Modems with Puma 7 Chipset: Everything You Need to Know

Learn about the security vulnerability discovered in the Puma 7 chipset used in some modems and routers and the potential risks it poses to your network. Find out how to protect yourself by checking if your device is affected and updating to the latest firmware.
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Modems with Puma 7 Chipset: Everything You Need to Know

The Puma 7 chipset is a component used in certain cable modems to handle high-speed data transmissions over cable networks. However, the Puma 7 chipset has a critical latency issue that can cause severe performance problems for users. Latency is the amount of time it takes for data to travel from a user’s device to the internet and back. Users have experienced high latency and packet loss with the Puma 7 chipset, resulting in slow internet speeds, dropped connections, and poor gaming and streaming performance.

This issue has been widely documented across online forums and tech news outlets, and many users have reported significant performance issues with modems that use the Puma 7 chipset, leading to frustration and dissatisfaction with their internet service. While some modem manufacturers have attempted to address the issue through firmware updates, the problem has not been entirely resolved for all modem models. As a result, users are advised to be cautious when purchasing a modem and to research the chipset used before making a purchase.

Moreover, the Puma 7 chipset has a security vulnerability that could allow attackers to remotely execute code on devices. The vulnerability is caused by a buffer overflow in the processing of certain types of network traffic, specifically in the TCP implementation of the Puma 7 chipset. A buffer overflow occurs when a program or application attempts to store more data in a buffer than it can hold. This vulnerability can be exploited by an attacker who can send a specially crafted packet to the affected device, allowing them to execute arbitrary code with root privileges.

Some ISPs have issued firmware updates to address the issue and fix the vulnerability on affected devices. It is important to ensure that any modem or router using the Puma 7 chipset is updated with the latest firmware to protect against this vulnerability. However, there is no definitive list of modems and routers that were affected as some have new updated firmware now that fixes the vulnerability. Before purchasing new equipment, users should check with their internet service provider to ensure their system won’t become vulnerable from the new devices.

 

Even though firmware updates may have fixed the issue on some of these models, here is a list of all models reported to have been made with the Puma 7 Chipset. We recommend checking with the manufacturer directly before purchasing one of these to ensure that a firmware update correcting the security issues has already been released.

  1. Arris SB6190
  2. Arris TG1672G
  3. Arris TG1662G
  4. Arris TG2472G
  5. Arris TG1682G
  6. Arris TM1602
  7. Arris TM3402
  8. Arris TG3452
  9. Hitron CDA3
  10. Hitron CGNV4
  11. Hitron CODA-45
  12. Hitron CODA-4502
  13. Hitron CODA-4580
  14. Hitron CODA-4582
  15. Hitron CODA-4589
  16. Hitron CODA-4680
  17. Netgear C6300
  18. Netgear C7000
  19. Netgear CM700
  20. Netgear CM1000
  21. Technicolor TC4400

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