What does Windows error code 806 (ERROR_FILE_HANDLE_REVOKED) mean?

 
Previous Next
ERROR_INVALID_ACE_CONDITION ERROR_IMAGE_AT_DIFFERENT_BASE

ERROR_FILE_HANDLE_REVOKED

access through the specified file handle has been revoked.

ERROR_FILE_HANDLE_REVOKED indicates this condition: The handle was valid when opened, but Windows or a file-system component later withdrew its authority. Revocation can support security policy changes, storage failover, cloud-file state changes, or administrative invalidation without waiting for every holder to close the handle.

Where the result appears

  • I/O issued after a file-system or policy component revokes an open.
  • remote or clustered file handles invalidated during failover.
  • security-sensitive files whose access is withdrawn after policy reevaluation.
  • long-running services retaining handles across storage lifecycle changes.

What to collect

  • the file path, file ID, volume, share, and original open options.
  • the operation that first returned revocation and all earlier successful I/O.
  • policy, failover, lease, oplock, or file-system events near the timestamp.
  • whether a fresh open under the current identity succeeds.

Handling and recovery

Stop using the revoked handle and close it. Reopen the object only after confirming current policy and storage state; then revalidate file identity, position, locks, and application invariants before resuming. Never silently continue a transaction on a newly opened file that might be a different object.

Common misinterpretation

A revoked handle is not repaired by retrying the same read or write on that handle. Its authority has been deliberately invalidated.

References


Looking for a different code? Search another status or error code.