Its fix information is the same; the package and affected versions differ.
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Background
TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. It provides a comprehensive ecosystem of tools, libraries, and resources for developing and deploying machine learning models. TensorFlow-CPU is a specific package that focuses on running TensorFlow on CPUs. It is widely used in various industries and research fields for machine learning tasks.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-37674 affects TensorFlow-CPU. It allows an attacker to trigger a denial of service (DoS) attack by exploiting a segmentation fault in the tf.raw_ops.MaxPoolGrad function. This vulnerability is caused by missing validation in the orig_input and orig_output tensors. The implementation of the function lacks proper checks, which can lead to a crash and disrupt the normal operation of the application. Although fixes were attempted for a related vulnerability (CVE-2021-29579), they were incomplete. The issue has been patched in the GitHub commit 136b51f10903e044308cf77117c0ed9871350475 and will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. Additionally, the fix will be backported to TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these versions are also affected and within the supported range.
How To Fix
Latest published version: 2.21.0 as of 22 Oct 2026
pip install --upgrade "tensorflow-cpu==2.21.0"Upgrading to it may include breaking changes; the versions below are the minimum fixed release for this vulnerability.
If you can't move to the latest
The minimum fixed version depends on the release line you run.
-
>= 2.3.0, < 2.3.42.3.4pip install --upgrade "tensorflow-cpu==2.3.4" -
>= 2.4.0, < 2.4.32.4.3pip install --upgrade "tensorflow-cpu==2.4.3"
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Workaround
There is no specific workaround mentioned for this vulnerability. The recommended solution is to update to the patched versions of TensorFlow-CPU.
Conclusion
The vulnerability CVE-2021-37674 in TensorFlow-CPU can be exploited by an attacker to trigger a denial of service (DoS) attack. It is crucial to update to the patched versions of TensorFlow-CPU to mitigate this vulnerability. For further support and assistance in vulnerability remediation, you can reach out to DevNack.com.
See every vulnerability recorded for tensorflow-cpu →
FAQ
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning that provides a comprehensive set of tools and resources for developing and deploying machine learning models.
TensorFlow-CPU is a specific package that focuses on running TensorFlow on CPUs. It is widely used for machine learning tasks in various industries and research fields.
A denial of service (DoS) attack is a type of cyber attack where the attacker aims to disrupt the normal functioning of a system or network, making it unavailable to its intended users.
An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by triggering a segmentation fault in the tf.raw_ops.MaxPoolGrad function of TensorFlow-CPU. This can be done by providing malicious input that bypasses the missing validation checks.
The known mitigation for this vulnerability is to update TensorFlow-CPU to the patched versions mentioned in the advisory.
References
Related vulnerabilities
Recent vulnerabilities recorded for tensorflow-cpu.
