CVE-2022-23588 | `CHECK`-fails due to attempting to build a reference tensor in Tensorflow

Exp

Tensorflow is an Open Source Machine Learning Framework. A malicious user can cause a denial of service by altering a `SavedModel` such that Grappler optimizer would attempt to build a tensor using a reference `dtype`. This would result in a crash due to a `CHECK`-fail in the `Tensor` constructor as reference types are not allowed. The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.8.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.7.1, TensorFlow 2.6.3, and TensorFlow 2.5.3, as these are also affected and still in supported range.

Published: 2022-02-04 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2022-23588 is rated High Exploit Risk (60.2/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.85%). 2 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2022-23588

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-23588

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.27% 0.85% +0.58%
2 2025-03-17 0.17% 0.27% +0.10%
3 2024-04-28 — 0.17% —

Full EPSS history (5 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-23588

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 3.6 [email protected]
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 3.6 [email protected]
4.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 8.0 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-23588

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2022-23588

GHSA-fx5c-h9f6-rv7c · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: pip — `CHECK`-fails due to attempting to build a reference tensor

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-23588

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2022-23588 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (tensorflow), 2 status rows across 2 suites (forky, sid): resolved 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2022-23588

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-23588

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
google tensorflow <= 2.5.2 cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google tensorflow >= 2.6.0, <= 2.6.2 cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google tensorflow 2.7.0 cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:2.7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-23588

cvelogic Threat Intelligence