tf.image.combined_non_max_suppression aborts process on wrong-rank inputs (should raise Python exception instead)

Issue type

Bug

Have you reproduced the bug with TensorFlow Nightly?

No

Source

binary

TensorFlow version

tensorflow version: 2.20.0

Custom code

Yes

OS platform and distribution

Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS (x86_64)

Mobile device

Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS (x86_64)

Python version

3.10.16

Bazel version

bazel 8.3.1

GCC/compiler version

clang-18.1.8

CUDA/cuDNN version

12.5.1/9.3.0

GPU model and memory

NVIDIA RTX A6000 49140MiB

Current behavior?

Running the above script causes a fatal C++ abort instead of raising a Python exception

Standalone code to reproduce the issue

import tensorflow as tf
print("TF version:", tf.__version__)

# Wrong-rank inputs
# Expected: boxes rank=4, scores rank=3
boxes  = tf.random.uniform([4, 10, 4], dtype=tf.float32)   # rank=3
scores = tf.random.uniform([4, 10],    dtype=tf.float32)   # rank=2

print("About to call combined_non_max_suppression with wrong-rank inputs...")
try:
    out = tf.image.combined_non_max_suppression(
        boxes=boxes,
        scores=scores,
        max_output_size_per_class=100,
        max_total_size=100,
        iou_threshold=0.5,
        score_threshold=0.5,
        clip_boxes=True,
        pad_per_class=False,
    )
    print("Unexpectedly succeeded. Output shapes:", [t.shape for t in out])
except Exception as e:
    print("Caught Python-level exception instead of abort:", repr(e))

print("Done.")

Relevant log output

About to call combined_non_max_suppression with wrong-rank inputs...
2025-09-01 16:55:46.516023: F tensorflow/core/framework/tensor_shape.cc:359] 
Check failed: d < dims() (2 vs. 2)
Aborted (core dumped)