Memory leaks occur when a program mismanages memory allocations, by not releasing memory that is no longer needed, causing a progressive loss of available memory. Over time, this can lead to memory exhaustion, where no additional memory is available for use, potentially causing system slowdowns or crashes. While leaks may increase CPU or disk usage indirectly due to increased swapping or garbage collection, memory exhaustion is a direct consequence.
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What are memory leaks and how do they occur?
How can memory exhaustion affect system performance?
What are some ways to prevent memory leaks in Linux applications?