Medium

Memory exhaustion in Tensorflow

  • Disclosed: 03.02.2022
  • Updated: 11.10.2026 15:17

Impact

The implementation of StringNGrams can be used to trigger a denial of service attack by causing an OOM condition after an integer overflow:

python
import tensorflow as tf

tf.raw_ops.StringNGrams(
  data=['123456'],
  data_splits=[0,1],
  separator='a'*15,
  ngram_widths=[],
  left_pad='',
  right_pad='',
  pad_width=-5, 
  preserve_short_sequences=True)

We are missing a validation on pad_witdh and that result in computing a negative value for ngram_width which is later used to allocate parts of the output.

Patches

We have patched the issue in GitHub commit f68fdab93fb7f4ddb4eb438c8fe052753c9413e8.

The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.8.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.7.1, TensorFlow 2.6.3, and TensorFlow 2.5.3, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

For more information

Please consult our security guide for more information regarding the security model and how to contact us with issues and questions.

Attribution

This vulnerability has been reported by Yu Tian of Qihoo 360 AIVul Team.

Affected software

Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.

PlatformPackageVulnerable versionsFixed in
Python (PyPI) tensorflow < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3, >= 2.7.0, < 2.7.1 2.5.3, 2.6.3, 2.7.1
Python (PyPI) tensorflow-cpu < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3, >= 2.7.0, < 2.7.1 2.5.3, 2.6.3, 2.7.1
Python (PyPI) tensorflow-gpu < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3, >= 2.7.0, < 2.7.1 2.5.3, 2.6.3, 2.7.1

References

CVSS score 4.3/10
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Weakness (CWE)
CWE-190, CWE-400
Platform
Python (PyPI)
Package
tensorflow, tensorflow-cpu, tensorflow-gpu
Disclosed
03.02.2022
Updated
11.10.2026 15:17

Sources and licenses

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2022-57 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2022-112 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2026-3145 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-98j8-c9q4-r38g - CC BY 4.0

Vulnerability history: tensorflow-gpu

All published vulnerabilities of this package (Python (PyPI)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.

All (427) in the archive
Total entries
427
First → latest
04.2019 07.2024
Without a fix
0
Exploited in attacks
0

Severity breakdown

  • Critical 6
  • High 109
  • Medium 207
  • Low 105

Disclosures per year

  1. 2019: 7
  2. 2020: 35
  3. 2021: 200
  4. 2022: 166
  5. 2023: 18
  6. 2024: 1
  7. 2025: 0
  8. 2026: 0
Severity:
  1. Memory exhaustion in Tensorflow this entry
    Medium · 4.3 CVE-2022-21733 < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3, >= 2.7.0, < 2.7.1 2.5.3, 2.6.3, 2.7.1
  2. High · 7.5 CVE-2023-33976 < 2.12.1 2.12.1
  3. High · 7.5 CVE-2023-25659 < 2.11.1 2.11.1
  4. High · 7.5 CVE-2023-25660 < 2.11.1 2.11.1
  5. High · 7.5 CVE-2023-25662 < 2.11.1 2.11.1
  6. High · 7.5 CVE-2023-25663 < 2.11.1 2.11.1
  7. High · 7.5 CVE-2023-25665 < 2.11.1 2.11.1
  8. High · 7.5 CVE-2023-25666 < 2.11.1 2.11.1
  9. High · 7.5 CVE-2023-25669 < 2.11.1 2.11.1
  10. High · 7.5 CVE-2023-25672 < 2.11.1 2.11.1
  11. High · 7.5 CVE-2023-25673 < 2.11.1 2.11.1
  12. High · 7.5 CVE-2023-25674 < 2.11.1 2.11.1
  13. High · 7.5 CVE-2023-25675 < 2.11.1 2.11.1
  14. High · 7.5 CVE-2023-25676 < 2.11.1 2.11.1
  15. High · 8.0 CVE-2023-25801 < 2.11.1 2.11.1
  16. High · 7.5 CVE-2023-27579 < 2.11.1 2.11.1
  17. High · 7.5 CVE-2023-25658 < 2.11.1 2.11.1
  18. High · 7.1 CVE-2022-41902 < 2.8.4, >= 2.9.0, < 2.9.3, >= 2.10.0, < 2.10.1 2.8.4, 2.9.3, 2.10.1
  19. High · 7.1 CVE-2022-41900 < 2.8.4, >= 2.9.0, < 2.9.3, >= 2.10.0, < 2.10.1 2.8.4, 2.9.3, 2.10.1
  20. High · 7.0 CVE-2022-35939 < 2.7.2, >= 2.8.0, < 2.8.1, >= 2.9.0, < 2.9.1 2.7.2, 2.8.1, 2.9.1
  21. High · 7.0 CVE-2022-35937 < 2.7.2, >= 2.8.0, < 2.8.1, >= 2.9.0, < 2.9.1 2.7.2, 2.8.1, 2.9.1
  22. High · 7.8 CVE-2022-29216 < 2.6.4, >= 2.7.0, < 2.7.2, >= 2.8.0, < 2.8.1 2.6.4, 2.7.2, 2.8.1
  23. High · 7.1 CVE-2022-29208 < 2.6.4, >= 2.7.0, < 2.7.2, >= 2.8.0, < 2.8.1 2.6.4, 2.7.2, 2.8.1
  24. Critical · 9.3 ghsa-h6gw-r52c-724r < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3, >= 2.7.0, < 2.7.1 2.5.3, 2.6.3, 2.7.1
  25. High · 7.0 ghsa-43q8-3fv7-pr5x < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3, >= 2.7.0, < 2.7.1 2.5.3, 2.6.3, 2.7.1
  26. High · 8.8 CVE-2022-23594 >= 2.7.0, < 2.7.1 2.7.1
  27. High · 8.8 CVE-2022-23560 < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3 2.5.3, 2.6.3
  28. High · 7.1 CVE-2022-23563 < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3 2.5.3, 2.6.3
  29. High · 8.1 CVE-2022-23592 >= 2.7.0, < 2.8.0 2.8.0
  30. High · 7.5 CVE-2022-23591 < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3 2.5.3, 2.6.3
  31. High · 8.8 CVE-2022-23574 < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3 2.5.3, 2.6.3
  32. High · 7.6 CVE-2022-23573 < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3 2.5.3, 2.6.3
  33. High · 7.6 CVE-2022-23562 < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3 2.5.3, 2.6.3
  34. High · 8.8 CVE-2022-23561 < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3 2.5.3, 2.6.3
  35. High · 8.8 CVE-2022-23559 < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3 2.5.3, 2.6.3
  36. High · 8.8 CVE-2022-23566 < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3 2.5.3, 2.6.3
  37. High · 7.6 CVE-2022-23584 < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3 2.5.3, 2.6.3
  38. High · 7.6 CVE-2022-23558 < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3 2.5.3, 2.6.3
  39. High · 8.8 CVE-2022-23587 < 2.5.3, >= 2.6.0, < 2.6.3 2.5.3, 2.6.3
Show more (20) Showing 41 of 116

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