diff --git a/Classes/Definition/ElementDefinition.php b/Classes/Definition/ElementDefinition.php
index f90bb3fd..e28e73b3 100644
--- a/Classes/Definition/ElementDefinition.php
+++ b/Classes/Definition/ElementDefinition.php
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ public static function createFromArray(array $elementArray, string $table): Elem
         $elementDefinition->descriptions = $elementArray['descriptions'] ?? [];
         $elementDefinition->options = $elementArray['options'] ?? [];
         $elementDefinition->hidden = !empty($elementArray['hidden']);
-        $elementDefinition->sorting = $elementArray['sorting'] ?? 0;
+        $elementDefinition->sorting = (int)($elementArray['sorting'] ?? 0);
 
         return $elementDefinition;
     }
diff --git a/Classes/Definition/ElementDefinitionCollection.php b/Classes/Definition/ElementDefinitionCollection.php
index 312b8eb5..f0b91d62 100644
--- a/Classes/Definition/ElementDefinitionCollection.php
+++ b/Classes/Definition/ElementDefinitionCollection.php
@@ -85,12 +85,37 @@ public function count(): int
         return count($this->definitions);
     }
 
-    protected function sort($definitions): array
+    private function sort($definitions): array
     {
-        usort($definitions, static function ($a, $b) {
-            return $a->sorting <=> $b->sorting;
-        });
+        if (PHP_VERSION_ID < 80000) {
+            $this->stable_usort($definitions, static function ($a, $b) {
+                return $a->sorting <=> $b->sorting;
+            });
+        } else {
+            usort($definitions, static function ($a, $b) {
+                return $a->sorting <=> $b->sorting;
+            });
+        }
 
         return $definitions;
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Taken from https://wiki.php.net/rfc/stable_sorting
+     */
+    private function stable_usort(array &$array, callable $compare): void
+    {
+        $arrayAndPos = [];
+        $pos = 0;
+        foreach ($array as $value) {
+            $arrayAndPos[] = [$value, $pos++];
+        }
+        usort($arrayAndPos, static function($a, $b) use($compare) {
+            return $compare($a[0], $b[0]) ?: $a[1] <=> $b[1];
+        });
+        $array = [];
+        foreach ($arrayAndPos as $elem) {
+            $array[] = $elem[0];
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/Tests/Unit/Definition/ElementDefinitionCollectionTest.php b/Tests/Unit/Definition/ElementDefinitionCollectionTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..884d9bdb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Tests/Unit/Definition/ElementDefinitionCollectionTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,211 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+/*
+ * This file is part of the TYPO3 CMS project.
+ *
+ * It is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
+ * the terms of the GNU General Public License, either version 2
+ * of the License, or any later version.
+ *
+ * For the full copyright and license information, please read the
+ * LICENSE.txt file that was distributed with this source code.
+ *
+ * The TYPO3 project - inspiring people to share!
+ */
+
+namespace MASK\Mask\Tests\Unit\Definition;
+
+use MASK\Mask\Definition\ElementDefinitionCollection;
+use TYPO3\TestingFramework\Core\Unit\UnitTestCase;
+
+class ElementDefinitionCollectionTest extends UnitTestCase
+{
+    public function elementsAreSortedBySortingDataProvider(): iterable
+    {
+        yield 'Sorting of elements is preserved without sorting set' => [
+            'json' => [
+                'element1' => [
+                    'key' => 'element1',
+                    'label' => 'Element1'
+                ],
+                'element2' => [
+                    'key' => 'element2',
+                    'label' => 'Element2'
+                ],
+                'element3' => [
+                    'key' => 'element3',
+                    'label' => 'Element3'
+                ],
+            ],
+            'expected' => [
+                [
+                    'key' => 'element1',
+                    'label' => 'Element1',
+                    'description' => '',
+                    'shortLabel' => '',
+                    'color' => '',
+                    'icon' => '',
+                    'columns' => [],
+                    'labels' => [],
+                    'descriptions' => [],
+                    'sorting' => 0,
+                ],
+                [
+                    'key' => 'element2',
+                    'label' => 'Element2',
+                    'description' => '',
+                    'shortLabel' => '',
+                    'color' => '',
+                    'icon' => '',
+                    'columns' => [],
+                    'labels' => [],
+                    'descriptions' => [],
+                    'sorting' => 0,
+                ],
+                [
+                    'key' => 'element3',
+                    'label' => 'Element3',
+                    'description' => '',
+                    'shortLabel' => '',
+                    'color' => '',
+                    'icon' => '',
+                    'columns' => [],
+                    'labels' => [],
+                    'descriptions' => [],
+                    'sorting' => 0,
+                ],
+            ]
+        ];
+
+        yield 'Sorting of elements is preserved with sorting set' => [
+            'json' => [
+                'element1' => [
+                    'key' => 'element1',
+                    'label' => 'Element1',
+                    'sorting' => '0',
+                ],
+                'element2' => [
+                    'key' => 'element2',
+                    'label' => 'Element2',
+                    'sorting' => '0',
+                ],
+                'element3' => [
+                    'key' => 'element3',
+                    'label' => 'Element3',
+                    'sorting' => '0',
+                ],
+            ],
+            'expected' => [
+                [
+                    'key' => 'element1',
+                    'label' => 'Element1',
+                    'description' => '',
+                    'shortLabel' => '',
+                    'color' => '',
+                    'icon' => '',
+                    'columns' => [],
+                    'labels' => [],
+                    'descriptions' => [],
+                    'sorting' => 0,
+                ],
+                [
+                    'key' => 'element2',
+                    'label' => 'Element2',
+                    'description' => '',
+                    'shortLabel' => '',
+                    'color' => '',
+                    'icon' => '',
+                    'columns' => [],
+                    'labels' => [],
+                    'descriptions' => [],
+                    'sorting' => 0,
+                ],
+                [
+                    'key' => 'element3',
+                    'label' => 'Element3',
+                    'description' => '',
+                    'shortLabel' => '',
+                    'color' => '',
+                    'icon' => '',
+                    'columns' => [],
+                    'labels' => [],
+                    'descriptions' => [],
+                    'sorting' => 0,
+                ],
+            ]
+        ];
+
+        yield 'Sorting of elements is preserved with real sorting set' => [
+            'json' => [
+                'element1' => [
+                    'key' => 'element1',
+                    'label' => 'Element1',
+                    'sorting' => '2',
+                ],
+                'element2' => [
+                    'key' => 'element2',
+                    'label' => 'Element2',
+                    'sorting' => '1',
+                ],
+                'element3' => [
+                    'key' => 'element3',
+                    'label' => 'Element3',
+                    'sorting' => '0',
+                ],
+            ],
+            'expected' => [
+                [
+                    'key' => 'element3',
+                    'label' => 'Element3',
+                    'description' => '',
+                    'shortLabel' => '',
+                    'color' => '',
+                    'icon' => '',
+                    'columns' => [],
+                    'labels' => [],
+                    'descriptions' => [],
+                    'sorting' => 0,
+                ],
+                [
+                    'key' => 'element2',
+                    'label' => 'Element2',
+                    'description' => '',
+                    'shortLabel' => '',
+                    'color' => '',
+                    'icon' => '',
+                    'columns' => [],
+                    'labels' => [],
+                    'descriptions' => [],
+                    'sorting' => 1,
+                ],
+                [
+                    'key' => 'element1',
+                    'label' => 'Element1',
+                    'description' => '',
+                    'shortLabel' => '',
+                    'color' => '',
+                    'icon' => '',
+                    'columns' => [],
+                    'labels' => [],
+                    'descriptions' => [],
+                    'sorting' => 2,
+                ],
+            ]
+        ];
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @dataProvider elementsAreSortedBySortingDataProvider
+     * @test
+     */
+    public function elementsAreSortedBySorting(array $json, array $expected): void
+    {
+        $elements = [];
+        foreach (ElementDefinitionCollection::createFromArray($json, 'tt_content') as $element) {
+            $elements[] = $element->toArray();
+        }
+        self::assertEquals($expected, $elements);
+    }
+}