diff --git a/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/builder/PomConstructionTest.java b/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/builder/PomConstructionTest.java
index 7342fa20f2..35b8f7e9c3 100644
--- a/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/builder/PomConstructionTest.java
+++ b/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/builder/PomConstructionTest.java
@@ -470,6 +470,28 @@ public class PomConstructionTest
     }
     //*/
 
+    public void testOrderOfPluginConfigurationElementsWithoutPluginManagement()
+        throws Exception
+    {
+        PomTestWrapper pom = buildPom( "plugin-config-order/wo-plugin-mngt" );
+        assertEquals( "one", pom.getValue( "build/plugins[1]/configuration/stringParams/stringParam[1]" ) );
+        assertEquals( "two", pom.getValue( "build/plugins[1]/configuration/stringParams/stringParam[2]" ) );
+        assertEquals( "three", pom.getValue( "build/plugins[1]/configuration/stringParams/stringParam[3]" ) );
+        assertEquals( "four", pom.getValue( "build/plugins[1]/configuration/stringParams/stringParam[4]" ) );
+    }
+
+    /* FIXME: cf. MNG-3827
+    public void testOrderOfPluginConfigurationElementsWithPluginManagement()
+        throws Exception
+    {
+        PomTestWrapper pom = buildPom( "plugin-config-order/w-plugin-mngt" );
+        assertEquals( "one", pom.getValue( "build/plugins[1]/configuration/stringParams/stringParam[1]" ) );
+        assertEquals( "two", pom.getValue( "build/plugins[1]/configuration/stringParams/stringParam[2]" ) );
+        assertEquals( "three", pom.getValue( "build/plugins[1]/configuration/stringParams/stringParam[3]" ) );
+        assertEquals( "four", pom.getValue( "build/plugins[1]/configuration/stringParams/stringParam[4]" ) );
+    }
+    //*/
+
     private PomArtifactResolver artifactResolver( String basedir )
     {
         return new FileBasedPomArtifactResolver( new File( BASE_POM_DIR, basedir ) );
diff --git a/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/harness/PomTestWrapper.java b/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/harness/PomTestWrapper.java
index bc090aba57..2074d3f908 100644
--- a/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/harness/PomTestWrapper.java
+++ b/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/harness/PomTestWrapper.java
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.apache.commons.jxpath.JXPathContext;
+import org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.JXPathContextReferenceImpl;
 import org.apache.maven.model.Model;
 import org.apache.maven.project.builder.PomClassicDomainModel;
 import org.apache.maven.shared.model.ModelProperty;
@@ -40,6 +41,11 @@ public class PomTestWrapper
 
     private JXPathContext context;
 
+    static
+    {
+        JXPathContextReferenceImpl.addNodePointerFactory( new Xpp3DomPointerFactory() );
+    }
+
     public PomTestWrapper( PomClassicDomainModel domainModel )
         throws IOException
     {
diff --git a/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/harness/Xpp3DomNodeIterator.java b/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/harness/Xpp3DomNodeIterator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f3d57786b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/harness/Xpp3DomNodeIterator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,161 @@
+package org.apache.maven.project.harness;
+
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *  http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.Compiler;
+import org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.compiler.NodeNameTest;
+import org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.compiler.NodeTest;
+import org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.compiler.NodeTypeTest;
+import org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.model.NodeIterator;
+import org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.model.NodePointer;
+import org.codehaus.plexus.util.StringUtils;
+import org.codehaus.plexus.util.xml.Xpp3Dom;
+
+/**
+ * A node iterator for JXPath to support <code>Xpp3Dom</code>.
+ * 
+ * @author Benjamin Bentmann
+ * @version $Id$
+ */
+class Xpp3DomNodeIterator
+    implements NodeIterator
+{
+
+    private NodePointer parent;
+
+    private NodeTest test;
+
+    private Xpp3Dom node;
+
+    private Xpp3Dom[] children;
+
+    private List<Xpp3Dom> filteredChildren = new ArrayList<Xpp3Dom>();
+
+    private int filteredIndex;
+
+    private Xpp3Dom child;
+
+    private int position;
+
+    public Xpp3DomNodeIterator( NodePointer parent, NodeTest test, boolean reverse, NodePointer startWith )
+    {
+        this.parent = parent;
+        this.node = (Xpp3Dom) parent.getNode();
+        this.children = this.node.getChildren();
+        if ( startWith != null )
+        {
+            for ( ; filteredIndex < children.length; filteredIndex++ )
+            {
+                if ( startWith.equals( children[filteredIndex] ) )
+                {
+                    filteredIndex++;
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        this.test = test;
+        if ( reverse )
+        {
+            throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
+        }
+    }
+
+    public NodePointer getNodePointer()
+    {
+        if ( position == 0 )
+        {
+            setPosition( 1 );
+        }
+        return ( child == null ) ? null : new Xpp3DomNodePointer( parent, child );
+    }
+
+    public int getPosition()
+    {
+        return position;
+    }
+
+    public boolean setPosition( int position )
+    {
+        this.position = position;
+        filterChildren( position );
+        child = ( position > 0 && position <= filteredChildren.size() ) ? filteredChildren.get( position - 1 ) : null;
+        return child != null;
+    }
+
+    private void filterChildren( int position )
+    {
+        for ( ; position > filteredChildren.size() && filteredIndex < children.length; filteredIndex++ )
+        {
+            Xpp3Dom child = children[filteredIndex];
+            if ( testNode( child ) )
+            {
+                filteredChildren.add( child );
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private boolean testNode( Xpp3Dom node )
+    {
+        if ( test == null )
+        {
+            return true;
+        }
+        if ( test instanceof NodeNameTest )
+        {
+            String nodeName = node.getName();
+            if ( StringUtils.isEmpty( nodeName ) )
+            {
+                return false;
+            }
+
+            NodeNameTest nodeNameTest = (NodeNameTest) test;
+            String namespaceURI = nodeNameTest.getNamespaceURI();
+            boolean wildcard = nodeNameTest.isWildcard();
+            String testName = nodeNameTest.getNodeName().getName();
+            String testPrefix = nodeNameTest.getNodeName().getPrefix();
+            if ( wildcard && testPrefix == null )
+            {
+                return true;
+            }
+            if ( wildcard || testName.equals( nodeName ) )
+            {
+                return StringUtils.isEmpty( namespaceURI ) || StringUtils.isEmpty( testPrefix );
+            }
+            return false;
+        }
+        if ( test instanceof NodeTypeTest )
+        {
+            switch ( ( (NodeTypeTest) test ).getNodeType() )
+            {
+                case Compiler.NODE_TYPE_NODE:
+                    return true;
+                case Compiler.NODE_TYPE_TEXT:
+                    return node.getValue() != null;
+                default:
+                    return false;
+            }
+        }
+        return false;
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/harness/Xpp3DomNodePointer.java b/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/harness/Xpp3DomNodePointer.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2d254d3ebf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/harness/Xpp3DomNodePointer.java
@@ -0,0 +1,149 @@
+package org.apache.maven.project.harness;
+
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *  http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.QName;
+import org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.compiler.NodeTest;
+import org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.model.NodeIterator;
+import org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.model.NodePointer;
+import org.codehaus.plexus.util.xml.Xpp3Dom;
+
+/**
+ * A node pointer for JXPath to support <code>Xpp3Dom</code>.
+ * 
+ * @author Benjamin Bentmann
+ * @version $Id$
+ */
+class Xpp3DomNodePointer
+    extends NodePointer
+{
+
+    private Xpp3Dom node;
+
+    public Xpp3DomNodePointer( Xpp3Dom node )
+    {
+        super( null );
+        this.node = node;
+    }
+
+    public Xpp3DomNodePointer( NodePointer parent, Xpp3Dom node )
+    {
+        super( parent );
+        this.node = node;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int compareChildNodePointers( NodePointer pointer1, NodePointer pointer2 )
+    {
+        Xpp3Dom node1 = (Xpp3Dom) pointer1.getBaseValue();
+        Xpp3Dom node2 = (Xpp3Dom) pointer2.getBaseValue();
+        if ( node1 == node2 )
+        {
+            return 0;
+        }
+        for ( int i = 0; i < node.getChildCount(); i++ )
+        {
+            Xpp3Dom child = node.getChild( i );
+            if ( child == node1 )
+            {
+                return -1;
+            }
+            if ( child == node2 )
+            {
+                return 1;
+            }
+        }
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Object getValue()
+    {
+        return getValue(node);
+    }
+
+    private static Object getValue( Xpp3Dom node )
+    {
+        if ( node.getValue() != null )
+        {
+            return node.getValue().trim();
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            List<Object> children = new ArrayList<Object>();
+            for ( int i = 0; i < node.getChildCount(); i++ )
+            {
+                children.add( getValue( node.getChild( i ) ) );
+            }
+            return children;
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Object getBaseValue()
+    {
+        return node;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Object getImmediateNode()
+    {
+        return node;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int getLength()
+    {
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public QName getName()
+    {
+        return new QName( null, node.getName() );
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean isCollection()
+    {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean isLeaf()
+    {
+        return node.getChildCount() <= 0;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void setValue( Object value )
+    {
+        throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public NodeIterator childIterator( NodeTest test, boolean reverse, NodePointer startWith )
+    {
+        return new Xpp3DomNodeIterator( this, test, reverse, startWith );
+    }
+}
diff --git a/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/harness/Xpp3DomPointerFactory.java b/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/harness/Xpp3DomPointerFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b58c22666c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/maven-project/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/harness/Xpp3DomPointerFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+package org.apache.maven.project.harness;
+
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *  http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+import java.util.Locale;
+
+import org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.QName;
+import org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.model.NodePointer;
+import org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.model.NodePointerFactory;
+import org.codehaus.plexus.util.xml.Xpp3Dom;
+
+/**
+ * A node pointer factory for JXPath to support <code>Xpp3Dom</code>.
+ * 
+ * @author Benjamin Bentmann
+ * @version $Id$
+ */
+class Xpp3DomPointerFactory
+    implements NodePointerFactory
+{
+
+    public int getOrder()
+    {
+        return 200;
+    }
+
+    public NodePointer createNodePointer( QName name, Object object, Locale locale )
+    {
+        if ( object instanceof Xpp3Dom )
+        {
+            return new Xpp3DomNodePointer( (Xpp3Dom) object );
+        }
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    public NodePointer createNodePointer( NodePointer parent, QName name, Object object )
+    {
+        if ( object instanceof Xpp3Dom )
+        {
+            return new Xpp3DomNodePointer( parent, (Xpp3Dom) object );
+        }
+        return null;
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/maven-project/src/test/resources-project-builder/plugin-config-order/w-plugin-mngt/pom.xml b/maven-project/src/test/resources-project-builder/plugin-config-order/w-plugin-mngt/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2b3fd71d03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/maven-project/src/test/resources-project-builder/plugin-config-order/w-plugin-mngt/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+
+<!--
+Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+distributed with this work for additional information
+regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+"License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+  http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+"AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+specific language governing permissions and limitations
+under the License.
+-->
+
+<project>
+  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+
+  <groupId>org.apache.maven.its.mng3827</groupId>
+  <artifactId>test2</artifactId>
+  <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+
+  <name>Maven Integration Test :: MNG-3827</name> 
+  <description>
+    Verify that plain plugin configuration works correctly.
+  </description>
+
+  <build>
+    <!-- This project uses plugin management for the test plugin -->
+    <pluginManagement>
+      <plugins>
+        <plugin>
+          <groupId>org.apache.maven.its.plugins</groupId>
+          <artifactId>maven-it-plugin-configuration</artifactId>
+          <version>2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        </plugin>
+      </plugins>
+    </pluginManagement>
+    <plugins>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.its.plugins</groupId>
+        <artifactId>maven-it-plugin-configuration</artifactId>
+        <configuration>
+          <stringParams>
+            <stringParam>one</stringParam>
+            <stringParam>two</stringParam>
+            <stringParam>three</stringParam>
+            <stringParam>four</stringParam>
+          </stringParams>
+        </configuration>
+        <executions>
+          <execution>
+            <phase>validate</phase>
+            <goals>
+              <goal>config</goal>
+            </goals>
+          </execution>
+        </executions>
+      </plugin>
+    </plugins>
+  </build>
+</project>
diff --git a/maven-project/src/test/resources-project-builder/plugin-config-order/wo-plugin-mngt/pom.xml b/maven-project/src/test/resources-project-builder/plugin-config-order/wo-plugin-mngt/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..22a2b810f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/maven-project/src/test/resources-project-builder/plugin-config-order/wo-plugin-mngt/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+
+<!--
+Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+distributed with this work for additional information
+regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+"License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+  http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+"AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+specific language governing permissions and limitations
+under the License.
+-->
+
+<project>
+  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+
+  <groupId>org.apache.maven.its.mng3827</groupId>
+  <artifactId>test1</artifactId>
+  <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+
+  <name>Maven Integration Test :: MNG-3827</name> 
+  <description>
+    Verify that plain plugin configuration works correctly.
+  </description>
+
+  <build>
+    <!-- This project does not use plugin management for the test plugin -->
+    <plugins>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.its.plugins</groupId>
+        <artifactId>maven-it-plugin-configuration</artifactId>
+        <configuration>
+          <stringParams>
+            <stringParam>one</stringParam>
+            <stringParam>two</stringParam>
+            <stringParam>three</stringParam>
+            <stringParam>four</stringParam>
+          </stringParams>
+        </configuration>
+        <executions>
+          <execution>
+            <phase>validate</phase>
+            <goals>
+              <goal>config</goal>
+            </goals>
+          </execution>
+        </executions>
+      </plugin>
+    </plugins>
+  </build>
+</project>