Windows 11 Bug Silently Consumes Up to 500GB of Storage Space

Executive Briefing

• Affects the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file, which should occupy only a few MB but can balloon to hundreds of GB
• Causes significant performance degradation and can completely fill system drives, with reports dating back a year
• Detect the issue using third-party tools like TreeSize or WizTree, or via a specific Windows Command Prompt query
• Microsoft released optional fix KB5095093 in June 2026, with full rollout planned for July Patch Tuesday
• Avoid deleting the file or uninstalling Capability Access Manager, as doing so may trigger additional system errors