diff --git a/proto/config/devcommon.proto b/proto/config/devcommon.proto
index cd19ec0..74272e8 100644
--- a/proto/config/devcommon.proto
+++ b/proto/config/devcommon.proto
@@ -50,6 +50,26 @@ message Adapter {
   org.lfedge.eve.common.PhyIoType type = 1;
   string name = 2;  // Short hand name such as "com" from bundle
   EthVF eth_vf = 3; // Only relevant for PHY_IO_TYPE_PHY_IO_NET_ETH_VF
+
+  // Define the network interface order relative to other directly assigned
+  // network devices and virtual network adapters.
+  // Only applies to (assignable) network adapters, i.e. types: "PhyIoNetEth", "PhyIoNetWLAN",
+  // "PhyIoNetWWAN" and "PhyIoNetEthVF".
+  // The numbering is across both the "Adapter" (direct assignments) and the "NetworkAdapter"
+  // (virtual interfaces) lists for a given "AppInstanceConfig", thus every entry in these
+  // lists, excluding non-networking adapters, must have a unique order number
+  // (when the "enforce_network_interface_order" is enabled, see "VmConfig").
+  // Interface with a lower order value should appear inside the application before
+  // interface with a higher order value.
+  // The implementation of this ordering may depend on the hypervisor. For example,
+  // the hypervisor might virtualize the PCI bus and assign lower PCI addresses to
+  // interfaces with lower order values. But the actual outcome of interface ordering
+  // depends on the application and EVE therefore cannot guarantee desired order.
+  // Since this field was introduced in later versions, older EVE versions do not support
+  // user-defined interface ordering. For backward compatibility, the user-defined
+  // order is applied only if "enforce_network_interface_order" is enabled for the given
+  // application (see "VmConfig", file "vm.proto").
+  uint32 interface_order = 4;
 }
 
 // Information regarding Virtual Function (VF) customisation
diff --git a/proto/config/netconfig.proto b/proto/config/netconfig.proto
index dab1e19..c542ac9 100644
--- a/proto/config/netconfig.proto
+++ b/proto/config/netconfig.proto
@@ -70,6 +70,24 @@ message NetworkAdapter {
   // allow AppInstance to discover other AppInstances
   // attached to this network instance. Default is false
   bool allow_to_discover = 42;
+
+  // Define the network interface order relative to other virtual network adapters
+  // and directly assigned network devices.
+  // The numbering is across both the "Adapter" (direct assignments) and the "NetworkAdapter"
+  // (virtual interfaces) lists for a given "AppInstanceConfig", thus every entry in these
+  // lists, excluding non-networking adapters, must have a unique order number
+  // (when the "enforce_network_interface_order" is enabled, see "VmConfig").
+  // Interface with a lower order value should appear inside the application before
+  // interface with a higher order value.
+  // The implementation of this ordering may depend on the hypervisor. For example,
+  // the hypervisor might virtualize the PCI bus and assign lower PCI addresses to
+  // interfaces with lower order values. But the actual outcome of interface ordering
+  // depends on the application and EVE therefore cannot guarantee desired order.
+  // Since this field was introduced in later versions, older EVE versions do not support
+  // user-defined interface ordering. For backward compatibility, the user-defined
+  // order is applied only if "enforce_network_interface_order" is enabled for the given
+  // application (see "VmConfig", file "vm.proto").
+  uint32 interface_order = 50;
 }
 
 message WirelessConfig {
diff --git a/proto/config/vm.proto b/proto/config/vm.proto
index 7fa0302..5f37bd7 100644
--- a/proto/config/vm.proto
+++ b/proto/config/vm.proto
@@ -80,4 +80,16 @@ message VmConfig {
   bool enable_vnc_shim_vm = 22;
   // Boot mode: Legacy or UEFI
   VmBootMode boot_mode = 23;
+  // Enables enforcement of user-defined ordering for network interfaces.
+  // This applies to both virtual interfaces (specified in the "AppInstanceConfig.interfaces" list)
+  // and directly assigned network adapters (specified in the "AppInstanceConfig.adapters" list
+  // as items of type "PhyIoNetEth", "PhyIoNetWLAN", "PhyIoNetWWAN", and "PhyIoNetEthVF").
+  // Note: Older versions of EVE may not support enforcing the user-defined order
+  // of application network interfaces. The controller can check
+  // "ZInfoDevice.api_capability" to verify if the configured device supports the
+  // API capability "API_CAPABILITY_ENFORCED_NET_INTERFACE_ORDER".
+  // Please beware that EVE's ability to influence the order of VM application interfaces
+  // is limited. Depending on the application's operating system, achieving the desired network
+  // interface order might not be possible.
+  bool enforce_network_interface_order = 24;
 }
diff --git a/proto/info/info.proto b/proto/info/info.proto
index 9717291..90ea345 100644
--- a/proto/info/info.proto
+++ b/proto/info/info.proto
@@ -677,6 +677,7 @@ enum APICapability {
   API_CAPABILITY_BOOT_MODE = 7; // Support different boot modes for Edge Applications (VMs)
   API_CAPABILITY_MTU = 8; // Allows to set MTU for network adapters and network instances
   API_CAPABILITY_ADAPTER_USER_LABELS = 9; // Supports user-defined shared network adapter labels
+  API_CAPABILITY_ENFORCED_NET_INTERFACE_ORDER = 10; // EVE is able to enforce the user-defined order of application network interfaces
   // Add new values as new EdgeDevConfig API features are implemented
 }