CPEs

This section provides orientation on managing CPE names, available through the Knowledge module.

The CPE (Common Platform Enumeration) is a scheme for structuring software, platforms, and IT system names. The CPE provides a standardized format for names, a language to describe complex platforms, a method for validating names based on a specific system, and a description format for associating texts and tests with a name.

A CPE name is represented by a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier). Each name consists of the prefix "cpe:", followed by seven different components. These components are used to help build consistent and unique names and are defined by: platform, manufacturer, product name, version, update level, edition, and language (see figure below).

 

 

A collection of CPE names is maintained by NIST (the National Institute of Standards and Technology) and is known as the CPE Dictionary. This dictionary receives contributions given by the community and is constantly updated so that the new CPE names suggested are included and made available.

In the system, the technology knowledge bases created by Modulo are associated with CPE names, and an administrative interface is provided in the Knowledge module so that you can register, edit, and delete CPE names in your database and later associate them with custom knowledge bases.