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On 7 FirmwareOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2019-15442

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 on7xelteskt Android device with a build fingerprint of samsung/on7xelteskt/on7xelteskt:8.1.0/M1AJQ/G610SKSU2CSB1:user/release-keys contains a pre-installed app with a package name of com.samsung.android.themecenter app (versionCode=7000100, versionName=7.0.1.0) 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 on7xelteskt Android device contains a pre-installed themecenter app (com.samsung.android.themecenter v7.0.1.0) with an exported component that allows other pre-installed apps to perform silent app installation. This is accessible to any pre-installed app holding signatureOrSystem permissions, enabling privilege escalation and unauthorized app installation without user consent.

MitigationThe vulnerability requires a firmware update from Samsung to patch the themecenter app by removing or properly securing the exported installation component. Users should monitor for and apply OEM security patches promptly.

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
On 7 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 On 7 (model on7xelteskt) by going to Settings > About Phone > Model Number
    Affected if Device model is Samsung On 7 (on7xelteskt)
  2. Check themecenter app version
    Navigate to Settings > Apps > Themecenter (com.samsung.android.themecenter) and view the version information under App Info
    Affected if Version is 7.0.1.0 on a Samsung On 7 device (all versions affected)
  3. Verify exported component exists
    Use ADB to query the package: adb shell dumpsys package com.samsung.android.themecenter | grep -i 'exported' or use a package inspector app to check for exported Activity, Service, or Receiver components related to installation
    Affected if The themecenter app exports any component that handles app installation functionality
  4. Check for signatureOrSystem permission apps
    Use ADB command: adb shell pm list permissions -d | grep signatureOrSystem to list apps holding elevated permissions, or inspect installed apps for those with signatureOrSystem permissions using a package manager tool
    Affected if Any pre-installed app with signatureOrSystem permissions exists on the device (these can exploit the vulnerability)

If the device is a Samsung On 7 (on7xelteskt) running the themecenter app with an exported installation component and has pre-installed apps holding signatureOrSystem permissions, the device is vulnerable to silent app installation.

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

The vulnerability requires a firmware update from Samsung to patch the themecenter app by removing or properly securing the exported installation component. Users should monitor for and apply OEM security patches promptly.

Fix this in On 7 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,440
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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-2019-15442 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
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