CVE-2020-5215
5.0 · MEDIUMOverview
CVE-2020-5215 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting google tensorflow. It was published on January 28, 2020 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.0 (MEDIUM).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.0, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
Technical Description
In TensorFlow before 1.15.2 and 2.0.1, converting a string (from Python) to a tf.float16 value results in a segmentation fault in eager mode as the format checks for this use case are only in the graph mode. This issue can lead to denial of service in inference/training where a malicious attacker can send a data point which contains a string instead of a tf.float16 value. Similar effects can be obtained by manipulating saved models and checkpoints whereby replacing a scalar tf.float16 value with a scalar string will trigger this issue due to automatic conversions. This can be easily reproduced by tf.constant("hello", tf.float16), if eager execution is enabled. This issue is patched in TensorFlow 1.15.1 and 2.0.1 with this vulnerability patched. TensorFlow 2.1.0 was released after we fixed the issue, thus it is not affected. Users are encouraged to switch to TensorFlow 1.15.1, 2.0.1 or 2.1.0.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from google. Update tensorflow to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| tensorflow | >= 0, < 1.15.2 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2020-5215?
CVE-2020-5215 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting google tensorflow. It was published on January 28, 2020 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.0 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2020-5215?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.0, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2020-5215?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from google. Update tensorflow to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2020-5215?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2020-5215 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
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