dbcve.org
Galaxy A7 FirmwareOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2019-15435

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 Samsung A7 Android device with a build fingerprint of samsung/a7y17ltexx/a7y17lte:8.0.0/R16NW/A720FXXU7CSC2:user/release-keys contains a pre-installed app with a package name of com.samsung.android.themecenter app (versionCode=7000000, versionName=7.0.0.0) 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 · high confidence

The Samsung A7 Android device (build A720FXXU7CSC2, Android 8.0.0) contains a pre-installed themecenter app (com.samsung.android.themecenter v7.0.0.0) with an exported component that allows arbitrary app installation. This component is accessible to other pre-installed apps holding signatureOrSystem permissions, enabling untrusted pre-installed applications to install additional apps without user consent.

MitigationThis is a firmware-level vulnerability requiring Samsung to restrict the themecenter app's installation component or implement proper permission validation. Users should monitor for and apply OEM security updates once available.

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
Galaxy A7 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
    Check if the device is a Samsung Galaxy A7 (model number A7 or variants like SM-A720F) in Settings > About Phone > Model Number
    Affected if The device is a Samsung Galaxy A7 model
  2. Verify Android version
    Check the Android version in Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if Android 8.0.0 is present (though all firmware versions are affected according to the advisory)
  3. Check themecenter app version
    Locate com.samsung.android.themecenter in Settings > Apps > App List, or use an ADB command: pm list packages | grep themecenter, then check the version in app info
    Affected if Version 7.0.0.0 of the themecenter app is installed
  4. Audit recently installed apps
    Review the app installation history in Settings > Apps > App Installer or Settings > Security > Install unknown apps, looking for apps installed without user interaction or knowledge
    Affected if There are apps present that were installed without explicit user consent
  5. Review pre-installed apps
    Examine the list of pre-installed applications in Settings > Apps > Pre-loaded apps or via ADB: pm list packages -s, looking for untrusted or unknown pre-installed applications
    Affected if There are unknown or untrusted pre-installed apps present on the device

A user is affected if they are using a Samsung Galaxy A7 device with the themecenter app version 7.0.0.0 installed, as the exported component in this specific app allows other pre-installed apps to install arbitrary applications without user consent.

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 Samsung to restrict the themecenter app's installation component or implement proper permission validation. Users should monitor for and apply OEM security updates once available.

Fix this in Galaxy A7 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
3.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2019-15435 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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