Software Introduction

All of the software found on this page is property of TCNISO, INC. This software may not be distributed or linked to, without the written consent of TCNISO. All of the software here is provided "as-is" without warranty of any kind; use at your own risk!

    Please be aware that most of the software here was developed using Microsoft's .NET programming interface. This means that you will need to have the latest framework installed. You can do so by clicking on the following link: Download. Additionally, the downloadable files are most likely distributed in a compressed format known as RAR (www.rarlabs.com), which most decompression software supports.

    Some of the software found here is freeware and can be downloaded by everyone. However, other software is limited to member's only; if you are a member, please login before downloading. Thank you.

Note: If you have purchased the "Hacking the Cable Modem" book, you can visit the official resource page and download additional software, including Open Sesame, EtherBoot, and more.

Open Telnet Session

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    Mentioned in the book "Hacking the Cable Modem", this piece of software was used to create random buffers of bytes and send them via the Telnet protocol. This is a copy of the exact software used to discover the buffer overflow exploit that Open Sesame is based off of.

Current version: Build 104

Availability: Public

File size: 15,541 bytes.

Coax Thief

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    Coax Thief, (also known as CMSniff), is a generic cable modem sniffer application that can be used to discover the names of cable modem configuration files. To run this software, you may need these runtime files installed.

Current version:1.0.23

Availability: Public

File size: 15,541 bytes.

EtherBoot

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    EtherBoot is an all-in-one application for interfacing a cable modem to your computer via use of a console cable. This software will automatically halt the startup process of SB3100, SB4100, and SB4200 series cable modems, and then allow you to boot a firmware file from your computer into the cable modem's memory.

Using this software is ideal for changing firmware (such as installing SIGMA) or revising a dead cable from a bad firmware update. This is the software that is included with the RS-232 v2 board.

Current version: 1.5

Availability: Members Only

File size: 93,524 bytes.

Open Sesame

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    Open Sesame is a firmware changer application that supports most DOCSIS 1.0 firmware for the Surfboard series cable modem (that's over 40 different firmware versions!), excluding the SB5100 series.

    Changing firmware is easy, just start the program, click the button "Open Sesame", wait for it to connect to your cable modem, and then install any firmware you want using the "Change Firmware" button. This software also allows you to retrieve the SIGMA key from your cable modem which is important when upgrading a cable modem with SIGMA.

Current version: Build 116

Availability: Members Only

File size: 48,841 bytes.

FIP (Firmware Image Packager)

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    FIP is an application that decompresses and compresses firmware for the SB4xxx series cable modem. This application is useful when disassembling firmware, or when it is necessary to decompress a firmware image, patch it with a firmware mod and then compress it again. Because this application is very important, there is also a Linux version available.

Current version: 1.6

Availability: Public

File size: 121,496 bytes.

OneStep: ZUP

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OneStep is the software that took cable modem hacking mainstream. This famous application accomplishes the task of uncapping by incorporating all of the tedious steps into one easy to use program. By making uncapping easier, OneStep introduced cable modem hacking to individuals who may not have been able to accomplish it otherwise (and created many security concerns for service providers in the process). This application does require the Java runtime environment.

Current version: 1.5

Availability: Public

File size: 346,543 bytes.

Schwarze Katze (UPDATED)

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Schwarze Katze is software that is that is for the Blackcat programmer. This software allows you to communicate with a modem (such as the SB5100) using Blackcat and perform many common tasks, such as changing firmware, change the bootloader, and change the MAC address. This software is the basis for installing firmware hacks such as SIGMA-X and X2. BlackcatUSB users, download this software instead.

Current version: Build 134 (updated in March, 2008)

Availability: Private

File size: 375,895 bytes.

LPT port driver install       Windows application

DiFile Thief

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DiFile Thief is a packet sniffer that captures DHCP packets with boot filenames (also known as a config file). The purpose of this application is to discover all of the config files used on your local service provider. This application does require the WinPcap driver installed (www.winpcap.org).

Current version: BETA 2

Availability: Public

File size: 19,361 bytes.

Patch!

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This application is used to apply a firmware patch file (known as the PTX format) into an uncompressed firmware file. There is both a Windows and Linux version available for download.

Current version: 102

Availability: Public

File size: 10,489 bytes.

DiFileCPE

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DiFileCPE is an all purpose config file editor and viewer. Using this application, you can drag-and-drop a config file into the main window and it will automatically display the contents of the config file for you to view. This application is most useful when you want to know the download and upload speeds of a config file, or the SNMP community string.

Current version: 116

Availability: Public

File size: 105,081 bytes.

TFTPD

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TFTPD is a multi-threaded (allows multiple simultaneous transfers) TFTP server. This software is required when transferring files (such as firmware or configs) from your computer to your cable modem.

Current version: 116

Availability: Public

File size: 14,223 bytes.

Boot Server

The purpose of this software is to host a firmware image for a cable modem to boot from. Generally, you will need to decompress a firmware image using FIP, add a ELF header (using the ELF utility below) and then rename the file to vxWorks.st. This application requires the VB6 runtime library.

Current version: 1.02

Availability: Public

File size: 19,553 bytes.

Legacy software

   The following software is old, obsolete, will no longer work, or a combination of these. However, for legacy purposes, you can still download them here. All of the software here is public.

TCNISO Step 1 (Boot query)
TCNISO Step 2 (TFTP client)
TCNISO Step 3 (Config editor)
TCNISO Step 5 (TFTP server)
ELF converter (for firmware booting)