06.07.2026
3 min
59
Even if you store a huge number of files and applications on your Windows 11 device, storage issues you encounter may not necessarily be your fault, Microsoft has confirmed.
In fact, the culprit may be a system bug—and a particularly frustrating one. The year-long issue is linked to the Capability Access Manager service, which handles app permissions in Windows.
The CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file, used to log Windows privacy and access events for features such as the camera, microphone, location, and screen capture, is normally only a few megabytes in size.
However, on some PCs the file grows abnormally large, reaching hundreds of gigabytes and, in some cases, filling the entire drive. Naturally, this can lead to serious system performance issues.
“My computer warned me that I was running out of space on my C: drive. I was confused because I hadn’t added anything recently,” one Reddit user complained.
“I checked and found 500 GB missing, but no folder accounted for it. I searched online and found TreeSize, which showed that CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal was the culprit.”
Users are advised not to modify or delete the file manually, as doing so could trigger additional system errors.
Another Reddit user commented:
“You’d think Microsoft would update users about such an obvious and serious issue. It’s almost like intentional malware or a hostile cyberattack. A single log file taking up half a hard drive is insane.”
The file appears to grow because Windows continuously logs repeated access requests and other privacy-related events, such as location permission checks.
According to Windows Latest, users who want to play it safe should wait for the July 2026 Patch Tuesday update, which is expected to automatically fix the issue. Microsoft appears to be rolling out the fix quietly after finally acknowledging the problem.
The release notes for Windows 11 KB5095093 include a brief entry stating: “This update improves disk space usage for the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file.”
What remains concerning is that Microsoft has still not added the bug to its official list of known Windows issues, nor has it explained the symptoms or why some Windows 11 systems allowed the file to grow to tens or even hundreds of gigabytes.
