CVE-2021-29520: Heap buffer overflow in `Conv3DBackprop*`

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: yes
Published: 2021-05-14 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-120

Description

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. Missing validation between arguments to `tf.raw_ops.Conv3DBackprop*` operations can result in heap buffer overflows. This is because the implementation(https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/4814fafb0ca6b5ab58a09411523b2193fed23fed/tensorflow/core/kernels/conv_grad_shape_utils.cc#L94-L153) assumes that the `input`, `filter_sizes` and `out_backprop` tensors have the same shape, as they are accessed in parallel. 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.

Affected products

tensorflow: before 2.1.4; from 2.2.0 before 2.2.3; from 2.3.0 before 2.3.3; from 2.4.0 before 2.4.2 — fixed in 2.1.4, 2.2.3, 2.3.3, 2.4.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: tensorflow 2.1.4, 2.2.3, 2.3.3, 2.4.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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