diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 74d9c04177..42426741e6 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -47,10 +47,10 @@ require (
 	google.golang.org/protobuf v1.36.12-0.20260120151049-f2248ac996af
 	gopkg.in/h2non/gock.v1 v1.1.2
 	gotest.tools/v3 v3.5.2
-	k8s.io/api v0.36.2
-	k8s.io/apimachinery v0.36.2
+	k8s.io/api v0.36.3
+	k8s.io/apimachinery v0.36.3
 	k8s.io/cli-runtime v0.29.15
-	k8s.io/client-go v0.36.2
+	k8s.io/client-go v0.36.3
 	knative.dev/pkg v0.0.0-20260531000007-52dbd5ece63f
 	sigs.k8s.io/yaml v1.6.0
 )
@@ -204,5 +204,5 @@ require (
 	sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/api v0.13.5-0.20230601165947-6ce0bf390ce3 // indirect
 	sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/kyaml v0.14.3-0.20230601165947-6ce0bf390ce3 // indirect
 	sigs.k8s.io/randfill v1.0.0 // indirect
-	sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6 v6.3.2 // indirect
+	sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6 v6.3.3 // indirect
 )
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 1657e1d9ba..9dbb70a64d 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -677,22 +677,22 @@ gotest.tools/v3 v3.5.2 h1:7koQfIKdy+I8UTetycgUqXWSDwpgv193Ka+qRsmBY8Q=
 gotest.tools/v3 v3.5.2/go.mod h1:LtdLGcnqToBH83WByAAi/wiwSFCArdFIUV/xxN4pcjA=
 honnef.co/go/tools v0.0.0-20190102054323-c2f93a96b099/go.mod h1:rf3lG4BRIbNafJWhAfAdb/ePZxsR/4RtNHQocxwk9r4=
 honnef.co/go/tools v0.0.0-20190523083050-ea95bdfd59fc/go.mod h1:rf3lG4BRIbNafJWhAfAdb/ePZxsR/4RtNHQocxwk9r4=
-k8s.io/api v0.36.2 h1:TF6YDLIzKfccK7cq9YpTcGX8TJmEkHVRv78DM51fRYY=
-k8s.io/api v0.36.2/go.mod h1:F4LbMO4brjZYh7yFkXWhynSvtB7YauxV4c+HHkNRGNg=
+k8s.io/api v0.36.3 h1:NxB+05W2UGqXWFXcLO0RB5cnqnUPP5v5sVlaOH0Iz4w=
+k8s.io/api v0.36.3/go.mod h1:JzLQKqRHC5+I8RVj/lS3lCg0mg6nWI9Fo/Sk3ElxHzg=
 k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver v0.35.6 h1:fyzp3i+PAbB/jSNau9LF0rMuUTUUyybR02BpYhT1YKI=
 k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver v0.35.6/go.mod h1:kkCbFS495cT53wOqNwWnQei759bkvgn6OqE0R8b3DEA=
-k8s.io/apimachinery v0.36.2 h1:0PE/W/WNy1UX61NLbXY5TMbJ6UwLL6E6lAPkYrKFxbQ=
-k8s.io/apimachinery v0.36.2/go.mod h1:fvf/HOLXq9RId0rnDIbN1OEBvHXdQbLMM8nu0LcBUf4=
+k8s.io/apimachinery v0.36.3 h1:PkzMRBRG8joFD8EhCuQAtNPvJlxb82FwplP26HIzvAM=
+k8s.io/apimachinery v0.36.3/go.mod h1:cTSjBWgPe/6CQyBKzY/hDIRWCQQQeK0mfLbml0UYFHE=
 k8s.io/cli-runtime v0.29.15 h1:DLucYFyRTyYfRADJEIJ3270Kx6a4C9Ac+o1FkknyZyM=
 k8s.io/cli-runtime v0.29.15/go.mod h1:EjQsNazuwZWLTXLCCP4jGpkd95UO6wXKLVguSqfjwaU=
-k8s.io/client-go v0.36.2 h1:bfgxmFKc9CgqsgX4xKLAAdmTQlWee7Ob/HlDOrJ5TBI=
-k8s.io/client-go v0.36.2/go.mod h1:1vgO4OAlfPnoLcb+Rze2GF5rAr14w8qjrYMoyXJzQj0=
+k8s.io/client-go v0.36.3 h1:M4JdVzXxYcZk4fGpfDdYnxSwhLKWCFoQsHW6t+z8Hfg=
+k8s.io/client-go v0.36.3/go.mod h1:gcPwr0c87vjjG6HB6pWEqOeuYVoXSsREjzux2j6GF30=
 k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.140.0 h1:Tf+J3AH7xnUzZyVVXhTgGhEKnFqye14aadWv7bzXdzc=
 k8s.io/klog/v2 v2.140.0/go.mod h1:o+/RWfJ6PwpnFn7OyAG3QnO47BFsymfEfrz6XyYSSp0=
 k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20260330154417-16be699c7b31 h1:V+sn9a/1fEYDGwnllCmqXBk8x7obZ+hl869Q3Abumkg=
 k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20260330154417-16be699c7b31/go.mod h1:uGBT7iTA6c6MvqUvSXIaYZo9ukscABYi2btjhvgKGZ0=
-k8s.io/streaming v0.36.2 h1:NSKthPPg9UFSKsRauVJUVGH2Dvn8fhKmY4qrMkw/p98=
-k8s.io/streaming v0.36.2/go.mod h1:z6fV3D+NVkoeqRMtWwlUZK6U17SY/LqNzOxWL6GyR/s=
+k8s.io/streaming v0.36.3 h1:9rAaqBk0C0Pc7+/fqGekj07NV+/Xrew58p647A0JT8w=
+k8s.io/streaming v0.36.3/go.mod h1:z6fV3D+NVkoeqRMtWwlUZK6U17SY/LqNzOxWL6GyR/s=
 k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20260319190234-28399d86e0b5 h1:kBawHLSnx/mYHmRnNUf9d4CpjREbeZuxoSGOX/J+aYM=
 k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20260319190234-28399d86e0b5/go.mod h1:xDxuJ0whA3d0I4mf/C4ppKHxXynQ+fxnkmQH0vTHnuk=
 knative.dev/eventing v0.48.1 h1:FtTrPJ8WJfNtmencm8Ahnffmf06KzQpmHddAaTN9uMw=
@@ -711,7 +711,7 @@ sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/kyaml v0.14.3-0.20230601165947-6ce0bf390ce3 h1:W6cLQc5pnqM
 sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/kyaml v0.14.3-0.20230601165947-6ce0bf390ce3/go.mod h1:JWP1Fj0VWGHyw3YUPjXSQnRnrwezrZSrApfX5S0nIag=
 sigs.k8s.io/randfill v1.0.0 h1:JfjMILfT8A6RbawdsK2JXGBR5AQVfd+9TbzrlneTyrU=
 sigs.k8s.io/randfill v1.0.0/go.mod h1:XeLlZ/jmk4i1HRopwe7/aU3H5n1zNUcX6TM94b3QxOY=
-sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6 v6.3.2 h1:kwVWMx5yS1CrnFWA/2QHyRVJ8jM6dBA80uLmm0wJkk8=
-sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6 v6.3.2/go.mod h1:M3W8sfWvn2HhQDIbGWj3S099YozAsymCo/wrT5ohRUE=
+sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6 v6.3.3 h1:u08YRbVUi59ri4YD6cg0UqNM4Dimn0sIl+wldcx5PYw=
+sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6 v6.3.3/go.mod h1:M3W8sfWvn2HhQDIbGWj3S099YozAsymCo/wrT5ohRUE=
 sigs.k8s.io/yaml v1.6.0 h1:G8fkbMSAFqgEFgh4b1wmtzDnioxFCUgTZhlbj5P9QYs=
 sigs.k8s.io/yaml v1.6.0/go.mod h1:796bPqUfzR/0jLAl6XjHl3Ck7MiyVv8dbTdyT3/pMf4=
diff --git a/vendor/modules.txt b/vendor/modules.txt
index 7e1305782d..b1fc821bf8 100644
--- a/vendor/modules.txt
+++ b/vendor/modules.txt
@@ -1092,7 +1092,7 @@ gotest.tools/v3/internal/cleanup
 gotest.tools/v3/internal/difflib
 gotest.tools/v3/internal/format
 gotest.tools/v3/internal/source
-# k8s.io/api v0.36.2
+# k8s.io/api v0.36.3
 ## explicit; go 1.26.0
 k8s.io/api/admissionregistration/v1
 k8s.io/api/admissionregistration/v1alpha1
@@ -1161,7 +1161,7 @@ k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver/pkg/client/clientset/clientset
 k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver/pkg/client/clientset/clientset/scheme
 k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver/pkg/client/clientset/clientset/typed/apiextensions/v1
 k8s.io/apiextensions-apiserver/pkg/client/clientset/clientset/typed/apiextensions/v1beta1
-# k8s.io/apimachinery v0.36.2
+# k8s.io/apimachinery v0.36.3
 ## explicit; go 1.26.0
 k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/equality
 k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors
@@ -1230,7 +1230,7 @@ k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/genericclioptions
 k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/genericiooptions
 k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/printers
 k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/resource
-# k8s.io/client-go v0.36.2
+# k8s.io/client-go v0.36.3
 ## explicit; go 1.26.0
 k8s.io/client-go/applyconfigurations
 k8s.io/client-go/applyconfigurations/admissionregistration/v1
@@ -1791,7 +1791,7 @@ sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/kyaml/yaml/walk
 ## explicit; go 1.18
 sigs.k8s.io/randfill
 sigs.k8s.io/randfill/bytesource
-# sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6 v6.3.2
+# sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6 v6.3.3
 ## explicit; go 1.23
 sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6/fieldpath
 sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6/merge
diff --git a/vendor/sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6/typed/remove.go b/vendor/sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6/typed/remove.go
index 0db1734f94..78ba6f50d0 100644
--- a/vendor/sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6/typed/remove.go
+++ b/vendor/sigs.k8s.io/structured-merge-diff/v6/typed/remove.go
@@ -75,7 +75,6 @@ func (w *removingWalker) doList(t *schema.List) (errs ValidationErrors) {
 	}
 
 	var newItems []interface{}
-	hadMatches := false
 	iter := l.RangeUsing(w.allocator)
 	defer w.allocator.Free(iter)
 	for iter.Next() {
@@ -99,26 +98,12 @@ func (w *removingWalker) doList(t *schema.List) (errs ValidationErrors) {
 				continue
 			}
 			if isPrefixMatch {
-				// Removing nested items within this list item and preserve if it becomes empty
-				hadMatches = true
-				wasMap := item.IsMap()
-				wasList := item.IsList()
 				item = removeItemsWithSchema(item, w.toRemove.WithPrefix(pe), w.schema, t.ElementType, w.shouldExtract)
-				// If item returned null but we're removing items within the structure(not the item itself),
-				// preserve the empty container structure
-				if item.IsNull() && !w.shouldExtract {
-					if wasMap {
-						item = value.NewValueInterface(map[string]interface{}{})
-					} else if wasList {
-						item = value.NewValueInterface([]interface{}{})
-					}
-				}
 			}
 			newItems = append(newItems, item.Unstructured())
 		}
 	}
-	// Preserve empty lists (non-nil) instead of converting to null when items were matched and removed
-	if len(newItems) > 0 || (hadMatches && !w.shouldExtract) {
+	if len(newItems) > 0 {
 		w.out = newItems
 	}
 	return nil
@@ -156,7 +141,6 @@ func (w *removingWalker) doMap(t *schema.Map) ValidationErrors {
 	}
 
 	newMap := map[string]interface{}{}
-	hadMatches := false
 	m.Iterate(func(k string, val value.Value) bool {
 		pe := fieldpath.PathElement{FieldName: &k}
 		path, _ := fieldpath.MakePath(pe)
@@ -174,19 +158,7 @@ func (w *removingWalker) doMap(t *schema.Map) ValidationErrors {
 			return true
 		}
 		if subset := w.toRemove.WithPrefix(pe); !subset.Empty() {
-			hadMatches = true
-			wasMap := val.IsMap()
-			wasList := val.IsList()
 			val = removeItemsWithSchema(val, subset, w.schema, fieldType, w.shouldExtract)
-			// If val returned null but we're removing items within the structure (not the field itself),
-			// preserve the empty container structure
-			if val.IsNull() && !w.shouldExtract {
-				if wasMap {
-					val = value.NewValueInterface(map[string]interface{}{})
-				} else if wasList {
-					val = value.NewValueInterface([]interface{}{})
-				}
-			}
 		} else {
 			// don't save values not on the path when we shouldExtract.
 			if w.shouldExtract {
@@ -196,8 +168,7 @@ func (w *removingWalker) doMap(t *schema.Map) ValidationErrors {
 		newMap[k] = val.Unstructured()
 		return true
 	})
-	// Preserve empty maps (non-nil) instead of converting to null when items were matched and removed
-	if len(newMap) > 0 || (hadMatches && !w.shouldExtract) {
+	if len(newMap) > 0 {
 		w.out = newMap
 	}
 	return nil