MediumVulnerability

CVE-2020-15197: Tensorflow SparseCountSparseOutput crash from unvalidated sparse tensor input

Source: NVD(opens in a new tab)
Identifier: CVE-2020-15197
Published: September 25, 2020
Record updated: October 10, 2026

Affected: tensorflow = 2.3.0
tensorflow-cpu = 2.3.0
tensorflow-gpu = 2.3.0
Fixed in: 2.3.1
tensorflow 2.3.1 released September 24, 2020, 1 day before disclosure
tensorflow-cpu 2.3.1 released September 24, 2020, 1 day before disclosure
tensorflow-gpu 2.3.1 released September 24, 2020, 1 day before disclosure
Known exploitation: Not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog at the last check.
EPSS: 0.7%

Summary

In TensorFlow before 2.3.1, the `SparseCountSparseOutput` implementation does not check that its input forms a valid sparse tensor, and in particular does not verify that the `indices` tensor has rank 2. A malicious user can pass a tensor of a different rank, triggering a `CHECK` assertion failure and a crash. Where users can control the components of the input sparse tensor, this enables denial of service in serving installations.

Mitigation

The issue is patched in commit 3cbb917b4714766030b28eba9fb41bb97ce9ee02 and released in TensorFlow version 2.3.1.

Details

Scores and exploitation

CVSS score: 6.3(medium)
Patch available: Yes
EPSS: 0.7%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-20
CWE-617

Affected

Packages: tensorflow@= 2.3.0 (fixed: 2.3.1)
tensorflow-cpu@= 2.3.0 (fixed: 2.3.1)
tensorflow-gpu@= 2.3.0 (fixed: 2.3.1)
Vendors: Google

Classification

Attack type: Denial of service
Attack sophistication: Trivial
AI component targeted: Framework
Impact: 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-2020-15197

First tracked: February 15, 2026 at 08:38 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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