5.5
MEDIUM
CVE-2021-29531
TensorFlow denial of service attack
Description

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. An attacker can trigger a `CHECK` fail in PNG encoding by providing an empty input tensor as the pixel data. This is because the implementation(https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/e312e0791ce486a80c9d23110841525c6f7c3289/tensorflow/core/kernels/image/encode_png_op.cc#L57-L60) only validates that the total number of pixels in the image does not overflow. Thus, an attacker can send an empty matrix for encoding. However, if the tensor is empty, then the associated buffer is `nullptr`. Hence, when calling `png::WriteImageToBuffer`(https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/e312e0791ce486a80c9d23110841525c6f7c3289/tensorflow/core/kernels/image/encode_png_op.cc#L79-L93), the first argument (i.e., `image.flat<T>().data()`) is `NULL`. This then triggers the `CHECK_NOTNULL` in the first line of `png::WriteImageToBuffer`(https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/e312e0791ce486a80c9d23110841525c6f7c3289/tensorflow/core/lib/png/png_io.cc#L345-L349). Since `image` is null, this results in `abort` being called after printing the stacktrace. Effectively, this allows an attacker to mount a denial of service attack. 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.

INFO

Published Date :

May 14, 2021, 8:15 p.m.

Last Modified :

May 20, 2021, 3:46 p.m.

Remotely Exploitable :

No

Impact Score :

3.6

Exploitability Score :

1.8
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2021-29531 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Google tensorflow
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2021-29531.

URL Resource
https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/26eb323554ffccd173e8a79a8c05c15b685ae4d1 Patch Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/security/advisories/GHSA-3qxp-qjq7-w4hf Exploit Patch Third Party Advisory

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2021-29531 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2021-29531 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    May. 14, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
  • Initial Analysis by [email protected]

    May. 20, 2021

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V2 NIST (AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P)
    Added CVSS V3.1 NIST AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
    Changed Reference Type https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/26eb323554ffccd173e8a79a8c05c15b685ae4d1 No Types Assigned https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/26eb323554ffccd173e8a79a8c05c15b685ae4d1 Patch, Third Party Advisory
    Changed Reference Type https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/security/advisories/GHSA-3qxp-qjq7-w4hf No Types Assigned https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/security/advisories/GHSA-3qxp-qjq7-w4hf Exploit, Patch, Third Party Advisory
    Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 2.1.4 *cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 2.2.0 up to (excluding) 2.2.3 *cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 2.3.0 up to (excluding) 2.3.3 *cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 2.4.0 up to (excluding) 2.4.2
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2021-29531 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2021-29531 weaknesses.

Exploit Prediction

EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days.

0.04 }} 0.00%

score

0.10669

percentile

CVSS31 - Vulnerability Scoring System
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