CVE-2021-29573Public exploit

Process crash via zero batch dimension

Published May 14, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Denial of service in affected TensorFlow releases allows local users to crash a process via an empty MaxPoolGradWithArgmax tensor. MaxPoolingGradWithArgmaxOp allocates a zero-element output and still launches the gradient kernel, whose parameter setup divides by the unvalidated batch dimension. Affected releases are before 2.1.4, 2.2.0 through 2.2.2, 2.3.0 through 2.3.2, and 2.4.0 through 2.4.1; local code execution is required.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
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

Denial of service in affected TensorFlow releases allows local users to crash a process via an empty MaxPoolGradWithArgmax tensor. MaxPoolingGradWithArgmaxOp allocates a zero-element output and still launches the gradient kernel, whose parameter setup divides by the unvalidated batch dimension. Affected releases are before 2.1.4, 2.2.0 through 2.2.2, 2.3.0 through 2.3.2, and 2.4.0 through 2.4.1; local code execution is required.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-29573
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

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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

2.1NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
2.5GitHubCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
2.0GitHub Advisory DatabaseCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 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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