diff --git a/syft/cpe/by_specificity.go b/syft/cpe/by_specificity.go
index ad1a9adb8..2ab457a68 100644
--- a/syft/cpe/by_specificity.go
+++ b/syft/cpe/by_specificity.go
@@ -2,13 +2,11 @@ package cpe
 
 import (
 	"sort"
-
-	"github.com/facebookincubator/nvdtools/wfn"
 )
 
 var _ sort.Interface = (*BySpecificity)(nil)
 
-type BySpecificity []wfn.Attributes
+type BySpecificity []CPE
 
 func (c BySpecificity) Len() int { return len(c) }
 
@@ -35,17 +33,17 @@ func (c BySpecificity) Less(i, j int) bool {
 	return c[i].BindToFmtString() < c[j].BindToFmtString()
 }
 
-func countFieldLength(cpe wfn.Attributes) int {
+func countFieldLength(cpe CPE) int {
 	return len(cpe.Part + cpe.Vendor + cpe.Product + cpe.Version + cpe.TargetSW)
 }
 
-func weightedCountForSpecifiedFields(cpe wfn.Attributes) int {
-	checksForSpecifiedField := []func(cpe wfn.Attributes) (bool, int){
-		func(cpe wfn.Attributes) (bool, int) { return cpe.Part != "", 2 },
-		func(cpe wfn.Attributes) (bool, int) { return cpe.Vendor != "", 3 },
-		func(cpe wfn.Attributes) (bool, int) { return cpe.Product != "", 4 },
-		func(cpe wfn.Attributes) (bool, int) { return cpe.Version != "", 1 },
-		func(cpe wfn.Attributes) (bool, int) { return cpe.TargetSW != "", 1 },
+func weightedCountForSpecifiedFields(cpe CPE) int {
+	checksForSpecifiedField := []func(cpe CPE) (bool, int){
+		func(cpe CPE) (bool, int) { return cpe.Part != "", 2 },
+		func(cpe CPE) (bool, int) { return cpe.Vendor != "", 3 },
+		func(cpe CPE) (bool, int) { return cpe.Product != "", 4 },
+		func(cpe CPE) (bool, int) { return cpe.Version != "", 1 },
+		func(cpe CPE) (bool, int) { return cpe.TargetSW != "", 1 },
 	}
 
 	weightedCount := 0
diff --git a/syft/cpe/cpe.go b/syft/cpe/cpe.go
index 410b802d7..293d9efe1 100644
--- a/syft/cpe/cpe.go
+++ b/syft/cpe/cpe.go
@@ -8,7 +8,35 @@ import (
 	"github.com/facebookincubator/nvdtools/wfn"
 )
 
-type CPE = wfn.Attributes
+type CPE struct {
+	Part      string
+	Vendor    string
+	Product   string
+	Version   string
+	Update    string
+	Edition   string
+	SWEdition string
+	TargetSW  string
+	TargetHW  string
+	Other     string
+	Language  string
+}
+
+func (c CPE) asAttributes() wfn.Attributes {
+	return wfn.Attributes(c)
+}
+
+func fromAttributes(a wfn.Attributes) CPE {
+	return CPE(a)
+}
+
+func (c CPE) BindToFmtString() string {
+	return c.asAttributes().BindToFmtString()
+}
+
+func NewWithAny() CPE {
+	return fromAttributes(*(wfn.NewAttributesWithAny()))
+}
 
 const (
 	allowedCPEPunctuation = "-!\"#$%&'()+,./:;<=>@[]^`{|}~"
@@ -34,7 +62,7 @@ func New(cpeStr string) (CPE, error) {
 	}
 
 	// ensure that this CPE can be validated after being fully sanitized
-	if ValidateString(String(c)) != nil {
+	if ValidateString(c.String()) != nil {
 		return CPE{}, err
 	}
 
@@ -71,20 +99,22 @@ func newWithoutValidation(cpeStr string) (CPE, error) {
 		return CPE{}, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse CPE=%q", cpeStr)
 	}
 
-	// we need to compare the raw data since we are constructing CPEs in other locations
-	value.Vendor = normalizeField(value.Vendor)
-	value.Product = normalizeField(value.Product)
-	value.Language = normalizeField(value.Language)
-	value.Version = normalizeField(value.Version)
-	value.TargetSW = normalizeField(value.TargetSW)
-	value.Part = normalizeField(value.Part)
-	value.Edition = normalizeField(value.Edition)
-	value.Other = normalizeField(value.Other)
-	value.SWEdition = normalizeField(value.SWEdition)
-	value.TargetHW = normalizeField(value.TargetHW)
-	value.Update = normalizeField(value.Update)
+	syftCPE := fromAttributes(*value)
 
-	return *value, nil
+	// we need to compare the raw data since we are constructing CPEs in other locations
+	syftCPE.Vendor = normalizeField(syftCPE.Vendor)
+	syftCPE.Product = normalizeField(syftCPE.Product)
+	syftCPE.Language = normalizeField(syftCPE.Language)
+	syftCPE.Version = normalizeField(syftCPE.Version)
+	syftCPE.TargetSW = normalizeField(syftCPE.TargetSW)
+	syftCPE.Part = normalizeField(syftCPE.Part)
+	syftCPE.Edition = normalizeField(syftCPE.Edition)
+	syftCPE.Other = normalizeField(syftCPE.Other)
+	syftCPE.SWEdition = normalizeField(syftCPE.SWEdition)
+	syftCPE.TargetHW = normalizeField(syftCPE.TargetHW)
+	syftCPE.Update = normalizeField(syftCPE.Update)
+
+	return syftCPE, nil
 }
 
 func normalizeField(field string) string {
@@ -112,7 +142,7 @@ func stripSlashes(s string) string {
 	return sb.String()
 }
 
-func String(c CPE) string {
+func (c CPE) String() string {
 	output := CPE{}
 	output.Vendor = sanitize(c.Vendor)
 	output.Product = sanitize(c.Product)
diff --git a/syft/cpe/cpe_test.go b/syft/cpe/cpe_test.go
index 9af8f2105..3d33e87e5 100644
--- a/syft/cpe/cpe_test.go
+++ b/syft/cpe/cpe_test.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package cpe
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
@@ -41,8 +42,8 @@ func Test_New(t *testing.T) {
 				t.Fatalf("got an error while creating CPE: %+v", err)
 			}
 
-			if String(actual) != String(test.expected) {
-				t.Errorf("mismatched entries:\n\texpected:%+v\n\t  actual:%+v\n", String(test.expected), String(actual))
+			if d := cmp.Diff(actual, test.expected); d != "" {
+				t.Errorf("CPE mismatch (-want +got):\n%s", d)
 			}
 
 		})
@@ -98,7 +99,7 @@ func Test_CPEParser(t *testing.T) {
 			assert.Equal(t, c1, c2)
 			assert.Equal(t, c1, test.WFN)
 			assert.Equal(t, c2, test.WFN)
-			assert.Equal(t, String(test.WFN), test.CPEString)
+			assert.Equal(t, test.WFN.String(), test.CPEString)
 		})
 	}
 }
@@ -164,12 +165,12 @@ func Test_InvalidCPE(t *testing.T) {
 			if test.expectedErr {
 				assert.Error(t, err)
 				if t.Failed() {
-					t.Logf("got CPE: %q details: %+v", String(c), c)
+					t.Logf("got CPE: %q details: %+v", c, c)
 				}
 				return
 			}
 			require.NoError(t, err)
-			assert.Equal(t, test.expected, String(c))
+			assert.Equal(t, test.expected, c.String())
 		})
 	}
 }
@@ -215,13 +216,13 @@ func Test_RoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, test := range tests {
 		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			// CPE string must be preserved through a round trip
-			assert.Equal(t, test.cpe, String(Must(test.cpe)))
+			assert.Equal(t, test.cpe, Must(test.cpe).String())
 			// The parsed CPE must be the same after a round trip
-			assert.Equal(t, Must(test.cpe), Must(String(Must(test.cpe))))
+			assert.Equal(t, Must(test.cpe), Must(Must(test.cpe).String()))
 			// The test case parsed CPE must be the same after parsing the input string
 			assert.Equal(t, test.parsedCPE, Must(test.cpe))
 			// The test case parsed CPE must produce the same string as the input cpe
-			assert.Equal(t, String(test.parsedCPE), test.cpe)
+			assert.Equal(t, test.parsedCPE.String(), test.cpe)
 		})
 	}
 }
diff --git a/syft/format/common/cyclonedxhelpers/cpe.go b/syft/format/common/cyclonedxhelpers/cpe.go
index 89813e8aa..cbe19f6b6 100644
--- a/syft/format/common/cyclonedxhelpers/cpe.go
+++ b/syft/format/common/cyclonedxhelpers/cpe.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ func encodeSingleCPE(p pkg.Package) string {
 	// Since the CPEs in a package are sorted by specificity
 	// we can extract the first CPE as the one to output in cyclonedx
 	if len(p.CPEs) > 0 {
-		return cpe.String(p.CPEs[0])
+		return p.CPEs[0].String()
 	}
 	return ""
 }
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ func encodeCPEs(p pkg.Package) (out []cyclonedx.Property) {
 		}
 		out = append(out, cyclonedx.Property{
 			Name:  "syft:cpe23",
-			Value: cpe.String(c),
+			Value: c.String(),
 		})
 	}
 	return
diff --git a/syft/format/common/cyclonedxhelpers/format.go b/syft/format/common/cyclonedxhelpers/format.go
index 548a65c24..ab942e571 100644
--- a/syft/format/common/cyclonedxhelpers/format.go
+++ b/syft/format/common/cyclonedxhelpers/format.go
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ func formatCPE(cpeString string) string {
 		log.Debugf("skipping invalid CPE: %s", cpeString)
 		return ""
 	}
-	return cpe.String(c)
+	return c.String()
 }
 
 // NewBomDescriptor returns a new BomDescriptor tailored for the current time and "syft" tool details.
diff --git a/syft/format/common/spdxhelpers/external_refs.go b/syft/format/common/spdxhelpers/external_refs.go
index 031726210..fa3fbc7b5 100644
--- a/syft/format/common/spdxhelpers/external_refs.go
+++ b/syft/format/common/spdxhelpers/external_refs.go
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 package spdxhelpers
 
 import (
-	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/cpe"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/pkg"
 )
 
@@ -11,7 +10,7 @@ func ExternalRefs(p pkg.Package) (externalRefs []ExternalRef) {
 	for _, c := range p.CPEs {
 		externalRefs = append(externalRefs, ExternalRef{
 			ReferenceCategory: SecurityReferenceCategory,
-			ReferenceLocator:  cpe.String(c),
+			ReferenceLocator:  c.String(),
 			ReferenceType:     Cpe23ExternalRefType,
 		})
 	}
diff --git a/syft/format/common/spdxhelpers/external_refs_test.go b/syft/format/common/spdxhelpers/external_refs_test.go
index 08c4ab5c4..68a950e84 100644
--- a/syft/format/common/spdxhelpers/external_refs_test.go
+++ b/syft/format/common/spdxhelpers/external_refs_test.go
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ func Test_ExternalRefs(t *testing.T) {
 			expected: []ExternalRef{
 				{
 					ReferenceCategory: SecurityReferenceCategory,
-					ReferenceLocator:  cpe.String(testCPE),
+					ReferenceLocator:  testCPE.String(),
 					ReferenceType:     Cpe23ExternalRefType,
 				},
 				{
diff --git a/syft/format/syftjson/to_format_model.go b/syft/format/syftjson/to_format_model.go
index a05b17bfa..017d997bd 100644
--- a/syft/format/syftjson/to_format_model.go
+++ b/syft/format/syftjson/to_format_model.go
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/internal"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/internal/log"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/artifact"
-	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/cpe"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/file"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/format/syftjson/model"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/internal/packagemetadata"
@@ -232,7 +231,7 @@ func toLicenseModel(pkgLicenses []pkg.License) (modelLicenses []model.License) {
 func toPackageModel(p pkg.Package, cfg EncoderConfig) model.Package {
 	var cpes = make([]string, len(p.CPEs))
 	for i, c := range p.CPEs {
-		cpes[i] = cpe.String(c)
+		cpes[i] = c.String()
 	}
 
 	// we want to make sure all catalogers are
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/binary/classifier_test.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/binary/classifier_test.go
index 43397189d..eb37dd2c8 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/binary/classifier_test.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/binary/classifier_test.go
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ func Test_ClassifierCPEs(t *testing.T) {
 
 			var cpes []string
 			for _, c := range p.CPEs {
-				cpes = append(cpes, cpe.String(c))
+				cpes = append(cpes, c.String())
 			}
 			require.Equal(t, test.cpes, cpes)
 		})
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/filter.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/filter.go
index 5f252a7d4..cedf3e2dd 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/filter.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/filter.go
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ cpeLoop:
 }
 
 func disallowNonParseableCPEs(c cpe.CPE, _ pkg.Package) bool {
-	v := cpe.String(c)
+	v := c.String()
 	_, err := cpe.New(v)
 
 	cannotParse := err != nil
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate.go
index 2077d7e3b..1ff7c0d94 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate.go
@@ -23,14 +23,14 @@ import (
 // the CPE database, so they will be preferred over other candidates:
 var knownVendors = strset.New("apache")
 
-func newCPE(product, vendor, version, targetSW string) *wfn.Attributes {
-	c := *(wfn.NewAttributesWithAny())
+func newCPE(product, vendor, version, targetSW string) *cpe.CPE {
+	c := cpe.NewWithAny()
 	c.Part = "a"
 	c.Product = product
 	c.Vendor = vendor
 	c.Version = version
 	c.TargetSW = targetSW
-	if cpe.ValidateString(cpe.String(c)) != nil {
+	if cpe.ValidateString(c.String()) != nil {
 		return nil
 	}
 	return &c
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate_test.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate_test.go
index ed082257b..d039f633e 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate_test.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate_test.go
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/scylladb/go-set/strset"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 
-	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/cpe"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/pkg"
 )
 
@@ -717,7 +716,7 @@ func TestGeneratePackageCPEs(t *testing.T) {
 			expectedCpeSet := set.NewStringSet(test.expected...)
 			actualCpeSet := set.NewStringSet()
 			for _, a := range actual {
-				actualCpeSet.Add(cpe.String(a))
+				actualCpeSet.Add(a.String())
 			}
 
 			extra := strset.Difference(actualCpeSet, expectedCpeSet).List()
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/golang/cataloger_test.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/golang/cataloger_test.go
index 2ba71854b..067efd11d 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/golang/cataloger_test.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/golang/cataloger_test.go
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 
-	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/cpe"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/pkg/cataloger/internal/pkgtest"
 )
 
@@ -82,7 +81,7 @@ func Test_Binary_Cataloger_Stdlib_Cpe(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			got, err := generateStdlibCpe(tc.candidate)
 			assert.NoError(t, err, "expected no err; got %v", err)
-			assert.Equal(t, cpe.String(got), tc.want)
+			assert.Equal(t, got.String(), tc.want)
 		})
 	}
 }