Microsoft fixes Windows 11 bug that swelled folder to gigabytes

Microsoft has pushed a fix for a Windows 11 bug that let a privacy-tracking file grow until it swallowed gigabytes of storage. The patch landed in the optional June 23 preview update KB5095093, and the same fix should reach most users in the broader July 2026 Patch Tuesday release.

The problem centered on CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal, a file tied to the Capability Access Manager service under C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager. That service records permission-related activity for features such as location, camera, microphone and screen capture. On affected PCs, the file did not stay small; KB5095093 improves disk space usage for it, cutting off a bug that could quietly eat through a laptop drive before users realized what was happening.

A Microsoft Community Hub post dated June 1 put the file at about 80 GB, while a Microsoft Q&A post dated June 19 put it at 278.3 GB on one Windows 11 Pro machine. In that case, the user said the runaway file left the laptop with almost no free disk space. Repeated location-permission prompts were a possible trigger, and one workaround was to turn off Windows location services and desktop app location access.

The fix arrived as part of a preview build for Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2, with build numbers 26100.8737 and 26200.8737. KB5095093 is being delivered through a phased rollout and a normal rollout.

Disabling the Capability Access Manager service itself can cause Wi-Fi and other network or permission-related problems. The same update cycle also flagged another issue: Secure Boot certificates used by most Windows devices were set to begin expiring in June 2026, with updates being delivered through Windows Update over the coming months.