Memory leak

In <a href="/facts/Computer_science/lN3pEyPz">computer science</a>, a memory leak is a type of <a href="/facts/Resource_leak/6zxNKPXA">resource leak</a> that occurs when a <a href="/facts/Computer_program/e38jH9N9">computer program</a> incorrectly manages <a href="/facts/Memory_allocation/vthLkUpz">memory allocations</a> in a way that <a href="/facts/Computer_memory/hQKVQ51J">memory</a> which is no longer needed is not released. A memory leak may also happen when an <a href="/facts/Object_(computer_science)/eX99dtAw">object</a> is stored in memory but cannot be accessed by the running code (i.e. <a href="/facts/Unreachable_memory/RUTD75R9">unreachable memory</a>). A memory leak has symptoms similar to a number of other problems and generally can only be diagnosed by a <a href="/facts/Programmer/WGTS1Jv9">programmer</a> with access to the program's source code.
A related concept is the "space leak", which is when a program consumes excessive memory but does eventually release it.
Because they can exhaust available system memory as an application runs, memory leaks are often the cause of or a contributing factor to <a href="/facts/Software_aging/wDvFW71M">software aging</a>.

Memory leak open-in-new

Memory leak