AVID-2026-R0741

Description

CHECK-fail in DrawBoundingBoxes (CVE-2021-29533)

Details

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. An attacker can trigger a denial of service via a CHECK failure by passing an empty image to tf.raw_ops.DrawBoundingBoxes. This is because the implementation(https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/ea34a18dc3f5c8d80a40ccca1404f343b5d55f91/tensorflow/core/kernels/image/draw_bounding_box_op.cc#L148-L165) uses CHECK_* assertions instead of OP_REQUIRES to validate user controlled inputs. Whereas OP_REQUIRES allows returning an error condition back to the user, the CHECK_* macros result in a crash if the condition is false, similar to assert. In this case, height is 0 from the images input. This results in max_box_row_clamp being negative and the assertion being falsified, followed by aborting program execution. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.5.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.4.2, TensorFlow 2.3.3, TensorFlow 2.2.3 and TensorFlow 2.1.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

Reason for inclusion in AVID: CVE-2021-29533 describes a vulnerability in TensorFlow where a CHECK failure can cause a denial of service when processing an empty image in tf.raw_ops.DrawBoundingBoxes. This affects a core AI software framework used to build, train, deploy, and serve general-purpose AI systems. It is a software vulnerability within a dependency/framework (TensorFlow) that is part of the AI software stack, not hardware-only. The report provides CVE details, affected versions, and references, supporting its classification as an AI-related supply chain component vulnerability with security impact.

References

Affected or Relevant Artifacts

Developer: tensorflow
Deployer: tensorflow
Artifact Details:

Type	Name
System	tensorflow

Impact

AVID Taxonomy Categorization

Risk domains: Security
SEP subcategories: S0100: Software Vulnerability
Lifecycle stages: L06: Deployment

CVSS

Version	3.1
Vector String	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Base Score	2.5
Base Severity	🟢 Low
Attack Vector	LOCAL
Attack Complexity	🔴 High
Privileges Required	🟢 Low
User Interaction	NONE
Scope	UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact	NONE
Integrity Impact	NONE
Availability Impact	🟢 Low

CWE

ID	Description
CWE-754	CWE-754: Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions

Other information

Report Type: Advisory
Credits:
Date Reported: 2021-05-14
Version: 0.3.3
AVID Entry