Security patches for the Merlin framework addressing two high-severity deserialization vulnerabilities. That could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code and launch denial-of-service attacks on affected Linux systems.
NVIDIA researchers have identified two vulnerabilities in Merlin components that leverage insecure deserialization.
Both CVE-2025-33214 and CVE-2025-33213 carry CVSS base scores of 8.8, indicating high-severity threats that require immediate attention from system administrators.
| CVE ID | Description | Base Score | CWE | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2025-33214 | NVIDIA NVTabular for Linux contains a vulnerability in the Workflow component, where a user could cause a deserialization issue. | 8.8 | CWE-502 | AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| CVE-2025-33213 | NVIDIA Merlin Transformers4Rec for Linux contains a vulnerability in the Trainer component where a user may cause a deserialization issue. | 8.8 | CWE-502 | AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
Critical Deserialization Flaws Discovered
The vulnerabilities affect NVTabular’s Workflow component and Transformers4Rec’s Trainer component.
Successful exploitation enables attackers to execute malicious code, trigger denial-of-service conditions, disclose sensitive information, and tamper with critical data.
The attack vector requires low-complexity network access and user interaction, making these vulnerabilities particularly concerning for enterprise environments.
All versions of NVIDIA NVTabular and Merlin Transformers4Rec for Linux that lack specific security commits are vulnerable to these attacks.
Organizations running these frameworks must immediately update their installations to protect against potential exploits. NVIDIA has released security patches through GitHub commits.
For NVTabular, users must update to commit 5dd11f4 or later from the NVIDIA-Merlin/NVTabular repository. Transformers4Rec users need to apply commit 876f19e or later from the NVIDIA-Merlin/Transformers4Rec repository.
NVIDIA acknowledged the security researcher for responsibly disclosing both vulnerabilities through coordinated disclosure.
The company released the initial security bulletin on December 9, 2025, providing remediation guidance to affected organizations.
System administrators should prioritize updating NVIDIA Merlin installations by cloning or updating the software to include the security commits.
Organizations should visit NVIDIA Product Security pages for additional vulnerability information and subscribe to security bulletin notifications for future updates.
Follow us on Google News, LinkedIn, and X for daily cybersecurity updates. Contact us to feature your stories.
