diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index 47ff8ce0a5f..6f0e8cb8da5 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ v 7.9.0 (unreleased)
   - Add database migration to clean group duplicates with same path and name (Make sure you have a backup before update)
   - Starred projects page at dashboard
   - Make email display name configurable
+  - Improve json validation in hook data
 
 v 7.8.2
   - Fix service migration issue when upgrading from versions prior to 7.3
diff --git a/app/services/system_hooks_service.rb b/app/services/system_hooks_service.rb
index 46f6e91e808..c5d0b08845b 100644
--- a/app/services/system_hooks_service.rb
+++ b/app/services/system_hooks_service.rb
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ class SystemHooksService
         path_with_namespace: model.path_with_namespace,
         project_id: model.id,
         owner_name: owner.name,
-        owner_email: owner.respond_to?(:email) ?  owner.email : nil,
+        owner_email: owner.respond_to?(:email) ?  owner.email : "",
         project_visibility: Project.visibility_levels.key(model.visibility_level_field).downcase
       })
     when User
diff --git a/lib/gitlab/push_data_builder.rb b/lib/gitlab/push_data_builder.rb
index 9fb0bf65949..0cc6b0ac694 100644
--- a/lib/gitlab/push_data_builder.rb
+++ b/lib/gitlab/push_data_builder.rb
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ module Gitlab
           data[:commits] << commit.hook_attrs(project)
         end
 
+        data[:commits] = "" if data[:commits].count == 0
         data
       end