dbcve.org
Galaxy J7 Neo FirmwareOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2019-15460

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 J7 Neo Android device with a build fingerprint of samsung/j7veltedx/j7velte:8.1.0/M1AJQ/J701FXVS6BSC1: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 · moderate confidence

The Samsung J7 Neo Android device ships with a pre-installed com.samsung.android.themecenter app (v7.0.1.0) that exposes an exported component enabling silent app installation. Any pre-installed app possessing signatureOrSystem permissions can exploit this accessible component to install arbitrary applications without user consent, representing a privilege escalation vulnerability.

MitigationSamsung should release a firmware update patching the themecenter app to enforce proper authorization on the installation component; enterprises should deploy MDM/EMM solutions to monitor and restrict app installation capabilities on affected devices.

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 J7 Neo 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 Samsung Galaxy J7 Neo by navigating to Settings > About Phone > Model Number, or run: getprop ro.product.model
    Affected if Device model is SM-J701F/DS or SM-J701F and matches the Galaxy J7 Neo variant
  2. Check themecenter app version
    Use ADB to query the package version: adb shell dumpsys package com.samsung.android.themecenter | grep versionName, or check via Settings > Apps > Theme Center > Version
    Affected if Version is 7.0.1.0 or matches the vulnerable version shipped with the device firmware
  3. Verify exported component exists
    Use ADB to check if the activity/service is exported: adb shell dumpsys package com.samsung.android.themecenter | grep -E 'Activity|Service' | grep -i export, or decompile the APK and inspect AndroidManifest.xml for android:exported="true" on the installation component
    Affected if The themecenter app declares an exported component (activity or receiver) that handles app installation intents
  4. Identify apps with signatureOrSystem permissions
    Run: adb shell pm list packages -s -p to list system apps, then for each pre-installed app run: adb shell dumpsys package PACKAGE_NAME | grep -i permission to check for android.permission.SIGNATURE_OR_SYSTEM level permissions
    Affected if Any pre-installed app (not user-installed) holds signatureOrSystem permissions and could exploit the exported component
  5. Check firmware version
    Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Build number, or run: adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release and getprop ro.build.fingerprint
    Affected if Any firmware version on the Galaxy J7 Neo (verify build includes J7 Neo specific fingerprints)

The device is affected if it is a Samsung Galaxy J7 Neo with themecenter app containing an exported component and there exist pre-installed apps with signatureOrSystem permissions that can trigger silent 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

Samsung should release a firmware update patching the themecenter app to enforce proper authorization on the installation component; enterprises should deploy MDM/EMM solutions to monitor and restrict app installation capabilities on affected devices.

Fix this in Galaxy J7 Neo Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2019-15460 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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