diff --git a/urlaubsverwaltung/Chart.yaml b/urlaubsverwaltung/Chart.yaml
index 98c02f9..884bb52 100644
--- a/urlaubsverwaltung/Chart.yaml
+++ b/urlaubsverwaltung/Chart.yaml
@@ -4,5 +4,5 @@ description: A Helm chart to deploy urlaubsverwaltung on Kubernetes
 icon: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/urlaubsverwaltung/urlaubsverwaltung/main/src/main/resources/static/favicons/apple-touch-icon.png
 type: application
 
-version: 6.0.0+up6.7.0
+version: 7.0.0+up6.7.0
 appVersion: 6.7.0
diff --git a/urlaubsverwaltung/templates/_helpers.tpl b/urlaubsverwaltung/templates/_helpers.tpl
index bf1eb16..2c32068 100644
--- a/urlaubsverwaltung/templates/_helpers.tpl
+++ b/urlaubsverwaltung/templates/_helpers.tpl
@@ -114,3 +114,157 @@ template-chart is the reference implementation.
 1
 {{- end -}}
 {{- end -}}
+
+{{/*
+Merge a user-supplied values sub-tree onto a dict of chart defaults so that a
+null / empty override falls back to the defaults instead of erasing them.
+
+Input: dict "defaults" <dict> "given" <dict|nil> "path" <string, optional
+values path used in error messages>. Output: YAML of the merged dict (consume
+it with fromYaml).
+
+Why this exists (issue #99): Helm merges values maps recursively, but an
+override key written without children — e.g. a leftover
+
+  securityContext:
+
+after deleting its last remaining sub-key — is YAML null and replaces the
+whole default sub-tree. The container then renders with "securityContext:
+null": no readOnlyRootFilesystem, no dropped capabilities, no
+allowPrivilegeEscalation: false. The workload starts and reports healthy while
+being unhardened, so nothing points at the mistake. The same shape erases a
+probe (it disappears) or the resources block (no requests, no computed
+limits). This helper defines the opposite semantics: an empty block means
+"chart defaults apply".
+
+Rules:
+  - a nil "given" is treated as an empty dict (all defaults apply).
+  - a key whose override value is null keeps the default (nulls never delete).
+  - a key present in both as a map is merged recursively, so a partially
+    filled block only overrides the keys it actually sets.
+  - a scalar override for a key the defaults define as a map is rejected with
+    a message naming the values path, instead of failing later with a template
+    field error.
+  - any other set value wins as given, including an explicit false or 0 —
+    Helm's "default" and sprig's "mergeOverwrite" would both swallow those
+    zero values, hence the explicit kindIs "invalid" nil check.
+  - keys only present in the override are passed through unchanged.
+
+NOTE: like the helpers above, this is duplicated into every chart's
+templates/_helpers.tpl with the chart's name as define prefix, because charts
+in this repo deliberately have no dependencies.
+*/}}
+{{- define "urlaubsverwaltung.defaultedDict" -}}
+{{- $defaults := .defaults | default dict -}}
+{{- $given := .given -}}
+{{- $path := .path | default "value" -}}
+{{- if kindIs "invalid" $given -}}
+{{- $given = dict -}}
+{{- end -}}
+{{- if not (kindIs "map" $given) -}}
+{{- fail (printf "%s must be a mapping or null, got %s (%v)" $path (kindOf $given) $given) -}}
+{{- end -}}
+{{- $out := deepCopy $defaults -}}
+{{- range $key, $value := $given -}}
+{{- if not (kindIs "invalid" $value) -}}
+{{- $default := index $defaults $key -}}
+{{- if and (kindIs "map" $value) (kindIs "map" $default) -}}
+{{- $_ := set $out $key (fromYaml (include "urlaubsverwaltung.defaultedDict" (dict "defaults" $default "given" $value "path" (printf "%s.%s" $path $key)))) -}}
+{{- else if kindIs "map" $default -}}
+{{- fail (printf "%s.%s must be a mapping or null, got %s (%v)" $path $key (kindOf $value) $value) -}}
+{{- else -}}
+{{- $_ := set $out $key $value -}}
+{{- end -}}
+{{- end -}}
+{{- end -}}
+{{- toYaml $out -}}
+{{- end -}}
+
+{{/*
+Pick one sub-block out of a values block that may itself be null.
+
+Input: dict "block" <dict|nil> "key" <string> "path" <string>.
+Returns YAML of dict "value" <the sub-block, may be nil>, after rejecting a
+non-mapping block with a message that names the values path. Needed because
+".Values.<app>.securityContext" can itself be erased, and indexing into nil
+inside a template is not an error but silently yields nothing.
+*/}}
+{{- define "urlaubsverwaltung.subBlock" -}}
+{{- $block := .block -}}
+{{- if kindIs "invalid" $block -}}
+{{- $block = dict -}}
+{{- end -}}
+{{- if not (kindIs "map" $block) -}}
+{{- fail (printf "%s must be a mapping or null, got %s (%v)" .path (kindOf $block) $block) -}}
+{{- end -}}
+{{- toYaml (dict "value" (index $block .key)) -}}
+{{- end -}}
+
+{{/*
+The effective pod / container security contexts, probes and resources
+(issue #99).
+
+The defaults below MUST stay in sync with the corresponding blocks in
+values.yaml, which stays the documented, user-facing place for them; this copy
+is only the fallback for the case where an override has erased the block.
+*/}}
+{{- define "urlaubsverwaltung.podSecurityContext" -}}
+{{- $given := (fromYaml (include "urlaubsverwaltung.subBlock" (dict "block" . "key" "pod" "path" "urlaubsverwaltung.securityContext"))).value -}}
+{{- $defaults := dict
+      "runAsNonRoot" true
+      "runAsUser" 1002
+      "runAsGroup" 1001 -}}
+{{- include "urlaubsverwaltung.defaultedDict" (dict "defaults" $defaults "given" $given "path" "urlaubsverwaltung.securityContext.pod") -}}
+{{- end -}}
+
+{{- define "urlaubsverwaltung.containerSecurityContext" -}}
+{{- $given := (fromYaml (include "urlaubsverwaltung.subBlock" (dict "block" . "key" "container" "path" "urlaubsverwaltung.securityContext"))).value -}}
+{{- $defaults := dict
+      "allowPrivilegeEscalation" false
+      "readOnlyRootFilesystem" true
+      "runAsNonRoot" true
+      "capabilities" (dict "drop" (list "ALL")) -}}
+{{- include "urlaubsverwaltung.defaultedDict" (dict "defaults" $defaults "given" $given "path" "urlaubsverwaltung.securityContext.container") -}}
+{{- end -}}
+
+{{- define "urlaubsverwaltung.livenessProbe" -}}
+{{- $defaults := dict
+      "httpGet" (dict "port" 8080 "path" "/actuator/health/liveness")
+      "periodSeconds" 10
+      "failureThreshold" 3
+      "successThreshold" 1
+      "timeoutSeconds" 5 -}}
+{{- include "urlaubsverwaltung.defaultedDict" (dict "defaults" $defaults "given" . "path" "urlaubsverwaltung.livenessProbe") -}}
+{{- end -}}
+
+{{- define "urlaubsverwaltung.readinessProbe" -}}
+{{- $defaults := dict
+      "httpGet" (dict "port" 8080 "path" "/actuator/health/readiness")
+      "periodSeconds" 5
+      "failureThreshold" 3
+      "successThreshold" 1
+      "timeoutSeconds" 5 -}}
+{{- include "urlaubsverwaltung.defaultedDict" (dict "defaults" $defaults "given" . "path" "urlaubsverwaltung.readinessProbe") -}}
+{{- end -}}
+
+{{- define "urlaubsverwaltung.startupProbe" -}}
+{{- $defaults := dict
+      "httpGet" (dict "port" 8080 "path" "/actuator/health/liveness")
+      "periodSeconds" 10
+      "failureThreshold" 30
+      "timeoutSeconds" 5 -}}
+{{- include "urlaubsverwaltung.defaultedDict" (dict "defaults" $defaults "given" . "path" "urlaubsverwaltung.startupProbe") -}}
+{{- end -}}
+
+{{/*
+The effective resources block, fed into the resources helper above so that an
+erased "resources:" still yields the chart's requests and computed limits
+instead of a container without any resource accounting.
+*/}}
+{{- define "urlaubsverwaltung.effectiveResources" -}}
+{{- $defaults := dict
+      "limitFactor" 3
+      "requests" (dict "cpu" 0.1 "memory" "768Mi" "ephemeralStorage" "10Mi") -}}
+{{- $merged := fromYaml (include "urlaubsverwaltung.defaultedDict" (dict "defaults" $defaults "given" . "path" "urlaubsverwaltung.resources")) -}}
+{{- include "urlaubsverwaltung.resources" $merged -}}
+{{- end -}}
diff --git a/urlaubsverwaltung/templates/urlaubsverwaltung.deployment.yaml b/urlaubsverwaltung/templates/urlaubsverwaltung.deployment.yaml
index 2860486..9d9653e 100644
--- a/urlaubsverwaltung/templates/urlaubsverwaltung.deployment.yaml
+++ b/urlaubsverwaltung/templates/urlaubsverwaltung.deployment.yaml
@@ -17,13 +17,13 @@ spec:
     spec:
       automountServiceAccountToken: false
       securityContext:
-        {{- toYaml .Values.urlaubsverwaltung.securityContext.pod | nindent 8 }}
+        {{- include "urlaubsverwaltung.podSecurityContext" .Values.urlaubsverwaltung.securityContext | nindent 8 }}
       containers:
         - name: {{ .Release.Name }}-{{ .Chart.Name }}-deployment
           image: "urlaubsverwaltung/urlaubsverwaltung:{{ .Chart.AppVersion }}"
           imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
           securityContext:
-            {{- toYaml .Values.urlaubsverwaltung.securityContext.container | nindent 12 }}
+            {{- include "urlaubsverwaltung.containerSecurityContext" .Values.urlaubsverwaltung.securityContext | nindent 12 }}
           volumeMounts:
             # The JVM (Tomcat work dir, temp files) needs a writable /tmp with
             # a read-only root filesystem.
@@ -130,13 +130,13 @@ spec:
             {{- end }}
             {{- end }}
           resources:
-            {{- include "urlaubsverwaltung.resources" .Values.urlaubsverwaltung.resources | nindent 12 }}
+            {{- include "urlaubsverwaltung.effectiveResources" .Values.urlaubsverwaltung.resources | nindent 12 }}
           livenessProbe:
-            {{- toYaml .Values.urlaubsverwaltung.livenessProbe | nindent 12 }}
+            {{- include "urlaubsverwaltung.livenessProbe" .Values.urlaubsverwaltung.livenessProbe | nindent 12 }}
           readinessProbe:
-            {{- toYaml .Values.urlaubsverwaltung.readinessProbe | nindent 12 }}
+            {{- include "urlaubsverwaltung.readinessProbe" .Values.urlaubsverwaltung.readinessProbe | nindent 12 }}
           startupProbe:
-            {{- toYaml .Values.urlaubsverwaltung.startupProbe | nindent 12 }}
+            {{- include "urlaubsverwaltung.startupProbe" .Values.urlaubsverwaltung.startupProbe | nindent 12 }}
       volumes:
         - name: tmp
           emptyDir: {}
diff --git a/urlaubsverwaltung/values.schema.json b/urlaubsverwaltung/values.schema.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5529d32
--- /dev/null
+++ b/urlaubsverwaltung/values.schema.json
@@ -0,0 +1,175 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
+  "title": "urlaubsverwaltung values",
+  "description": "Strict values schema (issue #68). additionalProperties is false on every chart-owned object level, so a key that the chart does not read is rejected at render time instead of being silently ignored. The only objects that stay open are the ones passed verbatim into the Kubernetes pod spec (probes, security contexts, global) - the chart does not interpret their contents, so it cannot judge which keys are meaningful.",
+  "type": "object",
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "properties": {
+    "global": {
+      "description": "Helm's conventional cross-chart values. Unused by this chart, kept open so an umbrella install cannot break on it.",
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "scaleDown": {
+      "type": "boolean"
+    },
+    "secrets": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "properties": {
+        "databaseSecretRef": {
+          "type": ["string", "null"]
+        },
+        "oidcSecretRef": {
+          "type": ["string", "null"]
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    "ingress": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "properties": {
+        "enabled": {
+          "type": "boolean"
+        },
+        "clusterIssuer": {
+          "type": ["string", "null"]
+        },
+        "domain": {
+          "type": ["string", "null"]
+        },
+        "className": {
+          "type": ["string", "null"]
+        },
+        "annotations": {
+          "description": "Extra Ingress annotations, merged with the cert-manager annotation the chart always sets. Free-form keys by nature.",
+          "type": "object"
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    "urlaubsverwaltung": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "properties": {
+        "replicas": {
+          "type": "integer",
+          "minimum": 0
+        },
+        "securityContext": {
+          "$ref": "#/definitions/securityContext"
+        },
+        "livenessProbe": {
+          "$ref": "#/definitions/probe"
+        },
+        "readinessProbe": {
+          "$ref": "#/definitions/probe"
+        },
+        "startupProbe": {
+          "$ref": "#/definitions/probe"
+        },
+        "env": {
+          "$ref": "#/definitions/env"
+        },
+        "resources": {
+          "$ref": "#/definitions/resources"
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  },
+  "definitions": {
+    "resources": {
+      "description": "May be null / empty: the chart then falls back to its default requests and computed limits (issue #99) instead of rendering a container without resource accounting.",
+      "type": ["object", "null"],
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "properties": {
+        "limitFactor": {
+          "type": "number",
+          "exclusiveMinimum": 0
+        },
+        "requests": {
+          "$ref": "#/definitions/resourceList"
+        },
+        "limits": {
+          "$ref": "#/definitions/resourceList"
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    "resourceList": {
+      "type": ["object", "null"],
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "properties": {
+        "cpu": {
+          "type": ["string", "number", "null"]
+        },
+        "memory": {
+          "type": ["string", "number", "null"]
+        },
+        "ephemeral-storage": {
+          "type": ["string", "number", "null"]
+        },
+        "ephemeralStorage": {
+          "type": ["string", "number", "null"]
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    "env": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "items": {
+        "type": "object",
+        "additionalProperties": false,
+        "required": ["name"],
+        "properties": {
+          "name": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "value": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "valueFrom": {
+            "type": "object",
+            "additionalProperties": false,
+            "properties": {
+              "secretKeyRef": {
+                "$ref": "#/definitions/keyRef"
+              },
+              "configMapKeyRef": {
+                "$ref": "#/definitions/keyRef"
+              }
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    "keyRef": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "required": ["name", "key"],
+      "properties": {
+        "name": {
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "key": {
+          "type": "string"
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    "securityContext": {
+      "description": "May be null / empty at any level: the chart then falls back to its hardening defaults (issue #99) instead of rendering an unhardened workload.",
+      "type": ["object", "null"],
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "properties": {
+        "pod": {
+          "description": "Merged onto the chart's pod hardening defaults and rendered as the pod's securityContext; kept open because the chart does not interpret the individual fields.",
+          "type": ["object", "null"]
+        },
+        "container": {
+          "description": "Merged onto the chart's container hardening defaults and rendered as the container's securityContext; kept open because the chart does not interpret the individual fields.",
+          "type": ["object", "null"]
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    "probe": {
+      "description": "Merged onto the chart's probe defaults and rendered as a container probe; kept open because the chart does not interpret the individual fields. May be null / empty, which means the defaults apply (issue #99) rather than the probe disappearing.",
+      "type": ["object", "null"]
+    }
+  }
+}