CVE-2021-29561 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. An attacker can cause a denial of service by exploiting a

CHECK

-failure in the

LoadAndRemapMatrix

function. This vulnerability affects versions of TensorFlow prior to 2.1.4, between 2.2.0 and 2.2.3, 2.3.0 and 2.3.3, and 2.4.0 and 2.4.2. The impact is considered low with a CVSS base score of 2.5.

Understanding CVE-2021-29561

This CVE pertains to a vulnerability in the TensorFlow machine learning platform that could be exploited to trigger a denial of service attack.

What is CVE-2021-29561?

TensorFlow's

LoadAndRemapMatrix

function is susceptible to a

CHECK

-failure that allows an attacker to send unexpected arguments, leading to process termination.

The Impact of CVE-2021-29561

The vulnerability poses a low severity risk, enabling attackers to exploit the

LoadAndRemapMatrix

function and cause a denial of service.

Technical Details of CVE-2021-29561

The vulnerability lies in the assumption that the

ckpt_path

parameter is always a valid scalar, enabling attackers to provide other tensors as the first argument, leading to a

CHECK

rank failure.

Vulnerability Description

Attackers can exploit the vulnerability in

LoadAndRemapMatrix

to trigger a process termination through invalid arguments.

Affected Systems and Versions

Versions of TensorFlow affected include < 2.1.4, >= 2.2.0 and < 2.2.3, >= 2.3.0 and < 2.3.3, and >= 2.4.0 and < 2.4.2.

Exploitation Mechanism

Exploiting the vulnerability involves sending unexpected tensor arguments to the

LoadAndRemapMatrix

function, causing a

CHECK

rank failure.

Mitigation and Prevention

To address CVE-2021-29561, users should take immediate steps and adopt long-term security practices, including applying necessary patches and updates.

Immediate Steps to Take

Users are advised to update their TensorFlow installations to versions that include the fix for this vulnerability.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly updating TensorFlow and other software to the latest versions is crucial for maintaining security.

Patching and Updates

The fix for CVE-2021-29561 will be included in TensorFlow 2.5.0, with commits also backported to versions 2.4.2, 2.3.3, 2.2.3, and 2.1.4 to address the issue.