CVE-2021-37678

mediumpriority · attend · 45EPSS 0.004 · 39 %ileexploit · PoCEUUS
grimoire priorityP1 · Urgent
Exploitable?
Public exploit
1 exploit · PoC
Likely / severe?
0.45% (39th) EPSS
CVSS 4.6 · medium
Is it mine?
22 products
Check your exposure
Who says so?
4 sources
cnnvd · enisa_euvd · osv · nvd

EPSS · scored 2026-10-27

TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. In affected versions TensorFlow and Keras can be tricked to perform arbitrary code execution when deserializing a Keras model from YAML format. The [implementation](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/460e000de3a83278fb00b61a16d161b1964f15f4/tensorflow/python/keras/saving/model_config.py#L66-L104) uses `yaml.unsafe_load` which can perform arbitrary code execution on the input. Given that YAML format support requires a significant amount of work, we have removed it for now. We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 23d6383eb6c14084a8fc3bdf164043b974818012. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

01

cvss

Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.

9.3
010

base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode⚠ sources disagree · medium–critical · 4.6–9.3

v2.04.6mediumAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:Pprimary · NVD / NIST USexploitability 3.9 · impact 6.4
v3.18.8highCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:Hprimary · NVD / NIST USexploitability 2 · impact 6
v3.19.3criticalCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:Hsecondary · ENISA EU
v3.19.3criticalCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:Hsecondary · security-advisories@github.comexploitability 2.5 · impact 6
v3.19.3criticalCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:Hsecondary · OSV
v3.18.3highCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:Psecondary · CVSS-BT (t0sche)
02

weaknesses

The CWE weakness classes this flaw belongs to.

CWE-502USCWE-502US
03

exploits (1)

Public proof-of-concept and weaponised exploit code.

04

affected products (22)

Products and version ranges known to be affected.

showing 20 of 22
05

advisories (5)

Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.

  • GHSA-r6jx-9g48-2r5rArbitrary code execution due to YAML deserialization2021-08-25ghsa · osvUS

    ### Impact TensorFlow and Keras can be tricked to perform arbitrary code execution when deserializing a Keras model from YAML format. ```python from tensorflow.keras import models payload = ''' !!python/object/new:type args: ['z', !!python/tuple [], {'extend': !!python/name:exec }] listitems: "__import__('os').system('cat /etc/passwd')" ''' models.model_from_yaml(payload) ``` The [implementation](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/460e000de3a83278fb00b61a16d161b1964f15f4/tensorflow/python/keras/saving/model_config.py#L66-L104) uses `yaml.unsafe_load` which can perform arbitrary code execution on the input. ### Patches Given that YAML format support requires a significant amount of work, we have removed it for now. We have patched the issue in GitHub commit [23d6383eb6c14084a8fc3bdf164043b974818012](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/23d6383eb6c14084a8fc3bdf164043b974818012). The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range. ### For more information Please consult [our security guide](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/master/SECURITY.md) for more information regarding the security model and how to contact us with issues and questions. ### Attribution This vulnerability has been reported by Arjun Shibu.

  • BIT-tensorflow-2021-37678Arbitrary code execution due to YAML deserialization2024-03-06vendor · osvUS

    TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. In affected versions TensorFlow and Keras can be tricked to perform arbitrary code execution when deserializing a Keras model from YAML format. The [implementation](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/460e000de3a83278fb00b61a16d161b1964f15f4/tensorflow/python/keras/saving/model_config.py#L66-L104) uses `yaml.unsafe_load` which can perform arbitrary code execution on the input. Given that YAML format support requires a significant amount of work, we have removed it for now. We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 23d6383eb6c14084a8fc3bdf164043b974818012. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

  • PYSEC-2021-3002021-08-12vendor · osvUS

    TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. In affected versions TensorFlow and Keras can be tricked to perform arbitrary code execution when deserializing a Keras model from YAML format. The [implementation](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/460e000de3a83278fb00b61a16d161b1964f15f4/tensorflow/python/keras/saving/model_config.py#L66-L104) uses `yaml.unsafe_load` which can perform arbitrary code execution on the input. Given that YAML format support requires a significant amount of work, we have removed it for now. We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 23d6383eb6c14084a8fc3bdf164043b974818012. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

  • PYSEC-2021-5912021-08-12vendor · osvUS

    TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. In affected versions TensorFlow and Keras can be tricked to perform arbitrary code execution when deserializing a Keras model from YAML format. The [implementation](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/460e000de3a83278fb00b61a16d161b1964f15f4/tensorflow/python/keras/saving/model_config.py#L66-L104) uses `yaml.unsafe_load` which can perform arbitrary code execution on the input. Given that YAML format support requires a significant amount of work, we have removed it for now. We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 23d6383eb6c14084a8fc3bdf164043b974818012. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

  • PYSEC-2021-7892021-08-12vendor · osvUS

    TensorFlow is an end-to-end open source platform for machine learning. In affected versions TensorFlow and Keras can be tricked to perform arbitrary code execution when deserializing a Keras model from YAML format. The [implementation](https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/460e000de3a83278fb00b61a16d161b1964f15f4/tensorflow/python/keras/saving/model_config.py#L66-L104) uses `yaml.unsafe_load` which can perform arbitrary code execution on the input. Given that YAML format support requires a significant amount of work, we have removed it for now. We have patched the issue in GitHub commit 23d6383eb6c14084a8fc3bdf164043b974818012. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.6.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.5.1, TensorFlow 2.4.3, and TensorFlow 2.3.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

06

also known as (11)

Other names and identifiers for this entity.

07

sources

Which sources assert this record, and when.

cnnvdenisa_euvdosvnvdNVDCVE.orgMITRE
published 2021-08-12modified 2026-06-17
08

references (8)

External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.

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