CVE-2021-29557Public exploit

Process crash via empty SparseMatMul tensor

Published May 14, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Divide by zero in affected Google TensorFlow releases allows local users to crash the calling process with an empty SparseMatMul tensor. SparseMatMulOp processes a transposed right-hand tensor without rejecting either zero-sized dimension, causing Eigen code to divide by zero. Reachability requires control of TensorFlow operation inputs and tensor shapes; the demonstrated floating-point exception terminates the hosting process.

CVSS severity2.5
Low
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Divide by zero in affected Google TensorFlow releases allows local users to crash the calling process with an empty SparseMatMul tensor. SparseMatMulOp processes a transposed right-hand tensor without rejecting either zero-sized dimension, causing Eigen code to divide by zero. Reachability requires control of TensorFlow operation inputs and tensor shapes; the demonstrated floating-point exception terminates the hosting process.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-29557
Published
May 14, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Google
Product
TensorFlow
Classifications
CWE-369, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 14, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 2.1.4
  2. Affected versionversion=>= 2.2.0, < 2.2.3
  3. Affected versionversion=>= 2.3.0, < 2.3.3
  4. Affected versionversion=>= 2.4.0, < 2.4.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Google · TensorFlowversion=< 2.1.4; version=>= 2.2.0, < 2.2.3; version=>= 2.3.0, < 2.3.3; version=>= 2.4.0, < 2.4.2

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
2.5GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
2.1NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-369Divide By Zero
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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