Huggingface: >> Transformers >> 4.51.0 Security Vulnerabilities
A critical remote code execution vulnerability exists in all versions of the HuggingFace transformers library prior to version 5.3.0. The vulnerability allows an attacker to craft a malicious `config.json` file containing the `_attn_implementation_internal` field set to an attacker-controlled HuggingFace Hub repository ID. When a victim loads this model using the standard `AutoModelForCausalLM.from_pretrained()` API, the library downloads and executes arbitrary Python code from the attacker's repository with the victim's full OS privileges. This issue arises due to unfiltered deserialization of configuration attributes, insufficient sanitization of internal fields, and unsandboxed execution of downloaded kernels. The vulnerability bypasses the `trust_remote_code` security mechanism, is invisible to the victim, and exploits the standard documented usage pattern, making it particularly severe. Users are advised to upgrade to version 5.3.0 or later to mitigate this issue.
CVSS Score
7.8
EPSS Score
0.001
Published
2026-05-24
A vulnerability in the HuggingFace Transformers library, specifically in the `Trainer` class, allows for arbitrary code execution. The `_load_rng_state()` method in `src/transformers/trainer.py` at line 3059 calls `torch.load()` without the `weights_only=True` parameter. This issue affects all versions of the library supporting `torch>=2.2` when used with PyTorch versions below 2.6, as the `safe_globals()` context manager provides no protection in these versions. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by supplying a malicious checkpoint file, such as `rng_state.pth`, which can execute arbitrary code when loaded. The issue is resolved in version v5.0.0rc3.
CVSS Score
6.5
EPSS Score
0.0
Published
2026-04-07
The huggingface/transformers library, versions prior to 4.53.0, is vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) in the AdamWeightDecay optimizer. The vulnerability arises from the _do_use_weight_decay method, which processes user-controlled regular expressions in the include_in_weight_decay and exclude_from_weight_decay lists. Malicious regular expressions can cause catastrophic backtracking during the re.search call, leading to 100% CPU utilization and a denial of service. This issue can be exploited by attackers who can control the patterns in these lists, potentially causing the machine learning task to hang and rendering services unresponsive.
CVSS Score
5.3
EPSS Score
0.0
Published
2025-09-23
A Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) vulnerability exists in the Hugging Face Transformers library, specifically in the `convert_tf_weight_name_to_pt_weight_name()` function. This function, responsible for converting TensorFlow weight names to PyTorch format, uses a regex pattern `/[^/]*___([^/]*)/` that can be exploited to cause excessive CPU consumption through crafted input strings due to catastrophic backtracking. The vulnerability affects versions up to 4.51.3 and is fixed in version 4.53.0. This issue can lead to service disruption, resource exhaustion, and potential API service vulnerabilities, impacting model conversion processes between TensorFlow and PyTorch formats.
CVSS Score
5.3
EPSS Score
0.001
Published
2025-08-06
A Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) vulnerability was discovered in the Hugging Face Transformers library, specifically within the DonutProcessor class's `token2json()` method. This vulnerability affects versions 4.50.3 and earlier, and is fixed in version 4.52.1. The issue arises from the regex pattern `<s_(.*?)>` which can be exploited to cause excessive CPU consumption through crafted input strings due to catastrophic backtracking. This vulnerability can lead to service disruption, resource exhaustion, and potential API service vulnerabilities, impacting document processing tasks using the Donut model.
CVSS Score
5.3
EPSS Score
0.001
Published
2025-07-11
Hugging Face Transformers versions up to 4.49.0 are affected by an improper input validation vulnerability in the `image_utils.py` file. The vulnerability arises from insecure URL validation using the `startswith()` method, which can be bypassed through URL username injection. This allows attackers to craft URLs that appear to be from YouTube but resolve to malicious domains, potentially leading to phishing attacks, malware distribution, or data exfiltration. The issue is fixed in version 4.52.1.
CVSS Score
3.5
EPSS Score
0.001
Published
2025-07-07