Vulnerabilities

In TensorFlow Lite before versions 1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1 and 2.3.1, saved models in the flatbuffer format use a double indexing scheme: a model has a set of subgraphs, each subgraph has a set of operators and each operator has a set of input/output tensors. The flatbuffer format uses indices for the tensors, indexing into an array of tensors that is owned by the subgraph. This results in a pattern of double array indexing when trying to get the data of each tensor. However, some operators can have some tensors be optional. To handle this scenario, the flatbuffer model uses a negative `-1` value as index for these tensors. This results in special casing during validation at model loading time. Unfortunately, this means that the `-1` index is a valid tensor index for any operator, including those that don't expect optional inputs and including for output tensors. Thus, this allows writing and reading from outside the bounds of heap allocated arrays, although only at a specific offset from the start of these arrays. This results in both read and write gadgets, albeit very limited in scope. The issue is patched in several commits (46d5b0852, 00302787b7, e11f5558, cd31fd0ce, 1970c21, and fff2c83), and is released in TensorFlow versions 1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1, or 2.3.1. A potential workaround would be to add a custom `Verifier` to the model loading code to ensure that only operators which accept optional inputs use the `-1` special value and only for the tensors that they expect to be optional. Since this allow-list type approach is erro-prone, we advise upgrading to the patched code.

In TensorFlow Lite before versions 2.2.1 and 2.3.1, models using segment sum can trigger writes outside of bounds of heap allocated buffers by inserting negative elements in the segment ids tensor. Users having access to `segment_ids_data` can alter `output_index` and then write to outside of `output_data` buffer. This might result in a segmentation fault but it can also be used to further corrupt the memory and can be chained with other vulnerabilities to create more advanced exploits. The issue is patched in commit 204945b19e44b57906c9344c0d00120eeeae178a and is released in TensorFlow versions 2.2.1, or 2.3.1. A potential workaround would be to add a custom `Verifier` to the model loading code to ensure that the segment ids are all positive, although this only handles the case when the segment ids are stored statically in the model. A similar validation could be done if the segment ids are generated at runtime between inference steps. If the segment ids are generated as outputs of a tensor during inference steps, then there are no possible workaround and users are advised to upgrade to patched code.

In TensorFlow Lite before versions 2.2.1 and 2.3.1, models using segment sum can trigger a denial of service by causing an out of memory allocation in the implementation of segment sum. Since code uses the last element of the tensor holding them to determine the dimensionality of output tensor, attackers can use a very large value to trigger a large allocation. The issue is patched in commit 204945b19e44b57906c9344c0d00120eeeae178a and is released in TensorFlow versions 2.2.1, or 2.3.1. A potential workaround would be to add a custom `Verifier` to limit the maximum value in the segment ids tensor. This only handles the case when the segment ids are stored statically in the model, but a similar validation could be done if the segment ids are generated at runtime, between inference steps. However, if the segment ids are generated as outputs of a tensor during inference steps, then there are no possible workaround and users are advised to upgrade to patched code.

In TensorFlow Lite before versions 2.2.1 and 2.3.1, models using segment sum can trigger a write out bounds / segmentation fault if the segment ids are not sorted. Code assumes that the segment ids are in increasing order, using the last element of the tensor holding them to determine the dimensionality of output tensor. This results in allocating insufficient memory for the output tensor and in a write outside the bounds of the output array. This usually results in a segmentation fault, but depending on runtime conditions it can provide for a write gadget to be used in future memory corruption-based exploits. The issue is patched in commit 204945b19e44b57906c9344c0d00120eeeae178a and is released in TensorFlow versions 2.2.1, or 2.3.1. A potential workaround would be to add a custom `Verifier` to the model loading code to ensure that the segment ids are sorted, although this only handles the case when the segment ids are stored statically in the model. A similar validation could be done if the segment ids are generated at runtime between inference steps. If the segment ids are generated as outputs of a tensor during inference steps, then there are no possible workaround and users are advised to upgrade to patched code.

In Tensorflow before version 2.3.1, the `SparseCountSparseOutput` implementation does not validate that the input arguments form a valid sparse tensor. In particular, there is no validation that the `indices` tensor has the same shape as the `values` one. The values in these tensors are always accessed in parallel. Thus, a shape mismatch can result in accesses outside the bounds of heap allocated buffers. The issue is patched in commit 3cbb917b4714766030b28eba9fb41bb97ce9ee02 and is released in TensorFlow version 2.3.1.

In Tensorflow before version 2.3.1, the `RaggedCountSparseOutput` does not validate that the input arguments form a valid ragged tensor. In particular, there is no validation that the `splits` tensor has the minimum required number of elements. Code uses this quantity to initialize a different data structure. Since `BatchedMap` is equivalent to a vector, it needs to have at least one element to not be `nullptr`. If user passes a `splits` tensor that is empty or has exactly one element, we get a `SIGABRT` signal raised by the operating system. The issue is patched in commit 3cbb917b4714766030b28eba9fb41bb97ce9ee02 and is released in TensorFlow version 2.3.1.

In Tensorflow before version 2.3.1, the `RaggedCountSparseOutput` implementation does not validate that the input arguments form a valid ragged tensor. In particular, there is no validation that the values in the `splits` tensor generate a valid partitioning of the `values` tensor. Thus, the code sets up conditions to cause a heap buffer overflow. A `BatchedMap` is equivalent to a vector where each element is a hashmap. However, if the first element of `splits_values` is not 0, `batch_idx` will never be 1, hence there will be no hashmap at index 0 in `per_batch_counts`. Trying to access that in the user code results in a segmentation fault. The issue is patched in commit 3cbb917b4714766030b28eba9fb41bb97ce9ee02 and is released in TensorFlow version 2.3.1.

In Tensorflow before version 2.3.1, the `RaggedCountSparseOutput` implementation does not validate that the input arguments form a valid ragged tensor. In particular, there is no validation that the values in the `splits` tensor generate a valid partitioning of the `values` tensor. Hence, the code is prone to heap buffer overflow. If `split_values` does not end with a value at least `num_values` then the `while` loop condition will trigger a read outside of the bounds of `split_values` once `batch_idx` grows too large. The issue is patched in commit 3cbb917b4714766030b28eba9fb41bb97ce9ee02 and is released in TensorFlow version 2.3.1.

In Tensorflow before versions 1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1 and 2.3.1, the `Shard` API in TensorFlow expects the last argument to be a function taking two `int64` (i.e., `long long`) arguments. However, there are several places in TensorFlow where a lambda taking `int` or `int32` arguments is being used. In these cases, if the amount of work to be parallelized is large enough, integer truncation occurs. Depending on how the two arguments of the lambda are used, this can result in segfaults, read/write outside of heap allocated arrays, stack overflows, or data corruption. The issue is patched in commits 27b417360cbd671ef55915e4bb6bb06af8b8a832 and ca8c013b5e97b1373b3bb1c97ea655e69f31a575, and is released in TensorFlow versions 1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1, or 2.3.1.

In Tensorflow before versions 1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1 and 2.3.1, by controlling the `fill` argument of tf.strings.as_string, a malicious attacker is able to trigger a format string vulnerability due to the way the internal format use in a `printf` call is constructed. This may result in segmentation fault. The issue is patched in commit 33be22c65d86256e6826666662e40dbdfe70ee83, and is released in TensorFlow versions 1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1, or 2.3.1.

In eager mode, TensorFlow before versions 1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1 and 2.3.1 does not set the session state. Hence, calling `tf.raw_ops.GetSessionHandle` or `tf.raw_ops.GetSessionHandleV2` results in a null pointer dereference In linked snippet, in eager mode, `ctx->session_state()` returns `nullptr`. Since code immediately dereferences this, we get a segmentation fault. The issue is patched in commit 9a133d73ae4b4664d22bd1aa6d654fec13c52ee1, and is released in TensorFlow versions 1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1, or 2.3.1.

In Tensorflow before versions 1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1 and 2.3.1, the `data_splits` argument of `tf.raw_ops.StringNGrams` lacks validation. This allows a user to pass values that can cause heap overflow errors and even leak contents of memory In the linked code snippet, all the binary strings after `ee ff` are contents from the memory stack. Since these can contain return addresses, this data leak can be used to defeat ASLR. The issue is patched in commit 0462de5b544ed4731aa2fb23946ac22c01856b80, and is released in TensorFlow versions 1.15.4, 2.0.3, 2.1.2, 2.2.1, or 2.3.1.