CVE-2023-25664 – This CVE describes a heap buffer overflow vulne... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-25664?

CVE-2023-25664 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). This CVE describes a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in TensorFlow's TAvgPoolGrad operation. Attackers could exploit this to cause denial of service, memory corruption, or potentially execute arbitrary code. Users of TensorFlow versions before 2.12.0 and 2.11.1 are affected.

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in TensorFlow's TAvgPoolGrad operation. Attackers could exploit this to cause denial of service, memory corruption, or potentially execute arbitrary code. Users of TensorFlow versions before 2.12.0 and 2.11.1 are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

TensorFlow

Versions: All versions before 2.12.0 and 2.11.1

Operating Systems: All platforms running TensorFlow

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Vulnerability exists in TAvgPoolGrad operation; any usage of this operation is vulnerable.

📦 What is this software?

Tensorflow by Google

View all CVEs affecting Tensorflow →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment.

🟠

Likely Case

Application crash or denial of service affecting machine learning workloads.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact due to proper input validation and sandboxing preventing exploitation.

🌐 Internet-Facing: MEDIUM - Requires specific TensorFlow operations to be exposed via APIs, but common in ML serving deployments.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal ML pipelines using vulnerable TensorFlow versions could be compromised by malicious inputs.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires crafting specific inputs to TAvgPoolGrad operation; no public exploits known.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: TensorFlow 2.12.0 or 2.11.1

Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/security/advisories/GHSA-6hg6-5c2q-7rcr

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update TensorFlow using pip: 'pip install --upgrade tensorflow==2.12.0' or 'pip install --upgrade tensorflow==2.11.1'. 2. Restart all services using TensorFlow. 3. Verify the update with 'python -c "import tensorflow as tf; print(tf.__version__)"'.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable TAvgPoolGrad usage

all

Avoid using or exposing the vulnerable TAvgPoolGrad operation in your ML models.

Input validation and sanitization

all

Implement strict input validation for all TensorFlow operations, especially pooling operations.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Isolate TensorFlow services in network segments with strict access controls.
Implement runtime protection tools (ASLR, DEP) and monitor for abnormal memory usage patterns.

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check TensorFlow version: 'python -c "import tensorflow as tf; print(tf.__version__)"'. If version is below 2.12.0 and not 2.11.1, you are vulnerable.

Check Version:

python -c "import tensorflow as tf; print(tf.__version__)"

Verify Fix Applied:

After updating, verify version is 2.12.0 or 2.11.1 using same command. Test TAvgPoolGrad operations with various inputs to ensure no crashes.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Segmentation faults in TensorFlow processes
Abnormal memory allocation patterns
Crashes in ML inference services

Network Indicators:

Unusual traffic patterns to ML APIs using pooling operations
Repeated failed requests to TensorFlow endpoints

SIEM Query:

source="tensorflow" AND (event="segmentation_fault" OR event="memory_corruption" OR event="crash")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-25664

CVSS v3 Score: 7.5 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CWE: CWE-120

Published: March 25, 2023

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

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