seniorRust

What are memory leaks in Rust and how do they still occur?

Updated May 24, 2026

Short answer

Rust can leak memory via reference cycles or explicit forget/unsafe patterns.

Deep explanation

While Rust prevents most leaks via ownership, Rc or Arc cycles prevent reference counts from reaching zero. Additionally, std::mem::forget leaks intentionally by bypassing Drop.

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Real-world example

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Common mistakes

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