diff --git a/changelog/7893.improvement.md b/changelog/7893.improvement.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..70ce787d1315
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/7893.improvement.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Model configuration files are now validated whether they match the expected schema.
diff --git a/rasa/cli/data.py b/rasa/cli/data.py
index 53b7edbdabc4..1b8672e95bfd 100644
--- a/rasa/cli/data.py
+++ b/rasa/cli/data.py
@@ -485,7 +485,7 @@ def _migrate_model_config(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
 def _get_configuration(path: Path) -> Dict:
     config = {}
     try:
-        config = rasa.shared.utils.io.read_config_file(path)
+        config = rasa.shared.utils.io.read_model_configuration(path)
     except Exception:
         rasa.shared.utils.cli.print_error_and_exit(
             f"'{path}' is not a path to a valid model configuration. "
diff --git a/rasa/cli/default_config.yml b/rasa/cli/default_config.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 93b81250a29c..000000000000
--- a/rasa/cli/default_config.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-language: en
-
-pipeline: supervised_embeddings
-
-policies:
-  - name: TEDPolicy
-    epochs: 200
-    batch_size: 50
-    max_training_samples: 300
-  - name: FallbackPolicy
-    fallback_action_name: 'action_default_fallback'
-  - name: MemoizationPolicy
-    max_history: 5
-  - name: FormPolicy
-  - name: MappingPolicy
diff --git a/rasa/core/config.py b/rasa/core/config.py
index 5ac6859136d5..9aa68f5ca194 100644
--- a/rasa/core/config.py
+++ b/rasa/core/config.py
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ def load(config_file: Optional[Union[Text, Dict]]) -> List["Policy"]:
 
     config_data = {}
     if isinstance(config_file, str) and os.path.isfile(config_file):
-        config_data = rasa.shared.utils.io.read_config_file(config_file)
+        config_data = rasa.shared.utils.io.read_model_configuration(config_file)
     elif isinstance(config_file, Dict):
         config_data = config_file
 
diff --git a/rasa/nlu/config.py b/rasa/nlu/config.py
index ba4653de101d..ccf55052a433 100644
--- a/rasa/nlu/config.py
+++ b/rasa/nlu/config.py
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ def load(
         config = DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH
 
     if config is not None:
-        file_config = rasa.shared.utils.io.read_config_file(config)
+        file_config = rasa.shared.utils.io.read_model_configuration(config)
 
     return _load_from_dict(file_config, **kwargs)
 
diff --git a/rasa/shared/constants.py b/rasa/shared/constants.py
index 33e0a7e19e47..9fa50c4dcb66 100644
--- a/rasa/shared/constants.py
+++ b/rasa/shared/constants.py
@@ -31,12 +31,13 @@
 PACKAGE_NAME = "rasa"
 NEXT_MAJOR_VERSION_FOR_DEPRECATIONS = "3.0.0"
 
-CONFIG_SCHEMA_FILE = "shared/nlu/training_data/schemas/config.yml"
+MODEL_CONFIG_SCHEMA_FILE = "shared/utils/schemas/model_config.yml"
+CONFIG_SCHEMA_FILE = "shared/utils/schemas/config.yml"
 RESPONSES_SCHEMA_FILE = "shared/nlu/training_data/schemas/responses.yml"
 SCHEMA_EXTENSIONS_FILE = "shared/utils/pykwalify_extensions.py"
 LATEST_TRAINING_DATA_FORMAT_VERSION = "2.0"
 
-DOMAIN_SCHEMA_FILE = "utils/schemas/domain.yml"
+DOMAIN_SCHEMA_FILE = "shared/utils/schemas/domain.yml"
 
 DEFAULT_SESSION_EXPIRATION_TIME_IN_MINUTES = 60
 DEFAULT_CARRY_OVER_SLOTS_TO_NEW_SESSION = True
diff --git a/rasa/shared/core/training_data/story_reader/yaml_story_reader.py b/rasa/shared/core/training_data/story_reader/yaml_story_reader.py
index e1cb446e8971..000896146f73 100644
--- a/rasa/shared/core/training_data/story_reader/yaml_story_reader.py
+++ b/rasa/shared/core/training_data/story_reader/yaml_story_reader.py
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
 KEY_RULE_FOR_CONVERSATION_START = "conversation_start"
 
 
-CORE_SCHEMA_FILE = "utils/schemas/stories.yml"
+CORE_SCHEMA_FILE = "shared/utils/schemas/stories.yml"
 DEFAULT_VALUE_TEXT_SLOTS = "filled"
 DEFAULT_VALUE_LIST_SLOTS = [DEFAULT_VALUE_TEXT_SLOTS]
 
diff --git a/rasa/shared/importers/multi_project.py b/rasa/shared/importers/multi_project.py
index aa5804e0efc4..59e73c595866 100644
--- a/rasa/shared/importers/multi_project.py
+++ b/rasa/shared/importers/multi_project.py
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ def __init__(
         training_data_paths: Optional[Union[List[Text], Text]] = None,
         project_directory: Optional[Text] = None,
     ):
-        self.config = rasa.shared.utils.io.read_config_file(config_file)
+        self.config = rasa.shared.utils.io.read_model_configuration(config_file)
         if domain_path:
             self._domain_paths = [domain_path]
         else:
diff --git a/rasa/shared/nlu/training_data/schemas/config.yml b/rasa/shared/nlu/training_data/schemas/config.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 1cf59f653aaf..000000000000
--- a/rasa/shared/nlu/training_data/schemas/config.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-allowempty: True
-mapping:
-  language:
-    type: "str"
-    required: True
-  pipeline:
-    type: "any"
-    required: True
diff --git a/rasa/shared/nlu/training_data/schemas/nlu.yml b/rasa/shared/nlu/training_data/schemas/nlu.yml
index a15930b3d4ce..216225109f15 100644
--- a/rasa/shared/nlu/training_data/schemas/nlu.yml
+++ b/rasa/shared/nlu/training_data/schemas/nlu.yml
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ mapping:
           type: "str"
         examples: *examples_anchor
   responses:
-    # see rasa/utils/schemas.yml
+    # see rasa/shared/nlu/training_data/schemas/responses.yml
     include: responses
   regex;(.*):
     type: "any"
diff --git a/rasa/shared/utils/io.py b/rasa/shared/utils/io.py
index 008b5dc068a1..281bdae4f4d0 100644
--- a/rasa/shared/utils/io.py
+++ b/rasa/shared/utils/io.py
@@ -18,12 +18,15 @@
     DEFAULT_LOG_LEVEL,
     ENV_LOG_LEVEL,
     NEXT_MAJOR_VERSION_FOR_DEPRECATIONS,
+    CONFIG_SCHEMA_FILE,
+    MODEL_CONFIG_SCHEMA_FILE,
 )
 from rasa.shared.exceptions import (
     FileIOException,
     FileNotFoundException,
     YamlSyntaxException,
 )
+import rasa.shared.utils.validation
 
 DEFAULT_ENCODING = "utf-8"
 YAML_VERSION = (1, 2)
@@ -518,29 +521,68 @@ def raise_deprecation_warning(
     raise_warning(message, FutureWarning, docs, **kwargs)
 
 
+def read_validated_yaml(filename: Union[Text, Path], schema: Text) -> Any:
+    """Validates YAML file content and returns parsed content.
+
+    Args:
+        filename: The path to the file which should be read.
+        schema: The path to the schema file which should be used for validating the
+            file content.
+
+    Returns:
+        The parsed file content.
+
+    Raises:
+        YamlValidationException: In case the model configuration doesn't match the
+            expected schema.
+    """
+    content = read_file(filename)
+
+    rasa.shared.utils.validation.validate_yaml_schema(content, schema)
+    return read_yaml(content)
+
+
 def read_config_file(filename: Union[Path, Text]) -> Dict[Text, Any]:
-    """Parses a yaml configuration file. Content needs to be a dictionary
+    """Parses a yaml configuration file. Content needs to be a dictionary.
 
     Args:
         filename: The path to the file which should be read.
+
+    Raises:
+        YamlValidationException: In case file content is not a `Dict`.
+
+    Returns:
+        Parsed config file.
     """
-    content = read_yaml_file(filename)
+    return read_validated_yaml(filename, CONFIG_SCHEMA_FILE)
 
-    if content is None:
-        return {}
-    elif isinstance(content, dict):
-        return content
-    else:
-        raise YamlSyntaxException(
-            filename,
-            ValueError(
-                f"Tried to load configuration file '{filename}'. "
-                f"Expected a key value mapping but found a {type(content).__name__}"
-            ),
-        )
+
+def read_model_configuration(filename: Union[Path, Text]) -> Dict[Text, Any]:
+    """Parses a model configuration file.
+
+    Args:
+        filename: The path to the file which should be read.
+
+    Raises:
+        YamlValidationException: In case the model configuration doesn't match the
+            expected schema.
+
+    Returns:
+        Parsed config file.
+    """
+    return read_validated_yaml(filename, MODEL_CONFIG_SCHEMA_FILE)
 
 
 def is_subdirectory(path: Text, potential_parent_directory: Text) -> bool:
+    """Checks if `path` is a subdirectory of `potential_parent_directory`.
+
+    Args:
+        path: Path to a file or directory.
+        potential_parent_directory: Potential parent directory.
+
+    Returns:
+        `True` if `path` is a subdirectory of `potential_parent_directory`.
+    """
     if path is None or potential_parent_directory is None:
         return False
 
diff --git a/rasa/shared/utils/schemas/config.yml b/rasa/shared/utils/schemas/config.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..6dea8c76af07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rasa/shared/utils/schemas/config.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+allowempty: True
+type: map
diff --git a/rasa/utils/schemas/domain.yml b/rasa/shared/utils/schemas/domain.yml
similarity index 100%
rename from rasa/utils/schemas/domain.yml
rename to rasa/shared/utils/schemas/domain.yml
diff --git a/rasa/shared/utils/schemas/model_config.yml b/rasa/shared/utils/schemas/model_config.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..33343250fabd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rasa/shared/utils/schemas/model_config.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+allowempty: True
+mapping:
+  version:
+    type: "str"
+    required: False
+    allowempty: False
+  language:
+    type: "str"
+    required: False
+  pipeline:
+    type: "seq"
+    required: False
+    sequence:
+    - type: "map"
+      # Only validate required items but do not validate each potential config param
+      # for the the components
+      allowempty: True
+      mapping:
+        name:
+          type: str
+          required: True
+  policies:
+    type: "seq"
+    required: False
+    sequence:
+    - type: "map"
+      # Only validate required items but do not validate each potential config param
+      # for the the policies
+      allowempty: True
+      mapping:
+        name:
+          type: str
+          required: True
diff --git a/rasa/utils/schemas/stories.yml b/rasa/shared/utils/schemas/stories.yml
similarity index 100%
rename from rasa/utils/schemas/stories.yml
rename to rasa/shared/utils/schemas/stories.yml
diff --git a/tests/cli/test_rasa_train.py b/tests/cli/test_rasa_train.py
index bee77821c7a2..114439370fac 100644
--- a/tests/cli/test_rasa_train.py
+++ b/tests/cli/test_rasa_train.py
@@ -104,20 +104,12 @@ def test_train_core_compare(run_in_simple_project: Callable[..., RunResult]):
     temp_dir = os.getcwd()
 
     rasa.shared.utils.io.write_yaml(
-        {
-            "language": "en",
-            "pipeline": "supervised_embeddings",
-            "policies": [{"name": "MemoizationPolicy"}],
-        },
+        {"language": "en", "policies": [{"name": "MemoizationPolicy"}],},
         "config_1.yml",
     )
 
     rasa.shared.utils.io.write_yaml(
-        {
-            "language": "en",
-            "pipeline": "supervised_embeddings",
-            "policies": [{"name": "MemoizationPolicy"}],
-        },
+        {"language": "en", "policies": [{"name": "MemoizationPolicy"}],},
         "config_2.yml",
     )
 
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index b17c782f9973..58a055771f51 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
 )
 from rasa.shared.exceptions import RasaException
 
-DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH = "rasa/cli/default_config.yml"
+DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH = "rasa/shared/importers/default_config.yml"
 
 DEFAULT_NLU_DATA = "examples/moodbot/data/nlu.yml"
 
@@ -287,11 +287,7 @@ async def trained_core_model(
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="session")
 async def trained_nlu_model(
-    trained_async: Callable,
-    default_domain_path: Text,
-    default_config: List[Policy],
-    default_nlu_data: Text,
-    default_stories_file: Text,
+    trained_async: Callable, default_domain_path: Text, default_nlu_data: Text,
 ) -> Text:
     trained_nlu_model_path = await trained_async(
         domain=default_domain_path,
diff --git a/tests/shared/utils/test_io.py b/tests/shared/utils/test_io.py
index ba02d8a73eff..a0e49aba0f64 100644
--- a/tests/shared/utils/test_io.py
+++ b/tests/shared/utils/test_io.py
@@ -1,17 +1,18 @@
 import os
 import string
+import textwrap
 import uuid
 from collections import OrderedDict
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Callable, Text, List, Set, Any
+from typing import Callable, Text, List, Set, Any, Dict
 
 import pytest
 
 import rasa.shared
 from rasa.shared.exceptions import FileIOException, FileNotFoundException
 import rasa.shared.utils.io
+import rasa.shared.utils.validation
 from rasa.shared.constants import NEXT_MAJOR_VERSION_FOR_DEPRECATIONS
-from rasa.shared.utils.io import raise_deprecation_warning
 from rasa.utils import io as io_utils
 
 os.environ["USER_NAME"] = "user"
@@ -345,7 +346,7 @@ def test_create_directory_if_already_exists(tmp_path: Path):
 
 def test_raise_deprecation_warning():
     with pytest.warns(FutureWarning) as record:
-        raise_deprecation_warning(
+        rasa.shared.utils.io.raise_deprecation_warning(
             "This feature is deprecated.", warn_until_version="3.0.0"
         )
 
@@ -358,7 +359,7 @@ def test_raise_deprecation_warning():
 
 def test_raise_deprecation_warning_version_already_in_message():
     with pytest.warns(FutureWarning) as record:
-        raise_deprecation_warning(
+        rasa.shared.utils.io.raise_deprecation_warning(
             "This feature is deprecated and will be removed in 3.0.0!",
             warn_until_version="3.0.0",
         )
@@ -372,7 +373,7 @@ def test_raise_deprecation_warning_version_already_in_message():
 
 def test_raise_deprecation_warning_default():
     with pytest.warns(FutureWarning) as record:
-        raise_deprecation_warning("This feature is deprecated.")
+        rasa.shared.utils.io.raise_deprecation_warning("This feature is deprecated.")
 
     assert len(record) == 1
     assert record[0].message.args[0] == (
@@ -386,3 +387,126 @@ def test_read_file_with_wrong_encoding(tmp_path: Path):
     file.write_text("ä", encoding="latin-1")
     with pytest.raises(FileIOException):
         rasa.shared.utils.io.read_file(file)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("config_file", Path("data", "configs_for_docs").glob("*.yml"))
+def test_validate_config_file(config_file: Path):
+    # does not raise
+    rasa.shared.utils.io.read_model_configuration(config_file)
+
+
+def test_validate_config_file_with_extra_keys(tmp_path: Path):
+    content = textwrap.dedent(
+        """
+        language: en
+        pipeline:
+        policies:
+
+        importers:
+        - RasaFileImporter
+        """
+    )
+    config_file = tmp_path / "config.yml"
+    config_file.write_text(content)
+
+    rasa.shared.utils.io.read_model_configuration(config_file)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "config",
+    [
+        # Pre 2.x pipeline templates are invalid
+        textwrap.dedent(
+            """
+            pipeline: supervised_embeddings
+            """
+        ),
+        # Each list item needs the `name` property
+        textwrap.dedent(
+            """
+            pipeline:
+            - DIETClassier
+            policies:
+            """
+        ),
+        # Name property is missing
+        textwrap.dedent(
+            """
+            pipeline:
+            policies:
+            - some_attribute: "lala"
+            """
+        ),
+        # Name property is not a string
+        textwrap.dedent(
+            """
+            pipeline:
+            policies:
+            - name: 1234
+            """
+        ),
+        # Invalid training data version
+        textwrap.dedent(
+            """
+            version: 2.0
+            policies:
+            pipeline:
+            """
+        ),
+        # Language has wrong type
+        textwrap.dedent(
+            """
+            language: []
+            policies:
+            pipeline:
+            """
+        ),
+    ],
+)
+def test_invalid_config_files(config: Text, tmp_path: Path):
+    config_file = tmp_path / "config.yml"
+    config_file.write_text(config)
+    with pytest.raises(rasa.shared.utils.validation.YamlValidationException):
+        rasa.shared.utils.io.read_model_configuration(config_file)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "content, expected",
+    [
+        ("rest:", {"rest": None}),
+        (
+            textwrap.dedent(
+                """
+                tracker_store:
+                    password: test
+                """
+            ),
+            {"tracker_store": {"password": "test"}},
+        ),
+    ],
+)
+def test_read_config_file(tmp_path: Path, content: Text, expected: Dict):
+    config_file = tmp_path / "file.yml"
+    config_file.write_text(content)
+
+    assert rasa.shared.utils.io.read_config_file(config_file) == expected
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "content",
+    [
+        "text",
+        textwrap.dedent(
+            """
+            - item1
+            - item2
+            """
+        ),
+    ],
+)
+def test_read_invalid_config_file(tmp_path: Path, content: Text):
+    config_file = tmp_path / "file.yml"
+    config_file.write_text(content)
+
+    with pytest.raises(rasa.shared.utils.validation.YamlValidationException):
+        rasa.shared.utils.io.read_model_configuration(config_file)
diff --git a/tests/shared/utils/test_validation.py b/tests/shared/utils/test_validation.py
index 89cf95996af7..b679ee74c29e 100644
--- a/tests/shared/utils/test_validation.py
+++ b/tests/shared/utils/test_validation.py
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+from typing import Text
+
 import pytest
 
 from pep440_version_utils import Version
@@ -36,10 +38,9 @@ def test_validate_yaml_schema(file, schema):
         ("data/test_domains/wrong_response_format.yml", DOMAIN_SCHEMA_FILE),
         ("data/test_domains/wrong_custom_response_format.yml", DOMAIN_SCHEMA_FILE),
         ("data/test_domains/empty_response_format.yml", DOMAIN_SCHEMA_FILE),
-        ("data/test_config/example_config.yaml", CONFIG_SCHEMA_FILE),
     ],
 )
-def test_validate_yaml_schema_raise_exception(file, schema):
+def test_validate_yaml_schema_raise_exception(file: Text, schema: Text):
     with pytest.raises(YamlException):
         validation_utils.validate_yaml_schema(
             rasa.shared.utils.io.read_file(file), schema