CapabilityAccessManager db-wal File Eating Your C Drive The KB5095093 Fix
One hidden log file, normally 2 to 4 MB, has been found at 70 GB, 200 GB, even over 500 GB — quietly eating entire C drives. Microsoft confirmed the bug and shipped the fix in KB5095093. Here is how to check if you are affected and repair it the supported way.
✍️ Technical Anshu🪟 Windows 11⏱️ 8 minute fix
🎥 Watch the full process in the video — finding the runaway file and freeing the drive, step-by-step
The file is CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal, inside C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager. The Capability Access Manager is the Windows component that records when apps ask for your camera, microphone, location and screen capture. Its database uses a write-ahead log — the .db-wal file — which is supposed to fold back into the main database and shrink. On affected builds it never folds. It just grows, day after day, until the drive is full.
Administrator Command Prompt — read-only size check, example output
Healthy: the db-wal line reads a few MB at most. Affected: that one line reads in GB — this is the whole diagnosis in one command.
Example output only. Your numbers will differ — compare the db-wal line against the few-MB healthy size.
1
Why This File Exists and What Healthy Looks Like
Every time an app checks whether it may use your camera, microphone, location or screen capture, the Capability Access Manager notes it. Those notes are written to a small database, and the .db-wal file is its notepad — entries land there first and are merged into the database during a process called a checkpoint.
On a healthy PC the whole folder holds a few MB in total
The .db-wal file normally sits around 1.6 to 4 MB
The bug breaks the checkpoint: entries pile into the notepad and are never merged, so the file grows with every permission check, forever
One heavy trigger seen in the wild is something requesting location access again and again — the log writes faster, the file balloons faster
2
Are You Affected — Check the Build and the File
Open Settings → System → About and read the OS build
The bug affects Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 builds below 26100.8737 (24H2) and 26200.8737 (25H2). At or above those numbers, the fix is already in
Cross-check in Settings → System → Storage → System & reserved → System files: a figure in the hundreds of GB is the bug until proven otherwise
Measure the file itself with the robocopy listing command from the panel above, run in an administrator Command Prompt. It is read-only — it changes nothing
Do not be surprised that File Explorer says "Access denied" for this folder. It is protected by design; the read-only command is the intended peek
3
The Fix — Install KB5095093 or Any Later Cumulative Update
Microsoft put the repair in update KB5095093, released 23 June 2026 for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2. Its release note is one quiet line: it "improves disk space usage for the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file". Every cumulative update after it carries the same fix, including the July 2026 Patch Tuesday update.
Open Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates
Install the latest cumulative update offered. If KB5095093 itself is offered under optional updates, that one works too
Choose Restart now when asked and let the update finish completely
After the restart, the log is checkpointed back to its normal few-MB size and the trapped space returns to the drive
Verify: free space should be back, and the robocopy check should show the db-wal file small again
4
Drive Too Full to Install the Update — Make Room First
The painful loop: the fix is an update, but a 100 percent full drive can make updates fail. Break the loop with safe, supported cleanup first.
Open Settings → System → Storage → Temporary files and remove the safe categories — Temporary files, Delivery Optimization Files, Temporary Windows installation files
If a Previous version of Windows entry is listed and you do not need the rollback, removing it usually frees 15 to 30 GB at once
Empty the Recycle Bin and move any large personal files to another drive temporarily if you have one
As soon as a few GB are free, go straight to Windows Update, install the cumulative update and restart — then confirm the bug file has shrunk
5
What Not to Do — and the Location Brake
Do not delete the db-wal file or the folder by hand. Without the update the service simply recreates the file and the growth continues, and forcing ownership of a protected system folder can create new errors
Do not disable the Capability Access Manager service (camsvc). It handles app permissions across the system; disabling it has caused permission and even Wi-Fi problems on real machines
Temporary brake, not a fix: on machines where one app or service keeps hammering location access, turning off Settings → Privacy & security → Location → Location services has stopped the runaway growth in community reports. Use it to slow the bleeding while you install the update, not instead of it
Keep Windows Update working afterwards. Because the fix rides inside cumulative updates, a PC that stops updating can stay on a buggy build indefinitely
🔴 The supported repair is one update and one restart. Deleting protected system files and disabling the permission service are the two shortcuts that turn a storage bug into a permissions problem — skip both.
🎥 Watch the Complete Video Guide
The runaway permission log, the safe size check and the KB5095093 fix — shown live in the video.
Is the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file a virus?
No. It is a genuine Windows file — the write-ahead log of the Capability Access Manager database that tracks app permission requests for camera, microphone, location and screen capture. The problem is a Windows bug, fixed in KB5095093, where the log never compacts and grows from a normal 2 to 4 MB to hundreds of GB.
I deleted the file and it came back. Why?
Because the file is only the symptom. The Capability Access Manager service recreates its log automatically and, on an unpatched build, the broken checkpoint behaviour starts growing it again. The cure is the update — KB5095093 or any later cumulative update — followed by a restart, after which the log returns to its normal few-MB size.
Which PCs are affected by this bug?
Windows 11 version 24H2 and 25H2 on builds below 26100.8737 and 26200.8737 respectively. Check Settings → System → About: if your build number is at or above those figures, the fix is already installed. Not every PC on an older build grows the file, which is why checking the actual file size matters.
This guide is based on the Technical Anshu C drive full after update video • Stuck on any step? Ask in the video comments — you will get a reply there 🙏