dbcve.org
Xperia Xzs FirmwareOperating system · Sony

CVE-2019-15416

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-11-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The Sony keyaki_kddi Android device with a build fingerprint of Sony/keyaki_kddi/keyaki_kddi:7.1.1/TONE3-3.0.0-KDDI-170517-0326/1:user/dev-keys contains a pre-installed app with a package name of com.kddi.android.packageinstaller app (versionCode=70008, versionName=08.10.03) that allows other pre-installed apps to perform app installation via an accessible app component. This capability can be accessed by any pre-installed app on the device which can obtain signatureOrSystem permissions that are required by other other pre-installed apps that exported their capabilities to other pre-installed app.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

The Sony keyaki_kddi KDDI Android device ships with a pre-installed package installer app (com.kddi.android.packageinstaller) containing an exported activity or service component that lacks proper signatureOrSystem permission enforcement. This allows other pre-installed apps on the device to trigger app installations without user consent, enabling privilege escalation within the pre-installed app ecosystem.

MitigationThis is a firmware-level vulnerability requiring an OTA update from Sony/KDDI to either remove the exported component, add proper permission checks, or restrict the component's accessibility. Enterprise environments should isolate affected devices and monitor for device updates.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Xperia Xzs FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify device model and firmware version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Model Number and Build Number. Confirm the device is a Sony Xperia Xzs (model number may appear as keyaki_kddi or related KDDI variant) or check via 'getprop ro.product.model' and 'getprop ro.build.id' in ADB shell
    Affected if Device model is Sony Xperia Xzs or keyaki_kddi KDDI variant running any firmware version
  2. Check for vulnerable package presence
    Run 'pm list packages | grep kddi' via ADB shell or check installed packages in Settings > Apps. Look for package named 'com.kddi.android.packageinstaller'
    Affected if The package com.kddi.android.packageinstaller is installed on the device
  3. Verify exported component accessibility
    Run 'dumpsys package com.kddi.android.packageinstaller' via ADB shell and examine the output for activity or service components with 'exported=true'. Alternatively, use 'adb shell cmd package resolve-activity --brief -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER com.kddi.android.packageinstaller' to test if a component can be invoked
    Affected if Any activity or service component within com.kddi.android.packageinstaller shows exported=true and has no signatureOrSystem permission requirement
  4. Confirm other apps can trigger installations
    From a separate ADB shell session or another pre-installed app context, attempt to invoke the component via an intent (e.g., using 'am start -n com.kddi.android.packageinstaller/.InstallerActivity' or similar component name found in step 3). Check if installation proceeds without permission error
    Affected if The component can be invoked by other apps without receiving a SecurityException or permission denial

A user is affected if they possess a Sony Xperia Xzs or KDDI keyaki variant device with the com.kddi.android.packageinstaller package present and its exported components lack signatureOrSystem permission protection, allowing unauthorized app installations.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

This is a firmware-level vulnerability requiring an OTA update from Sony/KDDI to either remove the exported component, add proper permission checks, or restrict the component's accessibility. Enterprise environments should isolate affected devices and monitor for device updates.

Fix this in Xperia Xzs Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,360
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,176.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-15416 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-15416 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data