Microsoft has issued a fix for an issue that was consuming a large amount of free space on Windows 11. The target is a system file called CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal, related to the Capability Access Manager. Microsoft's KB5095093 release notes added, as of June 29, 2026, an entry addressing improved disk usage for this file. The problem doesn't occur in areas users would normally check, like downloads or apps, but rather in a location close to Windows' permission management system. As a result, it shows up in the Settings app as bloat under "System & reserved," making it difficult to isolate the cause.
According to testing by Windows Latest, on affected systems this WAL file balloons from tens of GB to hundreds of GB. Reported values range from 70GB, 110GB, up to 200GB-class sizes, with one case showing approximately 513GB in TreeSize. Microsoft has released a fix, but has not yet provided a detailed explanation of why this file grows so large on some Windows 11 systems.
What KB5095093 fixed is the WAL bloat itself, not free space in general
The core fact confirmable from Microsoft's official information is brief. The preview update KB5095093, dated June 23, 2026, is an update for Windows 11 including OS Builds 26200.8737 and 26100.8737, and a Storage entry was added to its changelog dated June 29. The fix target listed there is CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal.
This wording doesn't mean a broad fix to Windows' overall storage management. It's a fix improving disk usage for a specific file. So the place readers should check isn't the general "Disk Cleanup" tool, but the WAL file under C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager\.
KB5095093 can be installed via the optional update option in Windows Update's advanced options. It's also available from the Microsoft Update Catalog. Meanwhile, what Microsoft officially states is only that for Windows Update for Business, the same change will appear in the next security update. Individual PC users can choose the optional update, but on managed devices, deployment rings and validation procedures come into play.
Why it looks like hundreds of GB
Capability Access Manager is a component involved in permission management and logging when apps access privacy-related features such as the camera or microphone. Location data and screen capture are also included in this type of access management. Windows Latest explains that the write-ahead log (WAL) behind the database underlying this system is CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal.
A WAL isn't inherently abnormal. It's a mechanism that temporarily logs writes to a database before they're later applied to the main database. Normally, even if it grows temporarily, checkpoint processing and compaction bring the size back down. In this issue, the log fails to shrink back and keeps growing until it fills up the system drive.
Windows Latest suggests that the OS repeatedly logs events related to access requests and privacy controls such as location, and that the WAL may not be properly merged back into the main SQLite database. However, this is not Microsoft's official explanation of the cause. What Microsoft has officially stated is only that KB5095093 improves disk usage for the affected file.
The way it appears is also troublesome. In the Windows Settings app, the problematic capacity may show up as "System & reserved" or "System files." From the user's perspective, the C: drive keeps shrinking even though they haven't added apps, photos, or videos. It takes time to trace the cause down to the actual file name.
Check the impact before deleting anything
The entry point for checking impact is available through the Settings app. Go to Settings > System > Storage, expand the categories further, and check whether System & reserved—especially System files—is unusually large. If this reaches hundreds of GB, there's reason to suspect files related to the Capability Access Manager.
However, the target folder is protected by Windows. Attempting to open it via File Explorer or PowerShell may result in access denied errors. Windows Latest describes a method for checking, before changing ownership or permissions, using a read-only Robocopy command from an administrator-elevated Command Prompt.
robocopy "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager" "%TEMP%\CAMCheck" /L /B /R:0 /W:0 /BYTES /NPWhat this command targets for inspection is CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal. In the normal example Windows Latest showed, the entire CapabilityAccessManager folder was under 4MB, with the WAL file around 1.6MB. If it's several GB or more, and continuing to grow, the system is likely affected.
Rushing to delete system files here is a bad move. Microsoft's official fix is included in KB5095093, and Windows Latest also treats applying that update as the primary solution. Windows Latest also touches on recovery environment or safe mode workarounds for cases where the drive is already full and Windows Update can't be installed, but this shouldn't be read as a procedure for directly deleting protected system files during normal operation.
Optional update or monthly update?
What makes this bug troublesome is that it doesn't look like a security breach or a runaway app. What's growing is a log tied to Windows' internal permission management, and the visible symptom is close to a generic warning like "the C: drive has no free space." Help desks and administrators are likely to first suspect user profiles or OneDrive. Only after checking update caches and hibernation files do they finally notice the bloat in System files.
As of July 8, 2026, this CapabilityAccessManager storage issue does not appear prominently in the list of known issues visible on Microsoft's Windows release health page. The known issues section for KB5095093 instead lists a separate issue where Office apps may fail to launch from certain third-party apps. In other words, the fix was placed as a brief Storage entry in the release notes before any user-facing explanation of the symptom.
For devices with ample free space, it may be reasonable to wait for the next security update. Windows Latest expects the same fix to roll out automatically in the July 2026 Patch Tuesday. However, what's confirmable in Microsoft's official wording is only that, for Windows Update for Business, it will appear in the next security update. On laptops with small SSDs or on virtual desktops, bloat on the order of 100GB can halt normal operations. Whether to distribute the optional update first should be judged not by update risk, but by remaining capacity and scope of impact.
The checkpoint here is simple. Before checking Windows Update's KB number, first identify devices where System files are unusually large. Next, check the actual size of CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal in a read-only manner. Once that's determined, you can separate devices that need KB5095093 applied immediately from those that can wait for the next security update.