Use After Free in Google Tensorflow

CVE-2021-37652

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. In affected versions the implementation for `tf.raw_ops.BoostedTreesCreateEnsemble` can result in a use after free error if an attacker supplies specially crafted arguments. The [implementation](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/f24faa153ad31a4b51578f8181d3aaab77a1ddeb/tensorflow/core/kernels/boosted_trees/resource_ops.cc#L55) uses a reference counted resource and decrements the refcount if the initialization fails, as it should. However, when the code was written, the resource was represented as a naked pointer but later refactoring has changed it to be a smart pointer. Thus, when the pointer leaves the scope, a subsequent `free`-ing of the resource occurs, but this fails to take into account that the refcount has already reached 0, thus the resource has been already freed. During this double-free process, members of the resource object are accessed for cleanup but they are invalid as the entire resource has been freed. We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 5ecec9c6fbdbc6be03295685190a45e7eee726ab. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

EPSS: 0.002 (7.1th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-37652?
CVE-2021-37652 is a high-severity vulnerability in Google Tensorflow, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2021-08-12.
How severe is CVE-2021-37652?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.