diff --git a/src/crud.js b/src/crud.js
index 2acf5eb..35ce5d3 100644
--- a/src/crud.js
+++ b/src/crud.js
@@ -202,7 +202,11 @@ export const update = (server, model) => {
       reply(instance);
     },
 
-    config: defaultConfig,
+    config: _.defaultsDeep({
+      validate: {
+        payload: joi.object().required(),
+      },
+    }, defaultConfig),
   });
 };