MediumVulnerability

CVE-2021-29609: TensorFlow SparseAdd incomplete validation allows out of bounds heap writes

Source: NVD(opens in a new tab)
Identifier: CVE-2021-29609
Published: May 14, 2021
Record updated: October 9, 2026

Affected: tensorflow < 2.1.4, fixed in 2.1.4, released June 15, 2021, 31 days after disclosure
tensorflow >= 2.2.0, < 2.2.3, fixed in 2.2.3, released June 15, 2021, 31 days after disclosure
tensorflow >= 2.3.0, < 2.3.3, fixed in 2.3.3, released June 15, 2021, 31 days after disclosure
and 9 more
Known exploitation: Not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog at the last check.
EPSS: 0.2%

Summary

CVE-2021-29609 affects the `SparseAdd` operation in TensorFlow, an open source machine learning platform. Its validation does not check that the two sparse tensor inputs are non-empty or that the second dimension of `*_indices` matches the size of the corresponding `*_shape`, so attackers can send invalid tensor triples. This lets them trigger undefined behavior through null pointer dereferences and write outside the bounds of heap-allocated data.

Mitigation

Fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.5.0. The commit will also be cherrypicked to TensorFlow 2.4.2, TensorFlow 2.3.3, TensorFlow 2.2.3 and TensorFlow 2.1.4.

Details

Scores and exploitation

CVSS score: 5.3(medium)
Patch available: Yes
EPSS: 0.2%Estimated probability that this CVE is exploited in the next 30 days, from the FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System. Read on November 4, 2026.

Weaknesses and techniques

Weakness (CWE): CWE-665
CWE-476
CWE-787
Attack pattern (CAPEC): CAPEC-100

Affected

Packages: tensorflow@< 2.1.4 (fixed: 2.1.4)
tensorflow@>= 2.2.0, < 2.2.3 (fixed: 2.2.3)
tensorflow@>= 2.3.0, < 2.3.3 (fixed: 2.3.3)
tensorflow@>= 2.4.0, < 2.4.2 (fixed: 2.4.2)
tensorflow-cpu@< 2.1.4 (fixed: 2.1.4)
tensorflow-cpu@>= 2.2.0, < 2.2.3 (fixed: 2.2.3)
tensorflow-cpu@>= 2.3.0, < 2.3.3 (fixed: 2.3.3)
tensorflow-cpu@>= 2.4.0, < 2.4.2 (fixed: 2.4.2)
tensorflow-gpu@< 2.1.4 (fixed: 2.1.4)
tensorflow-gpu@>= 2.2.0, < 2.2.3 (fixed: 2.2.3)
tensorflow-gpu@>= 2.3.0, < 2.3.3 (fixed: 2.3.3)
tensorflow-gpu@>= 2.4.0, < 2.4.2 (fixed: 2.4.2)
Vendors: Google

Classification

Attack type: Other
Attack sophistication: Moderate
AI component targeted: Framework
Impact: Confidentiality,
Integrity,
Availability
Labels: security

How this record was produced

Summaries, mitigations and labels on this page are generated automatically from the source. The linked source is authoritative. The source gives this advisory a description and no title, so the title above is a headline generated from the source text.

Original source: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-29609

First tracked: February 15, 2026 at 08:39 PM ET, from NVD/CVE Database

Classifier: claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v4

Classifier confidence: 95% (self-assessed)

Affected packages in the Exposure Registry

Matched by package name and ecosystem. Each entry shows whether the package delegates to a language model and how many tracked packages depend on it.

tensorflowPyPINo LLM dependency detected · 26 tracked dependents
tensorflow-gpuPyPINo LLM dependency detected · 2 tracked dependents

Summary

Mitigation

Affected packages in the Exposure Registry

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