CVE-2022-29216 | Code injection in `saved_model_cli` in TensorFlow

Exp

TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Prior to versions 2.9.0, 2.8.1, 2.7.2, and 2.6.4, TensorFlow's `saved_model_cli` tool is vulnerable to a code injection. This can be used to open a reverse shell. This code path was maintained for compatibility reasons as the maintainers 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. The maintainers have now removed the `safe=False` argument, so all parsing is done without calling `eval`. The patch is available in versions 2.9.0, 2.8.1, 2.7.2, and 2.6.4.

Published: 2022-05-20 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2022-29216 is rated High Exploit Risk (60.9/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.54%). 1 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-2022-29216

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-29216

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 0.10% 0.54% +0.44%
2 2026-05-31 0.17% 0.10% -0.07%
3 2026-04-18 — 0.17% —

Full EPSS history (18 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-29216

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]
4.6 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 3.9 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-29216

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2022-29216

GHSA-75c9-jrh4-79mc · Severity: high · Ecosystem: pip — Code injection in `saved_model_cli` in TensorFlow

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-29216

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2022-29216 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-2022-29216

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-29216

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
google tensorflow < 2.6.4 cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google tensorflow >= 2.7.0, < 2.7.2 cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google tensorflow 2.7.0 cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:2.7.0:rc0:*:*:*:*:*:*
google tensorflow 2.7.0 cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:2.7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
google tensorflow 2.8.0 cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:2.8.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
google tensorflow 2.8.0 cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:2.8.0:rc0:*:*:*:*:*:*
google tensorflow 2.8.0 cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:2.8.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
google tensorflow 2.9.0 cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:2.9.0:rc0:*:*:*:*:*:*
google tensorflow 2.9.0 cpe:2.3:a:google:tensorflow:2.9.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-29216

URL Tags
https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/f3b9bf4c3c0597563b289c0512e98d4ce81f886e/tensorflow/python/tools/saved_model_cli.py#L566-L574 Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/8b202f08d52e8206af2bdb2112a62fafbc546ec7 Patch Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/c5da7af048611aa29e9382371f0aed5018516cac Patch Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/releases/tag/v2.6.4 Release Notes Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/releases/tag/v2.7.2 Release Notes Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/releases/tag/v2.8.1 Release Notes Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/releases/tag/v2.9.0 Release Notes Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/security/advisories/GHSA-75c9-jrh4-79mc Exploit Patch Third Party Advisory
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