CVE-2025-6921

CVE-2025-6921 is a high-severity vulnerability in Huggingface Transformers with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-400.

Key facts

Description

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.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-6921?
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.
How severe is CVE-2025-6921?
CVE-2025-6921 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2025-6921 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (37th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2025-6921?
CVE-2025-6921 affects Huggingface Transformers. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2025-6921?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
Does CVE-2025-6921 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2025-6921 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-30889.
When was CVE-2025-6921 published?
CVE-2025-6921 was published on 2025-09-23 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

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