CVE-2021-37676Public exploit

Process crash via empty sparse tensor shape

Published Aug 12, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Null-pointer access in TensorFlow before 2.3.4, 2.4.0 through 2.4.2, and 2.5.0 allows local users to crash a process via empty tensors. SparseFillEmptyRows shape inference accepts an empty dense_shape tensor and binds a reference through a null pointer instead of rejecting zero elements. Reachability requires local execution of a graph containing the crafted operation; the established consequence is termination of the hosting process.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Null-pointer access in TensorFlow before 2.3.4, 2.4.0 through 2.4.2, and 2.5.0 allows local users to crash a process via empty tensors. SparseFillEmptyRows shape inference accepts an empty dense_shape tensor and binds a reference through a null pointer instead of rejecting zero elements. Reachability requires local execution of a graph containing the crafted operation; the established consequence is termination of the hosting process.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-37676
Published
Aug 12, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Google
Product
TensorFlow
Classifications
CWE-824, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 12, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 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=< 2.3.4
  2. Affected versionversion=>= 2.4.0, < 2.4.3
  3. Affected versionversion=>= 2.5.0, < 2.5.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Google · TensorFlowversion=< 2.3.4; version=>= 2.4.0, < 2.4.3; version=>= 2.5.0, < 2.5.1

Published CVSS scores

7.8GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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-824Access of Uninitialized Pointer
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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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