diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/field_candidate.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/field_candidate.go
index 5c4f64a97..db3efb93f 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/field_candidate.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/field_candidate.go
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ type fieldCandidate struct {
 
 type fieldCandidateSet map[fieldCandidate]struct{}
 
-func newFieldCandidateFromSets(sets ...fieldCandidateSet) fieldCandidateSet {
+func newFieldCandidateSetFromSets(sets ...fieldCandidateSet) fieldCandidateSet {
 	s := newFieldCandidateSet()
 	for _, set := range sets {
 		s.add(set.list()...)
@@ -48,10 +48,15 @@ func (s fieldCandidateSet) add(candidates ...fieldCandidate) {
 
 func (s fieldCandidateSet) removeByValue(values ...string) {
 	for _, value := range values {
-		for candidate := range s {
-			if candidate.value == value {
-				delete(s, candidate)
-			}
+		s.removeWhere(valueEquals(value))
+	}
+}
+
+// removeWhere removes all entries from the fieldCandidateSet for which the condition function returns true.
+func (s fieldCandidateSet) removeWhere(condition fieldCandidateCondition) {
+	for candidate := range s {
+		if condition(candidate) {
+			delete(s, candidate)
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -68,26 +73,29 @@ func (s fieldCandidateSet) union(others ...fieldCandidateSet) {
 	}
 }
 
-func (s fieldCandidateSet) list(filters ...filterFieldCandidateFn) (results []fieldCandidate) {
-candidateLoop:
+func (s fieldCandidateSet) list() (results []fieldCandidate) {
 	for c := range s {
-		for _, fn := range filters {
-			if fn(c) {
-				continue candidateLoop
-			}
-		}
 		results = append(results, c)
 	}
+
 	return results
 }
 
-func (s fieldCandidateSet) values(filters ...filterFieldCandidateFn) (results []string) {
-	for _, c := range s.list(filters...) {
+func (s fieldCandidateSet) values() (results []string) {
+	for _, c := range s.list() {
 		results = append(results, c.value)
 	}
+
 	return results
 }
 
-func (s fieldCandidateSet) uniqueValues(filters ...filterFieldCandidateFn) []string {
-	return strset.New(s.values(filters...)...).List()
+func (s fieldCandidateSet) uniqueValues() []string {
+	return strset.New(s.values()...).List()
+}
+
+func (s fieldCandidateSet) copy() fieldCandidateSet {
+	newSet := newFieldCandidateSet()
+	newSet.add(s.list()...)
+
+	return newSet
 }
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/field_candidate_filter.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/field_candidate_filter.go
index 58633d483..203d0e7fc 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/field_candidate_filter.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/field_candidate_filter.go
@@ -1,12 +1,18 @@
 package cpe
 
-// filterFieldCandidateFn instances should return true if the given fieldCandidate should be removed from a collection
-type filterFieldCandidateFn func(fieldCandidate) bool
+// A fieldCandidateCondition returns true if the condition is true for a given fieldCandidate.
+type fieldCandidateCondition func(fieldCandidate) bool
 
-func filterOutBySubselection(c fieldCandidate) bool {
+func subSelectionsDisallowed(c fieldCandidate) bool {
 	return c.disallowSubSelections
 }
 
-func filterOutByDelimiterVariations(c fieldCandidate) bool {
+func delimiterVariationsDisallowed(c fieldCandidate) bool {
 	return c.disallowDelimiterVariations
 }
+
+func valueEquals(v string) fieldCandidateCondition {
+	return func(candidate fieldCandidate) bool {
+		return candidate.value == v
+	}
+}
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/field_candidate_test.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/field_candidate_test.go
index 3ad001a49..b091cfa87 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/field_candidate_test.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/field_candidate_test.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package cpe
 
 import (
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
@@ -8,10 +9,10 @@ import (
 
 func Test_cpeCandidateValues_filter(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
-		name    string
-		input   []fieldCandidate
-		filters []filterFieldCandidateFn
-		expect  []string
+		name                string
+		input               []fieldCandidate
+		exclusionConditions []fieldCandidateCondition
+		expect              []string
 	}{
 		{
 			name: "gocase",
@@ -60,8 +61,8 @@ func Test_cpeCandidateValues_filter(t *testing.T) {
 					disallowDelimiterVariations: true,
 				},
 			},
-			filters: []filterFieldCandidateFn{
-				filterOutBySubselection,
+			exclusionConditions: []fieldCandidateCondition{
+				subSelectionsDisallowed,
 			},
 			expect: []string{
 				"allow anything",
@@ -88,8 +89,8 @@ func Test_cpeCandidateValues_filter(t *testing.T) {
 					disallowDelimiterVariations: true,
 				},
 			},
-			filters: []filterFieldCandidateFn{
-				filterOutByDelimiterVariations,
+			exclusionConditions: []fieldCandidateCondition{
+				delimiterVariationsDisallowed,
 			},
 			expect: []string{
 				"allow anything",
@@ -97,7 +98,7 @@ func Test_cpeCandidateValues_filter(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 		},
 		{
-			name: "all filters",
+			name: "all exclusionConditions",
 			input: []fieldCandidate{
 				{
 					value: "allow anything",
@@ -116,9 +117,9 @@ func Test_cpeCandidateValues_filter(t *testing.T) {
 					disallowDelimiterVariations: true,
 				},
 			},
-			filters: []filterFieldCandidateFn{
-				filterOutByDelimiterVariations,
-				filterOutBySubselection,
+			exclusionConditions: []fieldCandidateCondition{
+				delimiterVariationsDisallowed,
+				subSelectionsDisallowed,
 			},
 			expect: []string{
 				"allow anything",
@@ -130,7 +131,12 @@ func Test_cpeCandidateValues_filter(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			set := newFieldCandidateSet()
 			set.add(test.input...)
-			assert.ElementsMatch(t, test.expect, set.values(test.filters...))
+
+			for _, condition := range test.exclusionConditions {
+				set.removeWhere(condition)
+			}
+
+			assert.ElementsMatch(t, test.expect, set.values())
 		})
 	}
 }
@@ -264,6 +270,7 @@ func Test_cpeFieldCandidateSet_uniqueValues(t *testing.T) {
 
 func Test_cpeFieldCandidateSet_removeByValue(t *testing.T) {
 	s := newFieldCandidateSet()
+
 	// should be removed
 	s.add(fieldCandidate{
 		value:                       "1",
@@ -281,13 +288,47 @@ func Test_cpeFieldCandidateSet_removeByValue(t *testing.T) {
 	s.add(fieldCandidate{
 		value: "1",
 	})
+
 	// should not be removed
 	s.add(fieldCandidate{
 		value: "2",
 	})
+
 	assert.Len(t, s.values(), 5)
 
 	s.removeByValue("1")
 
 	assert.Len(t, s.values(), 1)
 }
+
+func Test_cpeFieldCandidateSet_removeByCondition(t *testing.T) {
+	s := newFieldCandidateSet()
+
+	// should be removed
+	s.add(fieldCandidate{
+		value:                 "1",
+		disallowSubSelections: true,
+	})
+	s.add(fieldCandidate{
+		value: "hello-world",
+	})
+
+	// should not be removed
+	s.add(fieldCandidate{
+		value: "2",
+	})
+
+	assert.Len(t, s.values(), 3)
+
+	s.removeWhere(func(candidate fieldCandidate) bool {
+		return candidate.disallowSubSelections == true
+	})
+
+	assert.Len(t, s.values(), 2)
+
+	s.removeWhere(func(candidate fieldCandidate) bool {
+		return strings.Contains(candidate.value, "-")
+	})
+
+	assert.Len(t, s.values(), 1)
+}
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/filter.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/filter.go
index 14972a23d..cd08fa74b 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/filter.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/filter.go
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ var cpeFilters = []filterFn{
 	disallowJiraClientServerMismatch,
 	disallowJenkinsServerCPEForPluginPackage,
 	disallowJenkinsCPEsNotAssociatedWithJenkins,
+	disallowNonParseableCPEs,
 }
 
 func filter(cpes []pkg.CPE, p pkg.Package, filters ...filterFn) (result []pkg.CPE) {
@@ -32,6 +33,15 @@ cpeLoop:
 	return result
 }
 
+func disallowNonParseableCPEs(cpe pkg.CPE, _ pkg.Package) bool {
+	v := cpe.BindToFmtString()
+	_, err := pkg.NewCPE(v)
+
+	cannotParse := err != nil
+
+	return cannotParse
+}
+
 // jenkins plugins should not match against jenkins
 func disallowJenkinsServerCPEForPluginPackage(cpe pkg.CPE, p pkg.Package) bool {
 	if p.Type == pkg.JenkinsPluginPkg && cpe.Product == jenkinsName {
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate.go
index 7b82fd519..4f66e1588 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate.go
@@ -162,9 +162,12 @@ func candidateProducts(p pkg.Package) []string {
 	return append(productCandidatesByPkgType.getCandidates(p.Type, p.Name), products.uniqueValues()...)
 }
 
-func addAllSubSelections(set fieldCandidateSet) {
-	for _, candidate := range set.values(filterOutBySubselection) {
-		set.addValue(generateSubSelections(candidate)...)
+func addAllSubSelections(fields fieldCandidateSet) {
+	candidatesForVariations := fields.copy()
+	candidatesForVariations.removeWhere(subSelectionsDisallowed)
+
+	for _, candidate := range candidatesForVariations.values() {
+		fields.addValue(generateSubSelections(candidate)...)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -226,7 +229,10 @@ func scanByHyphenOrUnderscore(data []byte, atEOF bool) (advance int, token []byt
 }
 
 func addDelimiterVariations(fields fieldCandidateSet) {
-	for _, candidate := range fields.list(filterOutByDelimiterVariations) {
+	candidatesForVariations := fields.copy()
+	candidatesForVariations.removeWhere(delimiterVariationsDisallowed)
+
+	for _, candidate := range candidatesForVariations.list() {
 		field := candidate.value
 		hasHyphen := strings.Contains(field, "-")
 		hasUnderscore := strings.Contains(field, "_")
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate_test.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate_test.go
index f357e3e99..450e1b133 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate_test.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/generate_test.go
@@ -179,6 +179,43 @@ func TestGeneratePackageCPEs(t *testing.T) {
 				"cpe:2.3:a:sonatype:nexus:3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
 			},
 		},
+		{
+			name: "java with URL in metadata", // regression: https://github.com/anchore/grype/issues/417
+			p: pkg.Package{
+				Name:         "wstx-asl",
+				Version:      "3.2.7",
+				Type:         pkg.JavaPkg,
+				MetadataType: pkg.JavaMetadataType,
+				Metadata: pkg.JavaMetadata{
+					Manifest: &pkg.JavaManifest{
+						Main: map[string]string{
+							"Ant-Version":            "Apache Ant 1.6.5",
+							"Built-By":               "tatu",
+							"Created-By":             "1.4.2_03-b02 (Sun Microsystems Inc.)",
+							"Implementation-Title":   "WoodSToX XML-processor",
+							"Implementation-Vendor":  "woodstox.codehaus.org",
+							"Implementation-Version": "3.2.7",
+							"Manifest-Version":       "1.0",
+							"Specification-Title":    "StAX 1.0 API",
+							"Specification-Vendor":   "http://jcp.org/en/jsr/detail?id=173",
+							"Specification-Version":  "1.0",
+						},
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			expected: []string{
+				"cpe:2.3:a:woodstox_codehaus_org:wstx-asl:3.2.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
+				"cpe:2.3:a:woodstox_codehaus_org:wstx_asl:3.2.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
+				"cpe:2.3:a:woodstox-codehaus-org:wstx_asl:3.2.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
+				"cpe:2.3:a:woodstox-codehaus-org:wstx-asl:3.2.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
+				"cpe:2.3:a:wstx_asl:wstx-asl:3.2.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
+				"cpe:2.3:a:wstx-asl:wstx-asl:3.2.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
+				"cpe:2.3:a:wstx-asl:wstx_asl:3.2.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
+				"cpe:2.3:a:wstx_asl:wstx_asl:3.2.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
+				"cpe:2.3:a:wstx:wstx_asl:3.2.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
+				"cpe:2.3:a:wstx:wstx-asl:3.2.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
+			},
+		},
 		{
 			name: "jenkins package identified via pkg type",
 			p: pkg.Package{
@@ -488,7 +525,7 @@ func TestGeneratePackageCPEs(t *testing.T) {
 				actualCpeSet.Add(a.BindToFmtString())
 			}
 
-			extra := strset.Difference(expectedCpeSet, actualCpeSet).List()
+			extra := strset.Difference(actualCpeSet, expectedCpeSet).List()
 			sort.Strings(extra)
 			if len(extra) > 0 {
 				t.Errorf("found extra CPEs:")
@@ -497,7 +534,7 @@ func TestGeneratePackageCPEs(t *testing.T) {
 				fmt.Printf("   %q,\n", d)
 			}
 
-			missing := strset.Difference(actualCpeSet, expectedCpeSet).List()
+			missing := strset.Difference(expectedCpeSet, actualCpeSet).List()
 			sort.Strings(missing)
 			if len(missing) > 0 {
 				t.Errorf("missing CPEs:")
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/java.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/java.go
index 67740b92a..0c061d7cd 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/java.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/common/cpe/java.go
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ func candidateProductsForJava(p pkg.Package) []string {
 func candidateVendorsForJava(p pkg.Package) fieldCandidateSet {
 	gidVendors := vendorsFromGroupIDs(groupIDsFromJavaPackage(p))
 	nameVendors := vendorsFromJavaManifestNames(p)
-	return newFieldCandidateFromSets(gidVendors, nameVendors)
+	return newFieldCandidateSetFromSets(gidVendors, nameVendors)
 }
 
 func vendorsFromJavaManifestNames(p pkg.Package) fieldCandidateSet {