Windows 11 24H2 (Build 26100.6899) (KB5066835) — Apps freeze when accessing camera or microphone

After installing the update 2025-10 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 Version 24H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5066835) (26100.6899), multiple applications as well as the Settings app experience freezes or crashes seemingly whenever Windows attempts to enumerate audio/video devices or query app permissions. Even just opening the Google login page in Brave or Chrome freezes the browser, for example. (Interestingly, Edge does not freeze on the same page.)

The issue appears to originate in the Capability Access Manager Service (camsvc), which deadlocks when handling capability access requests.

How to reproduce

Install Windows 11 Version 24H2 Build 26100.6899 with KB5066835.
Open Settings → Privacy & security → App permissions → Camera (or Location or Microphone or pretty much any other page).
→ The Settings app immediately freezes.
Launch any application that requests camera or microphone access (e.g., Brave, Chrome, Slack).
→ The app freezes or crashes.
Note: Edge shows no camera or microphone devices but does not crash.

Observed result

The Settings app becomes unresponsive on any App permissions page.
Many applications that attempt to access the camera or microphone (or presumably any device or service that queries app permissions) freeze or crash.
Chrome and Brave freeze on login pages requiring Google account access (presumably camera/microphone enumeration triggers the freeze).
Edge simply reports no devices found.

Expected result

Duh. Applications and the Settings app should enumerate camera and microphone devices normally without freezing or crashing.

Workaround

Disabling the Capability Access Manager Service (camsvc) via the registry or Services.msc (and stopping the service or rebooting) restores system stability and prevents all freezes and crashes:

reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\camsvc" /v Start /t REG_DWORD /d 4 /f
reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\camsvc" /v DelayedAutoStart /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

However:

Applications cannot access the camera or microphone.
All App permissions pages in Settings remain non-functional.

Attempted troubleshooting

Ran full DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image check & repair sequence followed by SFC /SCANNOW. → No effect.
Issue persists across reboots.
Problem (kind of) resolves only when Capability Access Manager Service (camsvc) is not running.
Extensive chatting with GPT-5 in ChatGPT. Despite some hallucination, my AI buddy has been quite helpful.

My system details

Edition: Windows 11 Pro 24H2
Build: 26100.6899
Installed update: KB5066835
Other updates installed at the same time: KB5066131 (.NET 3.5/4.8.1), KB5068331 (.NET 8.0.21)

Summary

This appears to be a regression in KB5066835 affecting the Capability Access Manager subsystem. It causes deadlocks whenever capability enumeration APIs are invoked. Disabling the service stabilizes the system but at the cost of access to devices and services.

A hotfix or updated cumulative patch is needed to restore normal functionality.

Application Management