diff --git a/src/current/_includes/v24.1/essential-alerts.md b/src/current/_includes/v24.1/essential-alerts.md
index 578e28d9aa8..fa965626a99 100644
--- a/src/current/_includes/v24.1/essential-alerts.md
+++ b/src/current/_includes/v24.1/essential-alerts.md
@@ -318,9 +318,9 @@ Send an alert when the number of ranges with replication below the replication f
- Refer to [Replication issues]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/cluster-setup-troubleshooting.md %}#replication-issues).
-### Requests stuck in raft
+### Requests stuck in Raft
-Send an alert when requests are taking a very long time in replication. An (evaluated) request has to pass through the replication layer, notably the quota pool and raft. If it fails to do so within a highly permissive duration, the gauge is incremented (and decremented again once the request is either applied or returns an error). A nonzero value indicates range or replica unavailability, and should be investigated.
+Send an alert when requests are taking a very long time in replication. An (evaluated) request has to pass through the replication layer, notably the quota pool and raft. If it fails to do so within a highly permissive duration, the gauge is incremented (and decremented again once the request is either applied or returns an error). A nonzero value indicates range or replica unavailability, and should be investigated. This can also be a symptom of a [leader-leaseholder split]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/architecture/replication-layer.md %}#leader-leaseholder-splits).
**Metric**
`requests.slow.raft`
diff --git a/src/current/_includes/v24.3/essential-alerts.md b/src/current/_includes/v24.3/essential-alerts.md
index 578e28d9aa8..fa965626a99 100644
--- a/src/current/_includes/v24.3/essential-alerts.md
+++ b/src/current/_includes/v24.3/essential-alerts.md
@@ -318,9 +318,9 @@ Send an alert when the number of ranges with replication below the replication f
- Refer to [Replication issues]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/cluster-setup-troubleshooting.md %}#replication-issues).
-### Requests stuck in raft
+### Requests stuck in Raft
-Send an alert when requests are taking a very long time in replication. An (evaluated) request has to pass through the replication layer, notably the quota pool and raft. If it fails to do so within a highly permissive duration, the gauge is incremented (and decremented again once the request is either applied or returns an error). A nonzero value indicates range or replica unavailability, and should be investigated.
+Send an alert when requests are taking a very long time in replication. An (evaluated) request has to pass through the replication layer, notably the quota pool and raft. If it fails to do so within a highly permissive duration, the gauge is incremented (and decremented again once the request is either applied or returns an error). A nonzero value indicates range or replica unavailability, and should be investigated. This can also be a symptom of a [leader-leaseholder split]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/architecture/replication-layer.md %}#leader-leaseholder-splits).
**Metric**
`requests.slow.raft`
diff --git a/src/current/v24.1/architecture/replication-layer.md b/src/current/v24.1/architecture/replication-layer.md
index 137acbfd78c..b5cd55a253c 100644
--- a/src/current/v24.1/architecture/replication-layer.md
+++ b/src/current/v24.1/architecture/replication-layer.md
@@ -146,6 +146,15 @@ A table's meta and system ranges (detailed in the [distribution layer]({% link {
However, unlike table data, system ranges cannot use epoch-based leases because that would create a circular dependency: system ranges are already being used to implement epoch-based leases for table data. Therefore, system ranges use expiration-based leases instead. Expiration-based leases expire at a particular timestamp (typically after a few seconds). However, as long as a node continues proposing Raft commands, it continues to extend the expiration of its leases. If it doesn't, the next node containing a replica of the range that tries to read from or write to the range will become the leaseholder.
+#### Leader‑leaseholder splits
+
+[Epoch-based leases](#epoch-based-leases-table-data) are vulnerable to _leader-leaseholder splits_. These can occur when a leaseholder's Raft log has fallen behind other replicas in its group and it cannot acquire Raft leadership. Coupled with a [network partition]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/cluster-setup-troubleshooting.md %}#network-partition), this split can cause permanent unavailability of the range if (1) the stale leaseholder continues heartbeating the [liveness range](#epoch-based-leases-table-data) to hold its lease but (2) cannot reach the leader to propose writes.
+
+Symptoms of leader-leaseholder splits include a [stalled Raft log]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/monitoring-and-alerting.md %}#requests-stuck-in-raft) on the leaseholder and [increased disk usage]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/cluster-setup-troubleshooting.md %}#disks-filling-up) on follower replicas buffering pending Raft entries. Remediations include:
+
+- Restarting the affected nodes.
+- Fixing the network partition (or slow networking) between nodes.
+
#### How leases are transferred from a dead node
When the cluster needs to access a range on a leaseholder node that is dead, that range's lease must be transferred to a healthy node. This process is as follows:
diff --git a/src/current/v24.1/cluster-setup-troubleshooting.md b/src/current/v24.1/cluster-setup-troubleshooting.md
index 35dfd522e9f..0b5f32aac77 100644
--- a/src/current/v24.1/cluster-setup-troubleshooting.md
+++ b/src/current/v24.1/cluster-setup-troubleshooting.md
@@ -387,6 +387,8 @@ Like any database system, if you run out of disk space the system will no longer
- [Why is disk usage increasing despite lack of writes?]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/operational-faqs.md %}#why-is-disk-usage-increasing-despite-lack-of-writes)
- [Can I reduce or disable the storage of timeseries data?]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/operational-faqs.md %}#can-i-reduce-or-disable-the-storage-of-time-series-data)
+In rare cases, disk usage can increase on nodes with [Raft followers]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/architecture/replication-layer.md %}#raft) due to a [leader-leaseholder split]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/architecture/replication-layer.md %}#leader-leaseholder-splits).
+
###### Automatic ballast files
CockroachDB automatically creates an emergency ballast file at [node startup]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/cockroach-start.md %}). This feature is **on** by default. Note that the [`cockroach debug ballast`]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/cockroach-debug-ballast.md %}) command is still available but deprecated.
diff --git a/src/current/v24.1/monitoring-and-alerting.md b/src/current/v24.1/monitoring-and-alerting.md
index 6f2f0c25616..524c6c7ee8f 100644
--- a/src/current/v24.1/monitoring-and-alerting.md
+++ b/src/current/v24.1/monitoring-and-alerting.md
@@ -1205,7 +1205,7 @@ Currently, not all events listed have corresponding alert rule definitions avail
#### Requests stuck in Raft
-- **Rule:** Send an alert when requests are taking a very long time in replication.
+- **Rule:** Send an alert when requests are taking a very long time in replication. This can be a symptom of a [leader-leaseholder split]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/architecture/replication-layer.md %}#leader-leaseholder-splits).
- **How to detect:** Calculate this using the `requests_slow_raft` metric in the node's `_status/vars` output.
diff --git a/src/current/v24.1/ui-slow-requests-dashboard.md b/src/current/v24.1/ui-slow-requests-dashboard.md
index e262c6a0c49..c1875279b42 100644
--- a/src/current/v24.1/ui-slow-requests-dashboard.md
+++ b/src/current/v24.1/ui-slow-requests-dashboard.md
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ Hovering over the graph displays values for the following metrics:
Metric | Description
--------|----
-Slow Raft Proposals | The number of requests that have been stuck for longer than usual in [Raft]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/architecture/replication-layer.md %}#raft), as tracked by the `requests.slow.raft` metric.
+Slow Raft Proposals | The number of requests that have been stuck for longer than usual in [Raft]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/architecture/replication-layer.md %}#raft), as tracked by the `requests.slow.raft` metric. This can be a symptom of a [leader-leaseholder split]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/architecture/replication-layer.md %}#leader-leaseholder-splits).
## Slow DistSender RPCs
diff --git a/src/current/v24.3/architecture/replication-layer.md b/src/current/v24.3/architecture/replication-layer.md
index a49854c3dc9..0933c879822 100644
--- a/src/current/v24.3/architecture/replication-layer.md
+++ b/src/current/v24.3/architecture/replication-layer.md
@@ -148,6 +148,15 @@ A table's meta and system ranges (detailed in the [distribution layer]({% link {
However, unlike table data, system ranges cannot use epoch-based leases because that would create a circular dependency: system ranges are already being used to implement epoch-based leases for table data. Therefore, system ranges use expiration-based leases instead. Expiration-based leases expire at a particular timestamp (typically after a few seconds). However, as long as a node continues proposing Raft commands, it continues to extend the expiration of its leases. If it doesn't, the next node containing a replica of the range that tries to read from or write to the range will become the leaseholder.
+#### Leader‑leaseholder splits
+
+[Epoch-based leases](#epoch-based-leases-table-data) are vulnerable to _leader-leaseholder splits_. These can occur when a leaseholder's Raft log has fallen behind other replicas in its group and it cannot acquire Raft leadership. Coupled with a [network partition]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/cluster-setup-troubleshooting.md %}#network-partition), this split can cause permanent unavailability of the range if (1) the stale leaseholder continues heartbeating the [liveness range](#epoch-based-leases-table-data) to hold its lease but (2) cannot reach the leader to propose writes.
+
+Symptoms of leader-leaseholder splits include a [stalled Raft log]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/monitoring-and-alerting.md %}#requests-stuck-in-raft) on the leaseholder and [increased disk usage]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/cluster-setup-troubleshooting.md %}#disks-filling-up) on follower replicas buffering pending Raft entries. Remediations include:
+
+- Restarting the affected nodes.
+- Fixing the network partition (or slow networking) between nodes.
+
#### How leases are transferred from a dead node
When the cluster needs to access a range on a leaseholder node that is dead, that range's lease must be transferred to a healthy node. This process is as follows:
diff --git a/src/current/v24.3/cluster-setup-troubleshooting.md b/src/current/v24.3/cluster-setup-troubleshooting.md
index 35dfd522e9f..0b5f32aac77 100644
--- a/src/current/v24.3/cluster-setup-troubleshooting.md
+++ b/src/current/v24.3/cluster-setup-troubleshooting.md
@@ -387,6 +387,8 @@ Like any database system, if you run out of disk space the system will no longer
- [Why is disk usage increasing despite lack of writes?]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/operational-faqs.md %}#why-is-disk-usage-increasing-despite-lack-of-writes)
- [Can I reduce or disable the storage of timeseries data?]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/operational-faqs.md %}#can-i-reduce-or-disable-the-storage-of-time-series-data)
+In rare cases, disk usage can increase on nodes with [Raft followers]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/architecture/replication-layer.md %}#raft) due to a [leader-leaseholder split]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/architecture/replication-layer.md %}#leader-leaseholder-splits).
+
###### Automatic ballast files
CockroachDB automatically creates an emergency ballast file at [node startup]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/cockroach-start.md %}). This feature is **on** by default. Note that the [`cockroach debug ballast`]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/cockroach-debug-ballast.md %}) command is still available but deprecated.
diff --git a/src/current/v24.3/monitoring-and-alerting.md b/src/current/v24.3/monitoring-and-alerting.md
index cfcd3df6c31..df09a1dc5d0 100644
--- a/src/current/v24.3/monitoring-and-alerting.md
+++ b/src/current/v24.3/monitoring-and-alerting.md
@@ -1205,7 +1205,7 @@ Currently, not all events listed have corresponding alert rule definitions avail
#### Requests stuck in Raft
-- **Rule:** Send an alert when requests are taking a very long time in replication.
+- **Rule:** Send an alert when requests are taking a very long time in replication. This can be a symptom of a [leader-leaseholder split]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/architecture/replication-layer.md %}#leader-leaseholder-splits).
- **How to detect:** Calculate this using the `requests_slow_raft` metric in the node's `_status/vars` output.
diff --git a/src/current/v24.3/ui-slow-requests-dashboard.md b/src/current/v24.3/ui-slow-requests-dashboard.md
index e262c6a0c49..c1875279b42 100644
--- a/src/current/v24.3/ui-slow-requests-dashboard.md
+++ b/src/current/v24.3/ui-slow-requests-dashboard.md
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ Hovering over the graph displays values for the following metrics:
Metric | Description
--------|----
-Slow Raft Proposals | The number of requests that have been stuck for longer than usual in [Raft]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/architecture/replication-layer.md %}#raft), as tracked by the `requests.slow.raft` metric.
+Slow Raft Proposals | The number of requests that have been stuck for longer than usual in [Raft]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/architecture/replication-layer.md %}#raft), as tracked by the `requests.slow.raft` metric. This can be a symptom of a [leader-leaseholder split]({% link {{ page.version.version }}/architecture/replication-layer.md %}#leader-leaseholder-splits).
## Slow DistSender RPCs