dbcve.org
Galaxy J4 FirmwareOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2019-15453

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 J4 Android device with a build fingerprint of samsung/j4lteub/j4lte:8.0.0/R16NW/J400MUBS2ASC2: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 J4 Android device contains a pre-installed themecenter app (com.samsung.android.themecenter v7.0.0.0) with an exported component that allows other pre-installed apps to perform app installation. This accessible component can be invoked by any pre-installed app holding signatureOrSystem permissions, enabling privilege escalation and bypassing normal app installation controls.

MitigationOrganizations should inventory affected Samsung J4 devices and monitor for firmware updates from Samsung that patch the exposed themecenter component; until a vendor patch is available, consider network-based controls or device replacement policies for high-risk users.

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 J4 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. Confirm device is Samsung Galaxy J4
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Model Number, or run 'getprop ro.product.model' via ADB shell
    Affected if Model number contains 'SM-J400' (Galaxy J4) or similar J4 variant identifiers
  2. Check if themecenter app is installed
    Run 'pm list packages | grep themecenter' via ADB shell, or check Settings > Apps for 'ThemeCenter'
    Affected if Package 'com.samsung.android.themecenter' is listed in installed packages
  3. Verify themecenter app version
    Run 'dumpsys package com.samsung.android.themecenter | grep versionName' via ADB shell, or view app info in Settings > Apps > ThemeCenter
    Affected if Version shows as 7.0.0.0 (exactly matching the vulnerable version)
  4. Check for exported component exposure
    Run 'dumpsys package com.samsung.android.themecenter | grep -i exported' via ADB shell to inspect component declarations
    Affected if Exported components are set to 'true' without proper permission restrictions (signatureOrSystem required but accessible to pre-installed apps)
  5. Identify pre-installed apps with elevated permissions
    Run 'pm list packages -s' via ADB shell to list system apps, then check their permissions with 'dumpsys package <package>' for signatureOrSystem permissions
    Affected if Multiple pre-installed apps with signatureOrSystem permissions exist on the device (enabling the attack vector)

Device is affected if it is a Samsung Galaxy J4 with themecenter app version 7.0.0.0 installed and exported components accessible to pre-installed apps with signatureOrSystem permissions.

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

Organizations should inventory affected Samsung J4 devices and monitor for firmware updates from Samsung that patch the exposed themecenter component; until a vendor patch is available, consider network-based controls or device replacement policies for high-risk users.

Fix this in Galaxy J4 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
42.0 hours of engineering $7,360
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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-2019-15453 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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