diff --git a/dependency-check-core/src/main/java/org/owasp/dependencycheck/data/update/cpe/CPEHandler.java b/dependency-check-core/src/main/java/org/owasp/dependencycheck/data/update/cpe/CPEHandler.java
index 6a155c6ca..2e46a4678 100644
--- a/dependency-check-core/src/main/java/org/owasp/dependencycheck/data/update/cpe/CPEHandler.java
+++ b/dependency-check-core/src/main/java/org/owasp/dependencycheck/data/update/cpe/CPEHandler.java
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ public class CPEHandler extends DefaultHandler {
     /**
      * A simple class to maintain information about the current element while parsing the CPE XML.
      */
-    protected class Element {
+    protected static final class Element {
 
         /**
          * A node type in the CPE Schema 2.2